Worst pitch of the month: Chatwing and the 'most sophisticated' live chat tool
For many parts of the United States, Labor Day weekend could signal that T-shirt weather (translation: summer) is going to end soon.
Here in San Francisco, it's just the opposite. And thanks to a very unusual (and maybe unwarranted) package I received a few weeks ago, perhaps I'm more prepared than ever.
This month's winner for the worst pitch of the month won the title for the simple reason that it creeped me out. I tend to embrace social media more willingly, and even wholeheartedly in some cases, than most of my friends -- even for being a member of the so-called "Millennial" generation.
By now, I'm also quite accustomed to many PR reps following me on Twitter, some of whom I share lovely banter with from time-to-time.
But this...use, as you could call it, of my Twitter account takes the cake.
Chatwing, advertised as an "unlimited live website or blog chat experience," attempted a somewhat rarer approach in trying to reach me by sending this via snail mail. (I'll warn every PR rep right now against this method, regardless of what the product is, just because I don't check my actual mailbox, well, ever.)
When I first opened the bubble envelope, I noticed there was a two page infosheet as well as a bright yellow t-shirt. While it felt as soft as Jersey cotton, I'm generally not a T-shirt fan -- nor as a journalist do I like accepting gifts at all.
I was about to put the shirt back in the envelope when I noticed something staring back at me from the back panel: myself.
Take a look for yourself:
Yup, that's my profile picture from my Twitter profile (or likely some other social network; it doesn't matter) silkscreened onto the back of the shirt.
Certainly, I get that it was to demonstrate both the platform as well as grab my attention. Here's an excerpt from the pitch, with the same punctuation on the letter:
Hey Rachel,
We hope you dig the 1 of a kind "Rachel King" Chatwing shirt! Hopefully the shirt catches enough of your attention to look a little deeper into Chatwing as it's emerging as a popular communication tool online, people say Chatwing is the most sophisticated live chat tool they have seen.
Thanks!
The Chatwing Team
Again, I have to give it to them for grabbing my attention. This method certainly worked, but it does have me questioning the privacy settings on my social networking accounts once again.
Previous editions of Worst Pitch of the Month: