What the Heck Happened at Price Tower? The Doenges Ford F-150 Platinum Price Tower Promotion Recap
July 12, 2009 by Brad - Your Car Guy
“Debate is Good for the Soul”
As promised I’m going to provide you with a detailed account of the Price Tower “Drop Event” we staged Friday night July 10th 2009. However it may not be posted until in the morning due to the volume of feedback that continues to pour in.
The Community support and enthusiasm was real strong; over 2,500+ men, women and children showed up.
The feedback and debate on the merits of this event [pro and con] has been lively,spirited and welcome.
* I plan to publish every comment [pro and con] that we have received in this blog/column/ website www.bradyourcarguy.com, as well as all the comments and feedback from Facebook, Myspace, Google, the Bartlesville Enterprise Newspaper, e-mail and phone calls.
- There have been a few rumors pop-up that we will dispel and answer.
- If you have any additional comments please post them below.
Sincerely
Brad Doenges
P.S. The last Big Debate is pictured below…do you remember this one?
For more information please contact Brad Doenges of Doenges Ford Lincoln Mercury Toyota in Bartlesville Oklahoma at (918) 333-0900.
Popularity: 100% [?]
Is this town really full of people who thought there was actually going to be a truck dropped from a landmark like Price Tower? I’m amazed that people are so foolish. Anyone who turned out to see an actual truck dropped deserves the let down they got. Gullible and naive doesn’t even begin to describe these people. How could any rational adult have thought that this promotion was actually going to include a truck being dropped from the tower? I don’t know what else to say. It’s baffling.
It will be interesting to see how the comments that were deleted on the Facebook page are “restored” and published as mentioned about. From what I know about Facebook, once you delete them, they are gone. I did see a screenshot though of someone who has them all before they were deleted.
This is about to get every interesting.
Really? Your defense is now to call people stupid for believing you were going to do this? Not a good strategy.
I don’t think any rational person truly believed we were going to see a truck fall. However, the gap between what was expected and what actually happened was too great. Doenges must now recognize this. This was a fantastic example of viral marketing and using social media, BUT what actually occurred was too underwhelming. That is what is upsetting people.
I’ve tried to give Price Tower the benefit of the doubt and I am glad for the exposure, however I am beginning to wonder if we paid too dearly for a little “free publicity” for our landmark. I have yet to see a credible article / blog post / comment that was favorable to the event.
In fact the only posts I see in defense of Doenges are calling people stupid for showing up and expecting something remarkable (like what was promised in the “news”).
This will be a great case study for a maketing program…great job at building expectations, horrible actual execution.
It amazes me that a company doing business in an industry with a reputation for dishonesty would not even try to be above board with their advertising and promotions.
Mild exaggerations, fine…creative talking points…fine..but to just flat out lie to an entire community?…thats crossing the line.
Did I really think you were going to drop a truck? I did until I got there and saw that the crowd was being allowed way too close to the tower for safety. Once I realized it was’t going to happen, the following thoughts went through my mind:
1) My daughter( 8 ) is going to be very disappointed as she was really looking forward to seeing it fall.
2) I am so sick and tired of car dealers lying to consumers in the hopes of a car deal (of course we have that exact car in stock…come on by…oh dang, you missed it by 5 minutes, it just sold….but take a look at this one thats the same except for color, options, make and model…)
3) There is no chance in hell I will ever buy a car from the dealership who was responsible for this colossal waste of my time.
I’ll be interested how many people actually leave their name posting comments. In all fairness I will begin by saying that having as much info about the Price Tower ( I did much of the resto work to it for the hotel ) and also large scale events ( I have worked in the concert industry for 20+ years), I was not one to believe an ACTUAL Ford 150PU was going to drop from that building. The amount of engineering just to pull the stunt off would’ve been way too cost prohibitive to do for a regional dealership, not to even mention the cost of insurance for the event. Let’s not take into consideration getting the approval AND permitting from the City of Bartlesville…things you would probably never considered. I’ll go out on a limb and say it say’s alot about B-ville to assume that such an eye-catching spectacle would even take place here but more oft than not, people like to place this humble town of 35,000 alot higher up on the pole than it really is.
