I am a frequent visitor to Starbucks… just as I am heavy user of Facebook… just as I am obsessed with swiping my finger across my iPhone. It is common that I do all three things at the same time. As I am standing in line or waiting for my drink at Starbucks, I would [...]
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Marketplace: According to a DMA report, 93.7% of respondents using non-catalog direct mail, receive responses online!
Industry: Only 39% of marketers customize the landing page - Many marketers think the outbound campaign is doing the heavy lifting and the landing page exists only as a passive collection cup for leads generated. - Marketing sherpa report
Marketplace: 54% of respondents in a consumer survey said they had a more favorable opinion of the companies that send them email. - Epsilon (Oct 2008)
Industry: Almost half of interactive marketers surveyed say their organization struggles to prove the ROI of its efforts, while 7 in 10 say there are understaffed to do so. - Forrester Research (2008)
Marketplace: Engaging your audiences in more relevant communications increases net profits by an average of 18 times more than broadcast mailing - Jupiter Research
Industry: 51.4% of printers do not offer variable data printing - Printing Industries of America, Digital Printing Council.
We do what we do, to help marketing service providers produce innovative campaigns that succeed in the marketplace.
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This ad ran in Singapore, but has been ruffling feathers all around the world, especially in the US.
In an interview for marketing-interactive singapore, Jayine Chung, copywriter for Religion, the ad agency that worked on the ad, said “Our client wanted something edgy and not something you would expect from a fast-food chain“.
Do sexy messages work for your business? Definitely not with every marketing segment, but that is where variable data printing comes into play.
== Test which messages work for each marketing segment and speak to each person in a way that motivates a response. ==
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For those of you who are tired of going through emails, tweets, facebook posts, Digg articles, RSS feeds, outlook calendars…. it is time to move on to a different medium for the second half of Monday. Grab a cup of cold coffee and a stale donut from the break room, sit back and watch some videos.
My [...]
Holidays are a great way to get ahead.
To get ahead of your work, get ahead of the game, take a step back and think about where your marketing is going/ where your business is going, while spending more quality time with the people you love.
This year has been a really turbulent year for marketing. The economy resulted in slashed budgets, more cost-consciousness (see ‘death of direct mail‘), less time for ‘real marketing’ more time on social networks, lower consumer spending has meant lower campaign ROI and ultimately a lot of jobs lost).
So if anything, this weekend is a good time to take a step back, get a view from 15,000 feet and re-learn marketing if necessary.
Here’s how:
#1 Sign up for these feeds:
Network for Good (Learn best practices in non-profit marketing)
BtoB magazine (Because B2B requires different strategies)
Chris Brogan (Social Media Business Strategy)
Hoovers (Marketing with a perspective on data)
DPS Magazine (Keep ahead of what’s next in print)
American Printer (The latest printing news)
#2 Pick up a great marketing book and devour it this weekend
#3 Watch these videos we compiled for you on youtube.
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Imagine if the guy in the picture is knocking on your front door or is walking into your office with a briefcase. More than certain, your reaction would be, “annoying salesman is trying to sale me something I don’t need.” Half way through his pitch, you would probably tell him you are not interested and [...]
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#1 Use different channels.
Lots of celebrities make money from different channels. From showbiz to sports, the key to making a fortune is multiple streams of income. Tiger woods is a fine example of this; he’s made over $25 million in prize money. Not a lot? Together with off-course earnings, he’s made almost $1 bil. Currently ($97,919,714).
For marketers, the core statistic is probably response rates and ROI, but the method is the same. Use different channels including email, direct mail, personalized web-pages, social media, print, traditional media,… to achieve your goal. The better you get each channel to complement each other, the more success you will enjoy.
#2 Prepare for the unexpected.
Wimbledon fans will remember the longest final in history just a year ago between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. Many tennis fans call that match the greatest in history, but it required that both players were prepared for the unexpected and were physically and mentally in shape.
Are you prepared for the unexpected with your marketing campaigns? Do you have the tools to understand the underlying dynamics behind your campaign statistics. Is a new marketing segment beginning to respond to you, are your competitors imitating your campaigns, do you need to change your approach.
#3 Bad publicity is still publicity
(Just ask Paris Hilton)
If you’re reading this, it is likely that you won’t have to deal with bad publicity often. Frankly you almost wish you had some bad publicity to deal with. This point is still important to you as a marketer.
You still have to deal with negative sentiments towards your campaign. If you’re mass marketing the same campaign to the same list regularly. Chances are you are damaging your brand and making your recipients less receptive to what you have to say.
Learn from Paris, take a bad and use it for your benefit. Use the opportunity to rebrand your company/ marketing campaigns and turn negative sentiments around. (Of course not everyone will be convinced, remove them from your list! )
#4 What do people remember you for?
Take a page out of Donald Trump’s play book. When you hear the name Trump, you associate it with perfection.
What do your recipients associate your brand with? Humourous campaigns, long boring text, spam? Make sure you control how people view your brand and keep to it. Marketing success often comes with repetition.
#5 It’s all about the campaign
On her current concert tour, Lady GAGA very boldly tells her fans that for her, it is all about the music, not the money. This refreshing approach to music is however the reason for her success.
Similarly, by focusing your campaigns on the recipient’s experience, making the conversation about them (not about you or your brand), then campaign success will follow. Make sure the campaign tools you have in your arsenal: design, messaging, campaign offers, marketing channels… work to this purpose.
#6 Practice, Practice, Practice (or Test, Test, Test)
Only 1 player in the recent history of the NBA has the ability to unite the world around a sport. Michael Jordan, perhaps the greatest player in the history of the NBA, often attributes his success to his focus on training.
Similarly, marketers need to constantly hone their skills and test each campaign. Will a simple change in email subject line improve responses? What about a new offer, a new marketing channel, a new way to use social media, a new presentation style, a new sales pitch…
Make sure you are constantly testing, the marketing landscape changes quickly, what works today may not work tomorrow.
—> In remembrance of another MJ
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I recently attended a day of events at Ad:Tech Singapore, mainly to get a feel of the general sentiment in the marketing community in Asia.
I have to say, much of the sentiment is the same. The main focus is still on the dollars and sense; basically measuring the performance of the various marketing mediums, finding cheaper/better ways to reach the user/customer and providing better user benefit.
A lot of talk was on digital marketing, and how it has to be connected with traditional media as well as social media on different ends of the spectrum.
In terms of marketing technology of the future, mobile seems to be the unanimous way to go. Although I still have my qualms about its unique ability to more deeply invade and distract the user and in some cases make them pay for it.
Incidently, Yahoo now has mobile advertising. See http://searchmarketing.yahoo.com/mobile/
One of the main differences in Asia (apart from the less mature markets) is the distribution of online spend. As far of marketing budgets go, the online budget is almost about 1%, much less than the (>20%) average in US and Europe.
I heard the same complains from online advertising companies that 30% of your customers are online so shouldn’t 30% of your budget be allocated to online mediums. I still disagree with this thought process.
Simply because online marketing (when done right) provides a better ROI than a print ad in a popular publication/ tradeshows and especially TV ads. So while I agree that online budgets should increase, I do so for an entirely different reason, they work!
In the words of one of the panelist from Yahoo. Online marketing flattens the marketing ‘ecosystem’ - your prospects go from awareness to retention to acquistion almost immediately.
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