Stephen King’s new novel, Cell, has a supporting Web site that predictably offers ringtones and wallpapers. I haven’t read the novel yet, but I have explored the site, and I have to say: The “Send the pulse to a friend” function sucks. (Sorry, Stephen.)

Here’s what happens: You go to the appropriate page on the site and enter your name, your email address and your friend’s email address. (That the word “friend” is in quotes is about the only intriguing element here, implying that you’re virally spreading some sort of Kingsian horror.)

Here’s the result: The subject of the resulting email line says, “Experience The Pulse from Stephen King.” Bland and commercial, but at least King’s name is there to hook fans of his work. The body of the email says:

I want you to experience “The Pulse” from Stephen King’s new novel “Cell”

Go here:
http://www.cellthebook.com/pulse

Regards,
Craig

That’s it. In its entirety. Every last word. Okay, it’s pithy, I’ll give them that. But could this be any more vanilla? Is it intriguing? Would people be entertained enough to want to go to the site and generate a similar email to their friends? Is there wit? To all those questions, I answer: I don’t think so. Hell, I’m not even sure this thing is CAN-SPAM compliant! (This is, after all, a commerical email, and for starters, there’s no valid physical postal address in the email.)

From the email side at least, cellthebook.com does not sellthebook well at all.

Takeaway for marketers: Examine every step of the customer experience with your site and make sure you’re maximizing your messaging opportunities.

This entry was posted on Saturday, February 25th, 2006 at 9:10 am and is filed under Internet Stuff, Marketing Stuff, Marketing Takeaways.