There was a large buzz when this was announced and people where not happy that such would happen from our beloved and historic Price Tower. Now there is the buzz because it didn’t really happen. Personally, I think it’s pretty darn funny. Let’s put it into perspective. Would you have believed it if the HOT Street Party had also been rumoured to have a surprise guest later that evening. Maybe even Micheal Jackson? Bets are you would have shown up to just to see what the catch was. So I ask, what’s the difference really?
Bad advertising some say? REALLY? In my line of work as a musician, there is no such thing. There is an old saying as well; “Bad press is better than Good press which is certainly better than no press at all”. Good or Bad, Doenges has now associated himself with an event that will go down in B-ville history. Some want to tar and feather him. When P.T.Barnum duped his patrons, day after day after year after year with fakes, tall tales and unbelievable spectacles, we made him a national icon in the entertainment business. He also was a wiz at great marketing and advertising campaigns, no matter how far- fetched. If anything, Doenges did something on par with this great legend.
People got hurt I hear? From trying to get balloons with money in them? Are people seriously that greedy to trample over one another or their children for a couple of bucks? Well, in the real world, YES. But here in B-ville we hold ourselves a little higher up the pole, remember? So I’m going to assume this didn’t really happen either. ( swallows hard….)
The last one I hear is…’I got out in the heat…”. Well, it IS July and it HAS been really hot. If that was the issue, you could have waited and watched it on the news. SURELY someone would have video of the event had it really happened.
Hands down, I would have loved to see a truck smash from the tower ( an older junked out inoperable one preferably) but I knew in all reality it PROBABLY wasn’t going to happen. I would have attended it to just see what was really going to happen, but I was busy helping to set up for the H.O.T party a block over…so I missed it. But I wanted to be there.
My opinion is this was a pretty good ’stunt’. If you fell for the ‘misleading’ advertising then you aren’t living in 2009. C’mon, tell me you believe everything you hear and read in advertising? I RARELY do. But then again, I like watching “Pitchmen”. I wonder what Billy Mays would think of this?
Are you only hearing/reading about what happened?
Judge for yourself.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TE1DeiHIm7Q
Again, a rather luke-warm defense that depends on calling people “stupid” for expecting something that could live up to the hype.
This was not a stunt or a “light-hearted” joke…this was a “hoax” at best, most definately a “scam” and maybe even “fraud” (but what does one expect from a used car dealer)
It AMAZES me that the only defense offered is that those that braved the 100+ temp were stupid and should have known better. This argument is NOT making things better and those perpetrating it should create a more convincing talking point.
All we expected was for the event to live up to the hype. They might as well got us all there and yelled “PSYCHE!!!”
Did Brad or anyone from the company say anyone was stupid? I can’t recall any official comments of that nature. There was nothing of that nature, Dealerships already have the reputation of lieng and being decietful. Lie they did not, deciet maybe, depends on your definition. This dosent mean the company is full of liars and bad people. I know and have known MANY people that have and still do work there. I dont know any of them to be liars. Does a joke or a trick you play on somebody define who you are? I like how EE is regulating its comments, of all the people you would think the press would allow all comments. At least Brad will be posting all, even though most will probably not be in his favor. That shows more integrity then the newspaper at least.
I fully believed a truck was going to go off the roof at Price Tower. It was suppose to be a stunt. This kind of stunt is really done quite often in movies with a few tricks involved. There is no reason to think this was not going to happen.
It should not have been an ad.
More than anything it is obvious that a majority of the “positive” comments posted in the paper and other places are fakes. This is really the part that makes me the most upset. Not one of the twenty or more peopIe I have talked to at Braums, The Food Pyramid, or The Mall has had anything good to say about this.
Look you guys goofed big time. I think a real and full aplolgy is necessary. I don’t think you are bad people, nor that Doenges is a bad place to buy cars. If you really want to make amends - do something thrilling at Price Tower - hire a good magician or something.
