Print 4A Purpose

Marketing Conversation - Envelope Marketing

Envelopes Gone Wild - Here are some cutting edge examples of envelopes use to their fullest.

 

Mobile Marketing – It’s Time to Start

In the world of marketing, strategies are always evolving. Most marketers have already tapped into email marketing, and are playing with pay per click and search engine marketing - but how many people have given mobile marketing (SMS) a try?

I sat in on a mobile marketing webinar hosted by Hipcricket (which is a great name, by the way. How many have heard that "chirp, chirp" ring tone and thought of crickets?) This marketing is exploding. You have got to either get on board or you will get left behind, not only by the trend, but by your competition.

Listen to these facts from the webinar:

• 73% of mobile phone users said they WANT mobile coupons!
• Text messaging (SMS) campaigns have the widest reach. The average mobile user sends over 200 messages per month. Many of us have kids that send that many per day!
• Depending on the age demographic, 65% to 85% of the market has been penetrated.
  • 61% of those have texting plans
  • 22% have internet plans

But the mind-blowing, get-your-rear-in-gear revelation was this:

Mobile redemption of coupons will DOUBLE in 2010 and TRIPLE in 2011 & 2012.

I couldn't quite get a handle on their estimated dollar figures, but I DO know they were in the BILLIONS, as in 10 billion up to 30 billion.

The webinar then closed with some case studies that made me more of a believer. The primary case study was focused on Belle Tire, the 8^th largest tire distributor in the U.S. One of their execs, @don_barnes, walked through their whole process:

• How they got started
• What their objectives were
• How they executed campaigns
• How thrilled they are with the results.

The best news is….this is all stuff you can do as well. It's not rocket science. It's not cost prohibitive. Yes, there is a learning curve and it will add something to your "To Do" list. But that's where marketing service providers (MSP) come in and do all that grunt work for you. (INSERT: shameless plug - Advantage is a MSP)

The game is changing. Mobile marketing will become the norm sooner than later. Now is the time to get ahead of your competition. So if you haven't already done it, it's time to integrate traditional marketing methods with new digital tools.

 

David A Moore is a cross-media marketing junkie fueled by Mountain Dew. His habit is supported at Advantage Printing, a commercial print and marketing service provider serving churches, nonprofits and small businesses.

Follow me on Twitter: www.twitter.com/davidamoore

www.facebook.com/davidmoore.me

 

Direct Mail Tips for Political Campaigns

Direct mail is a hugely important part of any political campaign. Direct mail pieces serve as a connection to voters and can deliver your message in a controlled method. I've picked up a few more tips and tricks on my recent involvement in the state and local political campaigns.

Here are some basic political direct mail techniques that work:

Highlight your message - More than anything, voters want to know what you stand for and what you intend to do if elected. Make sure your values are highlighted in your message and that you use big, bold headlines to grab attention fast.

Target your campaign - Send different postcards to voters with different priority issues. Emphasize what is important to each voter segment. Rural voters might be interested in protecting agriculture, for instance; while other voters in the same district might be more interested in cutting taxes or support of education. These ideas do not conflict, so you can cater to both parties in your direct mail postcard campaigns.

Example: This is the address sided of a postcard mailed to hunters and was designed to capture their attention.

Example: This postcard was mailed to the farming community and was versioned for the specific county in which they lived.

Polish your image - Excellent direct mail postcard and brochure design goes a long way toward establishing your image to voters. You don't want to look like all the other candidates, so don't be afraid to try something different. You don't necessarily need to stick to the traditional red, white and blue.

Show voters you understand the size of the workload with an oversized postcard or brochure. A 6 x 11 postcard in the mailbox will certainly make you stand out against your competing candidates. And the good news; you can mail it at the same letter rates.

Get an immediate response - The ultimate goal of political direct mail campaigns is to persuade a particular voter to be on your side. You can increase your chances of being elected and collect valuable information by driving traffic to your website with a direct mail postcard. Ask voters to weigh in on the issues in an online survey, and include questions that yield demographic information. Better yet, you can determine who is already going to vote for you and who has not yet decided so you can develop more targeted campaigns as the election date draws near. You can do this in real time combining variable data printing with personalized URLs and social media tools like Facebook and Twitter.

Print quality - High-quality political printing showcases a high-quality candidate. For direct mail political postcards, use a minimum 12-point gloss stock or 100# cover matte paper. If you have a green agenda (as many voters do), you could go with eco-friendly 100% recycled stock. Brochures should be printed on 100# or 80# gloss text for optimal impact.

Your political campaign says everything about who you are, what you stand for and what you're going to do. Target your voters, highlight your message, showcase your image, be different and drive immediate response — all wrapped up in an effective postcard or brochure — and your next political direct mail campaign will be a hit with the voters.

 

David A Moore is a cross-media marketing junkie fueled by Mountain Dew. His habit is supported at Advantage Printing, a commercial print and marketing service provider serving churches, nonprofits and small businesses. He has provided marketing support on local and state level political campaigns since 2000.

Follow me on Twitter: www.twitter.com/davidamoore

www.facebook.com/davidmoore.me

 

Screencast - Marketing Conversation: Direct Mail B2B Example

Get it Opened, Get it Read, Get Results

Do you know what makes people open and read their mail? Survey says:

From a brand or company I know

Personally addressed to me

Interesting product or service

Can clearly see it contains a free sample or voucher

For local services or events

It's from the competition

Interesting package

Looks funny or humorous

Creative design

Attractive envelope

Color

Source: CCB fastMAP 2008 Marketing-GAP Research

David A Moore is a cross-media marketing junkie fueled by Mountain Dew. His habit is supported at Advantage Printing, a commercial print and marketing service provider serving churches, nonprofits and small businesses.

