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Teljoy uses telly and more to tell off 'The Man'

Many of us mutter about 'The Man': corporates who don't care about you, stores that want you paying off appliances for years and ultimately any business that isn't bothered about whether their product actually works or not. Here's how Teljoy's tackling 'the man' in its new Rent to Own campaign.

Teljoy CEO Rob Katzen has had it with 'The Man'. He's not the only one. The concept of 'the man' is treated with such contempt, by the younger generations in particular.

Teljoy says to 'Stick it to the Man'
Teljoy says to 'Stick it to the Man'

Katzen explains that "while we understand that debt funding offers a means for people to acquire needed products, in our view this has moved way beyond reason and is now firmly in the realms of reckless lending with significant social impacts. This is obviously a bad thing, which we have caricatured as 'the man'."

As the younger generation are more aware of this environment and more confident in expressing their opinions, you're more likely to hear them explain how they're going to 'stick it to the man' by defying society's expectations.

Katzen says 'The Man' was a choice of personality for the latest Teljoy campaign as the concept of the big bad institution is well recognised.

"Consequently, we felt it was a great mechanism to allow society to quickly understand the message we were trying to get across - that 'debt' is bad and Rent to Own with Teljoy is a better alternative with added benefits. Here's why...

Disrupting the status quo with the Teljoy Rent to Own campaign

Traditionally, Teljoy made use of typical retail advertising focused on providing potential customers prices for the goods they offer, but found this message often gets lost as so much advertising is done in this space.

That's why the new campaign is very much an awareness campaign rather than a call to action product campaign, as it focuses on exactly what it is that Teljoy does and how they do it in the best way accessible to the consumer. It's intended to build awareness of Teljoy as an alternative channel for people to shop.

Using 'the Man' as a device, Katzen says they're highlighting the negative nature of debt funding. The campaign also showcases the benefits of Teljoy's Rent-to-own concept, but more than that, it's a disruptive campaign as it's geared to challenge the way most asset-purchase agreements work.

While people are generally uncomfortable with this sort of challenge, it works in this case as Teljoy believes it is important for people to be aware that there is an alternative. Luckily the approach is working as Katzen says they've had fantastic feedback on the campaign so far, both in terms of commentary on the structure of the campaign and through increased activity to their website and call centre.

Even better? Katzen says the simple comparison between what they offer and the more typical purchase agreement offered by our competitors has resulted in a clear message about the relative benefits of the service they provide. It's an approach that pro-actively educates consumers about these relative benefits in a clear way by emphasising what 'the Man' doesn't offer you and what Teljoy indeed does.

Clever and effective. Go forth and disrupt! For more on Teljoy, visit their website or follow their Twitter stream.

About Leigh Andrews

Leigh Andrews AKA the #MilkshakeQueen, is former Editor-in-Chief: Marketing & Media at Bizcommunity.com, with a passion for issues of diversity, inclusion and equality, and of course, gourmet food and drinks! She can be reached on Twitter at @Leigh_Andrews.
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