Hoover free flights promotion
Encyclopedia
The Hoover free flights promotion was a marketing
promotion
begun in 1992 in which the British division of The Hoover Company
promised free airline tickets to customers who purchased more than £100 worth of their products. However, what Hoover had not anticipated was that huge numbers of customers started buying Hoover products not because they wanted the actual appliances, but simply because they wanted the tickets.
Initially the offer was for two round-trip tickets to Europe, but later it was expanded to the USA, at which point the consumer response increased enormously, as the normal price of these flights was several times more than the £100 purchase required to get free tickets. The company subsequently found itself overwhelmed by the demand for tickets (and even for new vacuum cleaners) and the cost of the flights.
Harry Cichy and Sandy Jack
, to protest that the company was not keeping its promises. Buying some shares in Maytag
, the pressure group went to the Annual General Meeting
of Hoover's owners, Maytag, in Newton, Iowa
. Sandy Jack
expressed his concerns to the CEO of Maytag, Len Hadley
. The presence of the group made headline news on ABC TV
News and the front cover of The Des Moines Register.
In 1994, Jack took Hoover to Court over the free flight promotion. The BBC Watchdog programme's investigation of customer complaints about the promotion, by reporter Simon Walton and undercover researcher Hilary J Bell
, brought the matter to even wider public attention.
The executives dismissed for their involvement are William Foust, managing director of Hoover Limited and president of Hoover Europe, and the two directors most closely involved with the promotion - Brian Webb, Hoover vice-president of marketing, and Michael Gilbey, director of marketing services.
.
documentary was made on the anniversary of Cichy and Jack's visit to Newton in 1994. Part of the Trouble at the Top
series, the "Hoover Flights Fiasco" was watched by 1.7 million viewers.
Harry E. Cichy subsequently released a book of the incident, titled Fighting The Corporation: The Hoover Flight Fiasco.
Marketing
Marketing is the process used to determine what products or services may be of interest to customers, and the strategy to use in sales, communications and business development. It generates the strategy that underlies sales techniques, business communication, and business developments...
promotion
Promotion (marketing)
Promotion is one of the four elements of marketing mix . It is the communication link between sellers and buyers for the purpose of influencing, informing, or persuading a potential buyer's purchasing decision....
begun in 1992 in which the British division of The Hoover Company
The Hoover Company
The Hoover Company started out as an American floor care manufacturer based in North Canton, Ohio. It also established a major base in the United Kingdom and for most of the early-and-mid-20th century, it dominated the electric vacuum cleaner industry, to the point where the "hoover" brand name...
promised free airline tickets to customers who purchased more than £100 worth of their products. However, what Hoover had not anticipated was that huge numbers of customers started buying Hoover products not because they wanted the actual appliances, but simply because they wanted the tickets.
Initially the offer was for two round-trip tickets to Europe, but later it was expanded to the USA, at which point the consumer response increased enormously, as the normal price of these flights was several times more than the £100 purchase required to get free tickets. The company subsequently found itself overwhelmed by the demand for tickets (and even for new vacuum cleaners) and the cost of the flights.
History
In 1993, the Hoover Holidays Pressure Group was formed, led byHarry Cichy and Sandy Jack
Sandy Jack
George Alexander Jack better known as Sandy Jack was from Methil Fife, Scotland. He is known as campaigner and consumer champion from the Hoover free flights promotion...
, to protest that the company was not keeping its promises. Buying some shares in Maytag
Maytag
Maytag Corporation is an American home and commercial appliance company, headquartered in Newton, Iowa, that is a division of the Whirlpool Corporation.-Company history:...
, the pressure group went to the Annual General Meeting
Annual general meeting
An annual general meeting is a meeting that official bodies, and associations involving the public , are often required by law to hold...
of Hoover's owners, Maytag, in Newton, Iowa
Newton, Iowa
Newton is a city in and the county seat of Jasper County, Iowa, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 15,254. It is the home of Maytag Dairy Farms and was formerly home to the Maytag Corporation's corporate headquarters until the Whirlpool Corporation acquired it in 2006...
. Sandy Jack
Sandy Jack
George Alexander Jack better known as Sandy Jack was from Methil Fife, Scotland. He is known as campaigner and consumer champion from the Hoover free flights promotion...
expressed his concerns to the CEO of Maytag, Len Hadley
Len Hadley
Len Hadley was the CEO of the Maytag Corporation in Newton, Iowa, at the time of the "Hoover free flights promotion" marketing blunder.In 1994 three British citizens from the Hoover Holiday Pressure Group attend the Maytag Annual General Meeting in Newton, Iowa...
. The presence of the group made headline news on ABC TV
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
News and the front cover of The Des Moines Register.
In 1994, Jack took Hoover to Court over the free flight promotion. The BBC Watchdog programme's investigation of customer complaints about the promotion, by reporter Simon Walton and undercover researcher Hilary J Bell
Hilary J Bell
Hilary Bell was a pioneer of reality television including Faking It and Wife Swap. Early in her television career, she worked with BBC TV's Watchdog series including working undercover to expose the Hoover Free Flights Promotion. She went on to work with Peter Dale on the BAFTA nominated series,...
, brought the matter to even wider public attention.
The executives dismissed for their involvement are William Foust, managing director of Hoover Limited and president of Hoover Europe, and the two directors most closely involved with the promotion - Brian Webb, Hoover vice-president of marketing, and Michael Gilbey, director of marketing services.
Result
The court cases went on until 1998. After the fiasco had cost the company almost £50 million, the British division of Hoover was sold to the Italian manufacturer CandyCandy (company)
Candy is an Italian company based in Brugherio, near Milan, which manufactures domestic appliances.-Early history:Candy Group is an Italian privately-owned multi-brand group of companies, among the world leaders in the household appliance industry: washing machines, dishwashers, dryers,...
.
Follow-up
In 2004 a BBCBBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
documentary was made on the anniversary of Cichy and Jack's visit to Newton in 1994. Part of the Trouble at the Top
Trouble at the Top
Trouble at the Top was a business-based BBC television fly on the wall documentary broadcast on BBC2.A spin off four-part series, Trouble at the Big Top, followed developments at the Millennium Dome in a similar style....
series, the "Hoover Flights Fiasco" was watched by 1.7 million viewers.
Harry E. Cichy subsequently released a book of the incident, titled Fighting The Corporation: The Hoover Flight Fiasco.
External links
- BBC News story: BBC online Hoover's free flights fiasco recalled UK Edition, May 13, 2004
- PROMO magazine: A Bloody Dust Up, Oct 1, 2005