Follow me on Twitter: www.twitter.com/davidamoore

www.facebook.com/davidmoore.me

Mobile Marketing for the Small Business

We are on the front edge of the exploding mobile marketing trend. Most of us are willing participants in its growth with 87% of households using mobile devices. In a 2008 Harris poll, 37% of adults said they would be receptive to mobile advertising and 56% of teens wanted to see mobile ads with incentives (i.e. coupons, text-to-win). In 2009, we sent 110 billion text messages per MONTH! More than any other example, American Idol has shown that consumers are ready and willing to interact with mobile campaigns if the messages are timely and relevant.

 

So what does this mean to you? It means that mobile may be the single best channel to reach your customer.

Background brief: Text messages or SMS (Short Message Service) are sent via a Common Short Code (CSC), a five or six-digit special number such as 466453 (Google). You've seen campaigns to 'Text "WIN" to 35353' to enter a drawing for some type of giveaway. It's as simple as that.

The amazing fact is that you, I, and your customer are just waiting to be contacted and respond to mobile marketing campaigns. The American consumer has CLEARLY indicated that this is their preferred method to communicate. In 2006, we were sending an average of 65 messages/month which has increased to an estimated 500+/month. Mobile SMS campaigns have can have a 90% opt-in rate with response rates averaging 15% to 30%.

That's exactly why the major brands are already using mobile as part of their multi-channel, cross-media strategies. Just look around: Ashley Furniture, Jiffy Lube, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, Coke, NASCAR, etc., etc.,… Complimentary to all traditional media, mobile marketing leverages efforts of all the channels together. Like strands of a rope, the strongest campaigns use a combination of traditional, digital, mobile, and social media.

Now back to you; how can you participate? Where do you start? You will need to have a strategy, build your list, craft your offer, and execute your plan. All of this is available to any small business. You don't have to have any technical knowledge or infrastructure to pull it off. Cost? It all depends (the vague answer), but you will be amazed at how reasonable (if not cheap) it can be to execute a mobile marketing campaign.

Do your research. Ask around and then take notice of the mobile campaigns going on all around you. And if I can help you get started down the path of mobile marketing, let's talk.

 

David A Moore is a cross-media marketing junkie fueled by Mountain Dew. His habit is supported at Advantage Printing, a commercial print and marketing service provider serving churches, nonprofits and small businesses.

Follow me on Twitter: www.twitter.com/davidamoore

www.facebook.com/davidmoore.me

 

 

 

 

 

The X's and O's of Effective Postcard Marketing Design

 Contact: David A Moore - Advantage Printing is a commercial print and marketing service provider serving churches, nonprofits and small businesses.

 Follow me on Twitter: www.twitter.com/davidamoore

 www.facebook.com/davidmoore.me

 

 

How a Small Business Can Beat the Big Boys by Being Remarkably Simple

Over the past year I have become a Seth Godin remarkable marketing disciple. And while I may not have quite figured out or completed the transformation to making my business or myself "remarkable" to my satisfaction, I have learned how to recognize the "remarkableness" (is that a word?) in others.

Recently, on the Godin affiliated SAMBA Blog, there was a post about the easiest way to stand out from your competition. The simple answer: Specialize. Typically, many of us (i.e. small business owners) try to add services or increase our product line. We try to be the one-stop shop.

The other option: Specialize. Not only specialize, but limit yourself. One service, one product. Now THAT's worth talking about.

A pizza place is boring. But what about a pizza place that serves only pizza with anchovies. THAT is worth taking about.

General dentists are a dime a dozen. But a dentist that does only teeth whiting has got to be the very best. People talk about THAT.

What about donuts. Donuts are pretty boring. Many of the donut chains have added everything under the sun to increase revenues. There are specials, coupons, fundraisers, coffee, sandwiches, on and on and on.

And then there's Britts. Britts Donuts is just outside of Wilmington, NC at Carolina Beach. The Britt family started selling donuts on the beach boardwalk over 60 years ago. I have heard of Britts since I was a little boy and my dad tells stories of buying Britts donuts for a nickel. My parents routinely drive 45 minutes each way after dinner on summer nights to get a Britts donut for desert.

So for Britts to be remarkable enough to have survived and thrived this long, they must match the national chains with product offerings, services and pricing…right?

Not exactly. When you come to Britts don't ask for sprinkles and don't ask for anything cream filled. Because the ONLY thing Britts sells are hot-glazed donuts. ONE product made ONE way. But THIS glazed donut is made with a top secret, tightly guarded family recipe with a unique mix of ingredients that makes them so unbelievably good. People who don't even like donuts like a Britts donut.

But if you want one, you can only get them during the summer tourist season. They are only open on a seasonal basis and it's up to you to figure out when that is by asking around or doing your own research. You can't call Britts Donuts because they don't have a phone. And in this digital age, there's not a website. But Google Britts donuts and you'll find plenty of people talking about them: TV stations, newspapers, etc. Leave your American Express, Visa, and MasterCard at home; because Britts only accepts cash.

Yet despite Britts not doing any of the things we are told we should be doing, they have customer evangelists we would die for. Check out this video: YouTube - Britt's Donuts

Now THAT's remarkable and worth talking about.

 

Contact: David A Moore - Advantage Printing is a commercial print and marketing service provider serving churches, nonprofits and small businesses.

Follow me on Twitter: www.twitter.com/davidamoore

www.facebook.com/davidmoore.me