Amazon's Missed Messaging

I get a lot of Amazon packages delivered to my home every week.

The delivery routine is consistent:

1. I get an alert on my phone to let me know my package is "10 stops away". Incedentially, this isn't helpful and doesn't tell me anything about when my package will arrive since I don't know how close those other stops are to my house. But I digress.

2. Some time later, my doorbell rings; the driver is usually gone before I reach my door.

3. I get a text message on my phone, with a photo of my package on my doorstep as proof of delivery. Either the driver takes the photo before ringing the doorbell, or the Amazon delivery person in my area is Usain Bolt.

4. My office Alexa device starts slow-blinking yellow, indicating I have a notification. The notification is "Your [item I ordered] has been delivered."

This routine works well for me.

I understand that Amazon drivers have a lot of packages to deliver on a given day, and I certainly don't expect them to wait for me at the door to hand me my delivery.

But I also don't expect this to be printed on the package:

"Couldn't wait to meet you."

When you're excited to meet someone for the first time, you might say, "I can't wait to meet you." In that context, the phrase is a positive expression of excitement and interest.

But when printed on a package left at your front door, the sentiment goes from "excited we'll soon connect" to "I'm so busy and simply can't be bothered to wait for you".

The medium is the message.

Canadian communication theorist Marshall McLuhan coined the phrase "the medium is the message" to suggest that the channel by which a message is communicated impacts how we perceive and understand that information as much as the content itself.

In this case, the marketing team's attempt to be playful on Amazon's packaging results in a very different message than what was likely intended.

No one is likely to cancel their Amazon Prime account over some text on an envelope.

But it's also not something that will enhance the brand, and that's a mistake.

A company's packaging (like its website, mobile apps, store-front signage, and delivery vehicles) is incredibly valuable owned media that needs to be carefully considered.

It should reinforce your brand's image, positioning, personality, or all of the above.

When it doesn't, it's a missed messaging opportunity.

And it's not something a company can afford to do often.