6 Examples to Get You Noticed

The goal of any creative initiative is to get noticed.  Of course, you also want a clean message with an easy to understand call to action … But unless you differentiate and stand out, your message will never be heard.

A catchy headline, crisp copy and bold design are a good start …  but think beyond that.

Here are some examples that may fire up your creative neurons.

Why Use Normal Paper?

We had 2 different jobs that pushed us creatively to think outside of traditional paper.

In the first example, our client offers the first personalized debit card in the market, where the member can put their own photo image on their card.  So, we “demonstrated” what the card “could” look like by turning part of the postcard into an actual mirror.

Another client was targeting physicians for a Commercial opportunity.  So we delivered the message to them in an x-ray envelope and printed the “message” on actual x-ray paper.  The best part?  We include an "appointment card" like you would receive from your family doctor or dentist.  The card lists the date and time that our team will follow-up.  

Again, the goal is to get your message noticed, so you can have your message understood.  In both of these cases, a world-class printer can make you look like a rock star!

Get Them Involved.

You don’t need to have a lottery to use scratch-offs.  Here are 2 examples of mailers that use scratch-offs to get the reader engaged with the piece.

We have a client who positions themselves as the mortgage authority and expert in “specialty” mortgages … RD, VA, etc.  This card asks the questions that the target is likely to be thinking with the answers under the scratch-off keys. 

In another example, we used a scratch-off to reveal what customers can do when they “Need extra cash,” with the answer, “Use the equity in your home!”

Much like the stickers in a Publisher’s Clearing House promotion, we simply use a tool where the reader expects to “win” something and get them more engaged with the mailer.

Why Use an Envelope?

The “Shoe Mailer” may be one that we are most commonly known for.  We ask Commercial prospects to “Take the next step with us,” and mail the message in an actual shoe.  The postage and address are applied to the sole of the shoe and it ALWAYS gets noticed.  During follow-up calls, it’s common to be recognized as, “the shoe people.”

Our local post office loves us!  The vessel that you mail in may be more important than the actual message.  Think creatively through the entire project.

Show NOTHING on TV.

Creating a television message, on a local production budget, that gets noticed isn’t easy.  It’s a common rule in presenting that if you want the room's attention, say nothing until people look up.  We used a similar strategy in this 30-second ad – where the first 5 seconds are black.

If you read this blog regularly, you know we believe that great creative starts with a sound strategy and focused segmentation and is supported by detailed front-line processes and success measurement.  But, there comes a time when you simply have to don the Hawaiian shirt and flip-flops and get your creative groove on.  When that time comes – I hope these ideas help take you further.

Want more creative ideas?  Click here for a sample of our creative library.

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Want to learn more?  Enroll in the MarketMatch eCollege!  Smart learning online sessions delivered five consecutive Tuesdays with CFMP credits, tactical advice and a game plan for success!

MarketMatch is a full-service marketing firm, dedicated to the credit union and community banking community.  We utilize knowledge-based strategies to help you FOCUS on the efforts that will generate the greatest  MOMENTUM for your organization and demonstrate RESULTS with our written ROI Guarantee.

Learn more here. (click here)

Chat with me LIVE! (click here)

Or email me directly (click here)

937-426-9848

The Relevance revolution

This is a guest post by Bryan Pearson. Bryan is the President
and CEO of LoyaltyOne and author of the forthcoming book The Loyalty Leap: Turning
Customer Information Into Customer Intimacy, which will be published in
May 2012. LoyaltyOne is a global provider
of loyalty strategy and
programs, customer analytics and relationship marketing services.
LoyaltyOne businesses include Canada's AIR

6 Places to find inspiration

Every creative person has those days when you just can't focus on any ideas or have this aching creative block. There are times where you will need to dig deep to find inspiration for a project. This more than likely involves you leaving the confines of your desk or cubical to soak in some new surroundings.

Often times our simplest surroundings can spark an idea. Inspiration can come from anywhere, a blob of ketchup on your plate could be the shape of an icon you needed for a masterpiece logo, or the way you see something in the reflection of a window can be what you are looking for in a texture. We often find these ideas in the least likely spots.

Here are six inspiring places to pull great thoughts and ideas from:

1. Shoe Stores - There is such a variety of shapes, colors, textures and patterns, you'd be amazed at what inspiration you can get from shoes.
2. Kids Toy Boxes - There is so much life and positive energy in children and you can get a load of inspiration from their toys.
3. Construction Sites - Believe it or not there are a lot of ideas to be had from watching construction in progress...it's new life, masses of materials being shuffled, the sounds and experience can shake loose some really creative thinking.
4. Book Stores - There are many examples and design sources to absorb in your local bookstore. From the magazine rack to the fiction section you are liable to find something inspiring.
5. Community Park - It's always inspiring to be outdoors. Go to your local park and get some fresh air, listen to the birds, watch the kids play. That will clear the cobwebs out.
6. Home Improvement Stores - Last but not least your local hardware store. It may not seem like it but there are so many materials, shapes, and sizes you can pull inspiration from. Don't forget to hit the garden section as there are bounds of plants, colors, smells and attractive surroundings to take in.

