Tony Robbin’s four-and-a-half-decade-built brand settles on a foundation of honesty and inclusivity. His advice flows from his self-proclaimed authenticity. This especially comes through as he reveals his hard times. Of course this includes his abusive family life. And his struggles as an entrepreneur. All these have set a firm foundation. You wouldn’t think his marketing would overlook these areas of contradiction to his brand.
Contradiction #1: TR Marketing Embracing Long Periods Sitting
Robbins is mostly a vegan. He used to consume lots of fish but got mercury poisoning. This nearly took his life. Robbins went back to veggies with some animal proteins. So, he stands for healthy eating and a healthy way of living.
Healthy Sitting?
Sitting has been called the new cancer. But it’s not going away, Tony Robbins’ athletic coach advised. You sit on the toilet. You sit in your desk chair. You sit in the theater. You sit waiting at the doctor’s office. You sit in a restaurant. Wow, I thought, shaking my head, He’s right.
But 44 hours of sitting even with exercise breaks is a big ask. That’s what’s coming to those that take him up on the offer of Unleash the Power Within. Unleash the Power Within is coming. Save these four days on March 21-23, 2024, to get in front of your monitor. The marketing tends to show the at home experience as active. But how active will it be?
Sitting = Healthy
Doesn’t equal… does it?
Contradiction #2 to TR Marketing Truthful Messaging —Ticket vs. Access
Take a look at this!
Now, watch this!
It’s clever positioning a $495 access to a seminar as a ticket….
As billed, the ticket is fabulous marketing choice for wording. But not calling the ticket virtual until the third detailed section of the website is tricky. That’s inconsistent with the TR brand.
Ticket equals a performance. I can’t think of any other marketing agency who has called a seminar internet access a ticket. But I’m new to this game.
That’s genius marketing. But it’s also a touch dishonest. The hero section of the website doesn’t mention virtual access. It says ticket. And the feeling of what you get when you’re sold the package is an in-person ticket to a live event.
Access doesn’t equate to a ticket in your mind. Or does it?
Contradiction #3 TR Brand Stretches The Free Access Summit
The interactive summit isn’t exactly free as billed.
TR marketing can’t resist an upsell 1 once you sign up. Check out the wording on the site once you get into it.
“When does each day of the Summit start? Each day will start at 11AM PT | 2PM ET. Your link will be available on your general admission.”
General Admission?
$0 gets you YT/FB live video access of the summit and the opportunity to type into a text box.
VIP Access?
$49 gets you Zoom summit access, a recording of the full 9-hour event, and last, a Q and A with Tony Robbins after the event each day once YouTube recording has stopped.
Being present in the Zoom chat window also gives you access to limited Robbins Unleash the Power Within event winnings.
“You’re coming to Unleash the Power Within!” Robbins screams. But is this a virtual or in person ticket? It gets quite confusing.
So, as you can see, the marketing machine was already humming even in free event mode. And perhaps this is why Robbins opted to deliver so much free content because of the VIP participants.
Contradiction #4 Not Valuing People’s Time
Summit ran over the time limit every day except the bonus day.
You’re set for 3 hours of your day to spend with the Tony Robbins. But that’s not what you get. You get over that amount. That can be an issue if your schedule is tight. Especially as he talks about taking control of your time in the future.
Granted, Tony Robbins gives you all his energy and know-how in the three hours he’s with you. But that often means he extends over the time limit. This can be problematic for viewers who can only save three hours for their seminar experience.
Tale of the YouTube Tape
Day 1: Approximately 3:14:00
Day 2: Approximately 3:41:30
Day 3: Approximately 3:16:00
Bonus Day 4: Approximately 2:59:00
If you look at YouTube as of the tenth of February, these time durations above have all been edited by TR YT to a bit over 3 hours.
Contradiction #5 TR Marketing Leverages Scarcity Only To Defy It
The package deal for Summit attendees was supposed to end at midnight Saturday. But Tony Robbins virtual seminar was about 80% capacity. The day 4 was announced as a bonus. Still, it was clear the TR marketing was up to give out more value to put tails in virtual seats.
As of 1/31/2024…the countdown timer is at…
1 Day: 5 Hours : 59 Minutes: 45 Seconds
It was stated that this price was only open to Summit attendees only. Yet users could get on the website without any way of verifying that they were at the event and still get the bonuses and same offer.
Bonus: Contradiction #6 Website Not Accessible To All Users
I ran the TR website through the checker. It was ranked as not quite there yet. As I talked to James Cook, Unleash the Power from Within 1990 graduate, he said. “If I know Tony, that (website accessibility) is probably in the 20% of tasks Tony hasn’t gotten to. Verdict? Not yet ADA compliant.
Closer look….
Here’s the scorecard deep view….
Your TR Marketing Evaluation Wrap Up
Tony Robbins is the rock star of the Self Help. But TR marketing tactics aren’t a smooth match with his personality or values.
Here’s a wrap up of the things you might want to be leery of as you meet up with TR marketing.
- Not Being True: Tony talks a lot about being honest and including everyone, but some of the marketing felt fake. It made me wonder if everything’s as honest as it seems.
- Healthy Living Mix-up: Tony’s big on being healthy, but we ended up sitting a lot during the Summit. It felt strange, like it didn’t match what he usually says.
- Confusing Ticket Stuff: They called it a “ticket” to go to the virtual seminar, but it turned out to be only online access. And that wording and presentation on his website felt a bit sneaky.
- Running Late All the Time: Tony talks about managing time well, but the Summit kept going over the scheduled time. It made me wonder why they couldn’t stick to the schedule.
- Tricky Marketing Tactics: They made it seem like there were only a few spots left, but it felt fake. And the website wasn’t easy for everyone to use, which wasn’t fair to people with disabilities. What if they couldn’t read the figurative fine print?
Overall, you’ll like Tony’s message, but the way the Summit marketed Unleash the Power Within makes you question if everything’s as genuine as Robbins says.
Be Wary friends of TR Marketing, and Stay Tuned
Learned a long time ago in marketing…. you have got to make it stick with your honesty. And these are the areas where the Tony Robbins’ Marketing Machine slips through the cracks.
But stay tuned next month as I go over all the TR marketing team gets right.
If you liked this post, please share, and stick around to see what is so right about the TR marketing machine. Until next time….be your top-shelf you.