No, I don’t believe Doenges has addressed anyone’s complaints/criticisms in any way (officially). Look at the EE and other places, the ONLY defense has been “you shouldn’t have fallen for it” or “If you fell for the ‘misleading’ advertising then you aren’t living in 2009. C’mon, tell me you believe everything you hear and read in advertising?”. In other words, if you believed you would see something that matched the hype, you are stupid.
You say they didn’t lie? see “Chris Oldroyd, director of marketing and advertising at Doenges, said the truck will drop approximately 190 feet.” in the EE.
We only wanted for the actual event to live up to the expectation.
Someone has started a Doenges Ford Sucks group now… http://bit.ly/SqmtN
[...] To make matters worse, when people started using the COME SEE A FORD F-150 DROPPED FROM PRICE TOWER page to share their frustration, all the comments were deleted one by one, and then ultimately the site was locked to not allow any posts. I had commented on the site as well, and received an email from the advertising person at Doenges Ford. If interested in his email and my response I have posted that as well (but for length, I left it off of this post). The most interesting point in the letter is that he deemed the event a “massive success, deemed both by the public, and by the media.” The Ford dealer bought a full page ad in the Sunday paper trying to reinforce his point of view about the event, and has posted an update to his blog. [...]
A few thoughts on the “event”
1. Some people probably came thinking it was really going to happen. Some people came thinking there was a catch to it but expecting at least a good show. Either way, after arriving, almost NOBODY thought it was going to be a real drop since there was no equipment to do the necessary lifting and the area was not set up for it. People just stayed around for what was PROMISED to be a fun and entertaining show. Almost NOBODY thought it was either fun or entertaining.
2. The balloons were a monumentally bad idea. The crowd was huge and even if people did not want to participate they still had mean greedy people climbing over them. My daughter was standing far off to the side away from the crowd and not even trying to get balloons. Still one came near her and an older boy came and shoved her out of the way to get to it. Plus, I have spoken to several people who got balloons and no person got more than $1 (a dollar is just pathetic).
3. A banner is not fun and entertaining (which is what was promised). Most people don’t consider 2000 people fighting for $1000 in small bills in 100 degree heat to be fun or entertaining either. The person above was correct when he posted about the gap between expectations and reality. Most everyone expected SOMETHING interesting. What they got was an indication that Doenges does not respect their community.
4. $4500 off of a truck is nothing. Consumers hear dumb advertisements like this every day. I am quite certain that the “price drop” is a gimmick comprised of factory incentives that don’t cost Doenges a cent in the first place. This “event” had the feeling of a grocery store buying air time during the Super Bowl so that they can advertise that milk is 10 cents off (and not even bothering to think up a witty commercial).
5. Here is an idea of what could have been done. Print up a few thousand “entry forms” (enough for everyone) and drop them from the same location as the balloons. Have everyone fill them out (limit one per person) and put them in a bin to draw for a new F150. Then Doenges could really say they “dropped an F150 from the Price Tower” and the payoff would have been good enough that people would not have been as upset. Maybe you could have drawn a few extra names for small money prizes or gift certificates.
6. Some marketing people think there is no such thing as bad publicity. They are wrong. Several years ago I had a bad experience trying to buy a car from Doenges. I walked away from the sale then and had not been back. However, a couple of years ago I bought a used Ford elsewhere and I have taken it to Doenges for service. Now Doenges will no longer get even my service business. If the opinions I have hear and read in the last 3 days are any indication, Doenges has done their business a great disservice.
Sooo…Mr. Doenges…Are we hiding? collecting p.o.’ed comments for rebuttal? (that will take a while) Preparing an apology? Where are you? I believe your post above promises a post on the morning of the 13th or was that just a “lighthearted joke” as well? My suggestion: fire your marketing manager… issue an apology/take the heat off the Price Tower… take a class on effective marketing / how to use social media… lay low for a while, don’t overreact… make a generous contribution/sponsorship to Young Professionals for overshadowing the HOT street party with your controversy… You may need to coordinate a truck “give-a-way” to make up lost ground.