As always if you have a project or concept you are stuck on, give us a call. We are always thinking of new ways to be creative and help out.

Until next time,
Jeremy

You've Gotta Be Flexible

I’m a runner.  I run about 25-35 miles per week.  And I stretch just about every day.  Why?  Because, to PREVENT trouble, you have to be flexible.

Here’s an industry example.

In December of 2011, we had a 2012 strategic marketing plan approved for a client.  It outlined the key objectives for the year and the tactics we would use to achieve them.  We had a month-by-month “map” of exactly what tactics we had planned.

In January, that same client stumbled into an outstanding opportunity … an RFP to be the “official” bank of the area’s largest college – and, coincidentally, the area’s largest employer.  By February, we had won the bid and this month we opened 2 new branches on the university campus.  This is in addition to a new branch that we opened in a different market this month.

The university project was certainly NOT in the plan.  And, though the other new branch was planned for, opening 3 new branches in one month was not!  To say the least, we had to reallocate some time and monetary resources.  

The lessons:

• As we wrap-up Q1 2012, relook at your plan and measure against your annual objectives.  How are you doing?
• Though is took a lot of hard work to put together, your plan is not etched in granite (if it actually IS, relook at your budget allocation!).  When you create your plan, you have to realize that it will likely NOT execute to the letter.
• Though the last 60 days have been crazy … because we have a well-conceived plan that is based in bank objectives, we are now starting to migrate back to executing it. 

Check your plan.  How are you performing against it for Q1?  What has had to change, or what do you anticipate changing in the next quarter?  Have you learned any lessons from your past tactics that can make the rest of the year stronger?

Just as flexible muscles prevent big trouble on race day …. A flexible plan can prevent big trouble to your marketing efforts.

For more on creating a marketing plan, click here for our 

Marketing Minute video blog, "Planning to Plan."

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Want to learn more?  Enroll in the MarketMatch eCollege!  Smart learning online sessions delivered five consecutive Tuesdays with CFMP credits, tactical advice and a game plan for success!

MarketMatch is a full-service marketing firm, dedicated to the credit union and community banking community.  We utilize knowledge-based strategies to help you FOCUS on the efforts that will generate the greatest  MOMENTUM for your organization and demonstrate RESULTS with our written ROI Guarantee.

Learn more here. (click here)

Chat with me LIVE! (click here)

Or email me directly (click here)

937-426-9848

Do You Have Marketing Content for Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt?

Most B2B marketers are naturally positive people. Professionally, they have an innate predisposition to focus on what's good about their company and its products and services. Most marketers are less comfortable dealing with any perceived "weaknesses" of their products or services or with the challenges that companies face when using them. So, most marketers have a built-in tendency to minimize, gloss over, or simply ignore those issues.

That's a mistake because fear, uncertainty, and doubt (FUD) are part of every significant buying decision. In The Buyersphere Project, Gord Hotchkiss wrote, "B2B buying decisions are usually driven by one emotion - fear. Specifically, B2B buying is all about minimizing fear by eliminating risk."

Ardath Albee, author of eMarketing Strategies for the Complex Sale and the Marketing Interactions blog, includes a stage called "Step Backs" in her description of the buying process. This is where the concerns and fears of the buying group rise to the surface and stop (at least temporarily) the forward momentum of the buying decision. I agree with Ardath that a step back stage is probably present in most B2B buying situations, but I also contend that FUD permeates the entire buying process and can appear at any stage.

Your prospects' fears, uncertainties, and doubts usually involve concerns about your product or service or your company, and about their ability to do what is required to reap the full benefits of your proposed solution. Throughout the buying process, members of the buying group will be asking themselves or each other questions like:

• Does the proposed solution provide all of the capabilities we need?
• Will the proposed solution work as promised?
• Is the supplier financially stable?
• Will the supplier be able to meet our needs as they change and evolve?
• What if our employees won't buy into and use the proposed solution?
• What if we can't successfully implement the proposed solution?
• What if we can't reengineer our business processes to maximize the benefits of the proposed solution?

There's no way to eliminate FUD from the buying process, so your only choice is to deal with it. Marketing content can play a major role in alleviating FUD. You probably already have content assets that address FUD indirectly.

• White papers, webinars, and product/service specifications can reduce the FUD that's related to your product or service.
• Analyst reports can show the financial stability of your company.
• Customer case studies can show how companies have successfully implemented and used your solution.

