CLASSY PROMO + EPILEPTIC SENIORS

Before getting on to the DM postings today, let me say thanks for coming back after my few weeks’ blog vacation. We’re now back to regular Monday blogging.

ONE CLASSY PROMO

Like everyone else with a pulse, I get boatloads of credit card promos each month. But one I received recently not only stood out among them…it stood out among all my other mail. It was from Capital One.

What was so immediately striking was the outer envelope. Jet black front and back, with a logo and postal permit printed in silver metallic ink on the face, and the return address printed on the flap in the same way. Talk about compelling. And classy.

They used more metallic ink on the letter, which made their sales points stand out even more. And for good measure, they affixed a heavy cardboard faux credit card onto the top of the letter.

TIP: If your competitors are screaming features and benefits like carnival barkers, try whispering in a distinguished way. You’ll be heard by more prospects than the rest of them combined.


EPILEPTIC SENIORS
Epilepsy Canada caught my attention with their latest package two ways: (1) it was thick, so obviously there was something inside besides a letter (2) the OE asked, “Did you know at 65 the risk increases?”

I didn’t know that seniors are at greater risk of developing epilepsy, so I opened up the package to learn more.

Inside, was notepaper done with the same tea-stain colouration and doily visual that was featured on the OE and the first page of the letter. Because they were talking about seniors, the doily motif made some sense, even if it is outdated by half a century or so.

Complementing the notepaper were blank envelopes. Yep, they too had the same colour and doilies as the other components. So all elements of the package held together well.

And with the copy containing useful information about the increased risk of seniors developing epilepsy, it was an effective one-two punch – visual plus cerebral appeal.

TIP: Go big or go home. Pick your horse and ride it to the finish line. Regardless of which of the preceding clichés you prefer, do what Epilepsy Canada did. Develop a theme and exploit it for all it’s worth. And if you have genuine news for people…give it to them. You’ll keep their interest and you’ll earn their gratitude.

At least you will if your target is anything like…

Dr. Bob
symbiomarketing@telus.net

SEE YOU ON THE 31st

Just a reminder that Direct Marketing Weekly will be back on Monday, March 31. See you then!
Dr. Bob

OGILVY + DARE + WEB + NO BLOG

OGILVY SAID IT BEST
Decades ago, ad guru David Ogilvy declared, “You cannot bore customers into buying your product.” Despite the wisdom of those words, there’s a certain non-profit organization that’s determined to prove him wrong.

They keep sending me the same renewal package – with the same letter and the same enclosures – over and over. Plus, they keep sending it to my wife. Between us, we must be getting the same package half a dozen times a month. Thanks to them, we now have enough address labels to wallpaper a house.

TIP: If you want recipients to think you’re really writing to them one-to-one (your best chance for a positive response), change the letter copy…change the envelope…change the enclosures. And figure that if someone has said ‘no’ to a package more than a couple of times, chances are that they’re going to keep saying ‘no’ the next dozen times.


DARE TO BE DIFFERENT
The other day I came home to find a promo piece hanging from my doorknob. There was no way to miss seeing it. There was no way to avoid touching it. And once it was in- hand, I couldn’t resist reading it.

It was from Dare the cookie people, offering $1 off the price of Vinta Snacks (whatever they are) and the opportunity to win a $10,000 landscaping package. Question for Dare – what does landscaping have to do with eating cookies?

Regardless, the piece got me thinking. In all my years in this business, I can’t recall ever running a campaign involving a door hanger. Maybe I should recommend it to a client. The cost of hand-placing hangers onto doorknobs has got to be pretty high, but maybe the results justify the cost.

TIP: In this day and age of corporate me-tooness, consider zigging instead of zagging. At least test doing something different every once in a while. After all, breakthroughs aren’t born from doing the same thing as everyone else or repeating your same promo (see posting above).


WEB SITE
Have you checked out my revamped web site? Go to: http://www.symbiomarketing.com


NO BLOG COMING
Yours truly is going to be away for the next couple of weeks and unable to write the blog. So I’ll see you back here on Monday, March 30th. Until then, best wishes from…

Dr. Bob
symbiomarketing@telus.net

NICKEL'S WORTH + QUICK ANSWER

GETTING THEIR NICKEL’S WORTH

For some time now, UNICEF has used an acquisition mailing that features a nickel showing through the window of a #10 envelope.

The teaser used to read something like, “This nickel could save a child’s life.” I ranted that the line made me retort, ”Then why are you giving it to me?!”

They’ve since changed it to the Dr. Bob-approved, “A nickel could save a child’s life”. But the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada hasn’t learned from UNICEF.

On Wednesday I received packages from both organizations. Yes, they both featured a 5-cent piece, but the teaser of the MS mailing read, “This nickel can help end MS.” So I repeat, “Then why are you giving it to me?!”

TIP #1: A single word can have a big impact on results, so choose each one with care. As Mark Twain once observed, “The difference between ‘lightning’ and ‘lightning bug’ is one word.”

TIP #2: If you’re going to use the same creative approach as a competitor, don’t be so obvious about it or you’ll be accused, justifiably so, as being a copycat. ALSO, don’t mail it at the same time – you’ll end up hurting both causes.


QUICK ANSWER

I received a sealed one-fold cardboard self-mailer showing a game card entitled “Quick Trivia”. It asked, “How many Internet users are there in North America?”

Being a curious soul, I slit the seal and opened the mailer. At the top was another depiction of a game card. This one read, “As of November 30, 2007, there were 237,168,545 Internet users – 18.8% of the world’s Internet users are in North America.”

When I awoke from the copy-induced snooze, I read the headline below it: “The only way to get your answers faster is with Shaw High-Speed Internet.”

TIP: If you’re pushing quickness, make the copy short and quick to read. The mailer would have been much more effective if the interior card had said simply, “237,168,545”, followed by “The only way to get your answers faster…”

That would have given readers a quick question, a quick answer, and a quick piece of information. And I predict that Shaw would have landed some new customers quite quickly. At least they would have if the recipients were anything like…

Dr. Bob
symbiomarketing@telus.net