Then after all that…. DO IT AGAIN.
I note that Doenges’ defenders continue to say they never called the people who actually fell for the promotion stupid, and that fact is literally true. However, implying they should have known there was no way a truck could go off the Price Tower is the same thing.
I think before this event people tended to see Brad Doenges as a fairly mild-mannered and different kind of car person, and that he really was going to do something spectacular. He should try to learn lessons from people like Richard Nixon, who tried hiding and denial, only to forever tarnish their reputations.
What works in this situation is a full apology with some type of “do-over” event. No one is perfect. We all make mistakes, and I actually think people would embrace Doenges if he did this sincerely and with contrition. Anything less will never work, and this is the kind of stain that will only spread.
There are obviously a number of people already who will now never buy a car from Doenges again. These people are sure to tell their friends and future residents of Bartlesville not to trust or buy from Doenges.
I always wondered what happened to the Molder Motors guys! I see they’re working over at Doenges now. Say hi to Jigidy Jake for me.
how can you call a comment fake? for all we know 90% of the negative comments are fake.. could be all the same people posting differently..
I highly doubt the marketing director will be fired. I’m sure he pitched the idea and Brad accepted it. What they wanted to happen did. It got the Doenges name out all over Bartlesville and NE Oklahoma. I guess the only way I could describe the people who felt betrayed as collateral damage. As I am sure they would not do this to intentionally harm or betray anyone. It was ment to give everyone an AH-HAH moment, not a FU moment. As far as quoting goes, its truly hard to determine the difference between a play of words and a lie. “Chris Oldroyd, director of marketing and advertising at Doenges, said the truck will drop [from]approximately 190 feet” what was actually said we will never know. Whats the source the EE??? I wont believe diddley squat from it, when my mulitple comments only had a 25% success rate. They are not staying neutral to the issue.
[...] event. Citizens used YouTube, Facebook, personal blogs, newspaper article comment areas, and the Ford dealer’s personal blog let their voice be [...]
Hey Mairking_uber_fail, just thought I would let you know what a hateful comment you made about the Moulder Motors guys…. remember the ones with the fun commercials that were entertaining and silly? They got our attention didn’t they? Well, you chose to ridicule them like the small-minded person you are… Want to know why they closed down? Wondering where they work now? Feel so much better than them right about now don’t you? Well Jiggity Jiggity Jake has cancer and he is unable to work and has been for quite some time. So… the guy is dying and you are making fun of him for it… Nice Job.
Brad, I think he best thing you could do about now is get rid of your marketing director who is so full of himself… and yes I know that because I have had dealings with him recently. Let him go work in another town and lick his wounds… possibly he will be the better for it.
You need to save face and have another shindig and feed everyone in town with a nice sandwich and a coke… I’m sure you will choose Dink’s because everyone else does and no one in this town ever thinks very hard… Then stand your rich butt out there all day long and admit to every single person you screwed up and your sorry. Give balloons to the kids, have a clown and some pony rides and be done with it.
Meowlicious: You REALLY need to take a chill pill dude. Small minded? Really? Wow he has cancer? I’m assuming every single citizen of Bartlesville knows this? How is that a hateful comment? You said their commercials were “entertaining and silly” and isn’t that what the defenders are implying of what Doenges did? “So the guy is dying and you are making fun of him for it..Nice Job.” That has got to be the most ridiculous comment I’ve ever read. FYI I found their commercials highly amusing but AFAIK few people saw the humor in them.
The defenders of the Doenges/Price Tower Hoax will never be able to say enough to convince those of us, who stood in the 100+ degree temps, that any part of this Ford Drop fiasco was in any way OK. It was WRONG, WRONG, WRONG, and your only making it worse!! Do you not get the fact that people are angry? No one likes to be the Butt of anyones joke. I promise you that Anywhere people congregate, this is what they are talking about, and I’m certain they aren’t saying good things.
There needs to be an apology, and not an OOPS! we goofed apology typed on one little website. You need to use the same Media outlets used in creating this Farce! Put yourself out there and prove to us that you and everyone involved are Sorry!!