You also need marketing content that directly and intentionally addresses FUD. This is especially important when the FUD involves your prospects' internal capabilities. For example, consider creating a few "expanded" case studies that describe customers' experiences in greater detail than your "regular" case studies. Describe the problems your customers faced in implementing and using your solution and how they solved those problems.

You should also consider creating a group of content assets (call them white papers, tip sheets, or whatever) that describe how customers can avoid the most common (and/or most serious) implementation problems and accelerate their ability to reap the full benefits of your solution.

How do you determine which FUD issues to address?

• Ask your salespeople.
• Talk with customers who achieved quick success with your solution - and with some whose path to success was more challenging.
• If possible, interview some prospects who chose not to buy from you and find out why.

Remember, you can't stop your prospects from feeling fear, uncertainty, and doubt. But you can provide your prospects with content that will make the FUD easier to handle.

Quick reflections on a changing media landscape

Just a few thoughts on the changing landscape of arts journalism...

Content aggregation vs. reporting. As newsroom staffs are being cut, an alarming number of original source reporting outlets are shifting to content aggregation. Very few media outlets now have dedicated full-time reporters that are assigned to the arts. With an increase in content aggregation and a decrease in original reporting, editorial power is shifting to the fewer outlets that are creating content which in turn feeds the increasing number of aggregators. Just a short time ago, it used to be that a significant story would be covered by several local and national outlets, allowing a well-rounded view of the story to emerge. Today, whatever the view of the originating source becomes the defacto view of aggregating outlets, thereby often times giving a single reporter the responsibility of judge, jury and executioner. That said, I have found that there are some journalists who aggregate content, and then editorially expound upon amassed content. I have found that in doing so, these journalists feel the pressure to produce original editorial based upon what others have said, but they do not view themselves as primary source journalists, meaning that they will comment on previous work, but will not expend the energy to actually conduct interviews or investigate if forgone conclusions are accurate.

The rise of "gotcha" journalism. It used to be that purposefully snarky reporting was the realm of the social blogosphere, or at best, the weekly alternative paper. In a surprising turn of events, the Washington Post, one of the most respected new sources for arts journalism in the country, sent out the following message in late February: “Got a grievance to air about the Washington arts scene? Is complaining your favorite form of catharsis? Our Sunday Arts section is seeking critics like yourself, who are interested in giving our local and cultural scene some tough love.” Why would such a reputable news source specifically solicit grievances and nothing else? Wouldn't they want a balanced view from the community on the impact of the arts in our nation's capital? particularly at a time when arts funding is getting slashed? I fear that ill-conceived attempts at gaining readership will result in using tactics that just a few years ago would have been laughed out of the newsroom. Quality arts reporting, as it rapidly diminishes in communities across the nation, should become a strong competitive advantage for those that continue to invest in it. For another viewpoint, please check out Howard Sherman's excellent post here.

Pay to play, and the abandonment of journalistic ethics. I have a feeling that even prehistoric publicists had to deal with "news outlets" that refused editorial coverage unless advertising money was attached, but it used to be that these outlets were few and came with tarnished reputations in their communities. Today it is almost as likely that a marketing director will arrange an editorial feature via an account rep as it is a publicist via an editor. And outlets aren't shy about it. Previously a publisher might say to you with a wink that he would see what he could do, but now they flat out tell you if you want to be reviewed, you need to buy an ad! If a feature article, and much more so a review, is attached to an advertising buy, journalistic ethics have been thrown out the door. Just on principle, even when I did have the resources to make an ad buy, if an offer was made, I walked away from the table. There has to be a line.

To tweet, or not to tweet? If you are an executive of an arts organization, and you are considering joining Twitter, here are a couple of things to consider:

• Twitter is a community. If you do not have the time to adequately nourish online relationships in Twitter, don't join.
• You are always on the record. It is an open community in which anyone can ask any question at any time. Don't let the relaxed environment fool you. Every 140 character response is on the record. For a good laugh, please refer to the top 10 celebrity Twitter scandals. It is easy to understand why journalists encourage joining, as many a good story have come of it.
  
• Silence speaks volumes. Thinking about joining, and then side-stepping the tough questions? Often times what you don't say communicates even more than what you do say. You should be prepared to answer questions that you won't want to. And in this environment, "no comment" doesn't go over quite so well.

That all said, if you have the time and are comfortable with complete transparency, then a Twitter feed can provide for strong relationships between you and a wide audience.

Markets or shareholders?

There is a fine line between professing free-market capitalism and teaching the subversion of those markets that is crossed in business-school
classrooms every day.





On the one hand, the textbook description of free markets
implies open competition in markets where information flows freely, where no
single player is powerful enough to influence aggregate demand or supply, where
any