This isn’t a ‘Once Upon A Time’ kind of story, it’s a ‘ One Dark and Stormy Night’ kind of story. I’m just waiting to see how it ends.
Meowlicious - I’m with Mairking_uber_fail — chill!
I agree the stunt could have been executed better - but it does have everyone talking, and when I was at Walmart I saw the office manager from Doenges who told me they haven’t had but a few negative calls on Friday and that business has increased exponentially - which I believe as the office manager has no reason to do any “spin control”…and when I drove by headed to the mall for Lunch, the lot looked busy. Paris Hilton is a star because of bad press. Now, I don’t think the Doenges folks thought everything through - I agree with everyone…but, the Examiner CLEARLY didnt research it before they printed it (even the quotes are from the ad!!! ha!).
As far as their marketing director - I’ve met him at a few civic events, and I gotta be honest, the guy is great. He’s from here and has been all over the world and has a lot of insight into the community and marketing. Perhaps he mis-anticipated how a segment of a small Oklahoma town would react to the PR stunt and missed that mark a little… but calling for his resignation is just silly, and to be honest, you (having said “you’ve had dealings with”him) just come across as being jealous and bitter. And the attempt to start an argument that a guy with cancer is being made fun of? Come on! It’s like a professor at ORU used to say - “the weak in mind are the first to look for the fight”
Wasn’t Moulder Motors run out of town from fruad? Actual fraud, not “we are dropping an f150″ play of words. Like, not paying liens on vehciles that were sold?? I could be wrong but I beleive that was the case. Jiggity Jake was goffy as all get out, but just like the banner drop ,or excuse me, f150 drop, it did what the wanted it to.
And to comment on the Marketing director seems like a cunning smart fellow. Fairly bright anyways, Heck he got 2,500 people or so just to come see a banner drop. Thumbs up to him. I couldnt do it.
I’m so glad I don’t live in Bartlesville anymore. The Price Tower should not have been complicit in this hoax by posting it on their official facebook page.
Scott, they didnt. It was posted on there by members/friends…not by the organization.
For anyone who doesnt think that people were actually injured by people who were doing anything that they had to do to get a balloon go out to Walker-Brown funeral home and talk to the older gentleman who answers the door out there. He has two black eyes and a cut up face. He couldnt have went to the street party if he had wanted to because he spent his night in the emergency room getting his face fixed. Also ask him about the pregnant lady that was in the emergency room when he was because she had been knocked to the ground and stomped on during the mayham. Neither of these people were even in the drop zone area when it happened but it was caused by people running for the balloons and not worrying about who was in their way.
What is considered the “drop zone”? I was almost a block away and had balloons over my head. There was no way to predict what would happen. And why would it be Doenges Ford’s fault for OTHER PEOPLE injuring bystanders??…. I specifically remember a comment asking people to refrain from injuring others while the balloons were dropped, just like the with the F150 drop people only heard what they wanted, “Theres money in them thar balloons”. They didn’t hear “please be careful”. Would you file a case against Doenges for selling a vehicle to someone, and then they injured someone with that vehicle? I wouldn’t! Would I file a case against the ones that injured?… You betchya! I’m sure they thought the town could take consideration of other people in their quest for a balloon stuffed with a few dollars in it…..
As well as taking a bit of humor…
The person responsible for a promotion is responsible for all foreseeable impacts caused by that promotion. Your own statement shows the very reason that Doenges was responsible for any injuries. “I was almost a block away and had balloons over my head.”
Your example of Doenges “selling a vehicle to someone, and then they injured someone with that vehicle”, is false. The only way the dealer would be liable is if something was wrong with the car and they knew it (or should have known it). In the case of this promotion it was OBVIOUS what would happen. That they made an announcement shows that they knew it was obvious. Making that announcement does not release them from liability (ethical or legal) for their actions.
Thousands of people came not knowing exactly what to expect. However, they were ASSURED it would be safe. These same people did not have the ability to get out of the way. I was away from the main crowd over by the Price Tower covered parking. When the drop was announced I took my daughter even further away. Still a balloon came over and a teenage boy came and shoved my daughter (she was not injured).
Here is a real life example. When a radio station announces a call in promotion, they are responsible for their incoming calls. If they do not coordinate with the telephone company then they can and will be held responsible if a flood of calls knocks out phone service (which is why you often get a fast busy signal instead of a normal busy signal when you call a radio station). A “money drop” is no different.
When you drop a limited amount of cash on a large crowd the outcome is entirely predictable. There is going to be a great deal of pushing and shoving and people are going to get hurt. It doesn’t matter if someone says “be nice”. Your argument is no different than defending someone for speeding down a residential street and hitting someone who “shouldn’t have been in the street”.
I stayed home, I had a feeling there was not going to be a truck dropped and if my gamble was wrong? I was pretty sure I’d see it on the news or youtube.
I just want to say. I’m not mad, I don’t really care either way. Too many other things going in the world to harp on this for days and days.
That being said, I hope I am not wrong about the Doenges’ family. I hope this ‘thing’ was not intended to upset so many people. I hope that looking back, you say, “I wish we had thought this through a little more.”
Good luck
Seems like all the members The “Morality Police” Force in Bartlesville will not be satisfied unless and until they have completed the character assassination(s) of the Doenges Family.
Then they will form a mob of vigilantes to tar and feather Brad Doenges and drag him down Frank Phillips Boulevard behind a 2009 Ford Platinum F-150 pickup.
I have always considered the Bartlesville community as civilized and level headed.
It only takes one or two kooks__________________ ________(you can finish this statement in any way or form that melts your butter.)
There is perhaps one too many extremists in the community.
Get a life!
So - I’ve now wasted 9 minutes of my life reading all this - but what frightens me is those of you with multiple posts…some over the span of the past few days - and it makes me think to myself? DONT YOU HAVE LIVES?
Did you not see a bus driver was accused of molesting someone in our town? Or that the elderly population in Dewey could be dying thanks to the power outages? This is what you have to bitch about?? Really?
Bigger picture, folks, bigger pictures.
If they pissed you off don’t buy a Ford… but spending this much time and this much energy shows how pathetic some of your lives really are. Go out and help the world. This will be the only post I make, and the only time I visit this site. Perhaps you should make the same commitment and go find a REAL cause to be upset over!
Darryl
Darryl Busy Day
Good Post.!
You are right. there are bigger and better things in life.
There is an exception here, part of your post reads like a Oxymoron, don’t you think.?
If you read all the posts from the last few days in 9 minutes send me the secret. I will pass it along. And if you think it is foolish to be here, why are you here?
This is a debate. Yes some go overboard. Big Deal.
I am fortunate that I don’t have to work.but also deserving of my position.
I do volunteer work in several organizations up to 50 hours a week for people who have not been as blessed as me. This is a real blessing to me.
This is what life is about at least to me.
“Seriously”
Since I don’t know your name I can’t say if we have met or not.
I donate time and money to several Burn Unit Hospitals around the country.
If you ever think you are having a bad day, or feeling sorry for yourself just walk into a burn unit.
I help raise money and get volunteers to donate their time. If you are interested send me your contact information.
^^^^^
Opinions are great.. You have the right to share them I have the right to ignore them. See above.
On another note..
Let me be political here real quick. Using correct wording can go a long way. I am not trying to say Doenges’ would not be held liable I am saying I don’t think they should be nor could I personally hold them accountable for other peoples actions. Maybe thats my differing values of others, its sad next time they do something amazing, weather noone comes or not, we will all have to sign a wavier to witness it. Would it be different trying to get the game ball at Doenges Memorial Stadium and someone tackling you for it there? Maybe my comparisons are not the best, but I still hold with MY OPINION. Obviously my opinion would not hold up on anything besides a debate/blog. Nor do I beleive I will change anyone elses beleifs on the subject, but I do believe in sharing my opinion.
See above referring to Darryl’s post.. Might I make that clear
Nice one.I love your blog.If you want we can make link exchange.Just let me know.
Cheers!