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Advertising and Direct Mail - Maria Lopez-Knowles |
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The role of 'look and feel' in advertising and direct mail - relative to
collateral - can be confusing. Many times I've been asked: "Should the
advertising look like the corporate 'look and feel'?" The answer: "No."
Now, it's imperative that you use some elements of your global look and
feel in all marketing activities: company logo, type font, and color
palette - your Corporate ID materials. These provide a tie back into your
organization's infrastructure for fundamental consistency and stability.
But the advertising itself should NOT look like your collateral - it should
look & feel (& sound) like the other campaign elements. For example,
direct mail is usually developed to supplement advertising and should thus
reinforce the ad's messaging (and images) to improve effectiveness.
So why wouldn't you have a print ad that looks like your corporate look &
feel? Ads are limited by the area or time you have to deliver your
message. And all advertising is about delivering a message (unique value
proposition), not about delivering a look & feel. Don't forget this
because it's very important: the ad message is the paramount reason for
developing an ad.
So remember, keep advertising, direct mail, and all campaign elements
consistent. Have your corporate look and feel apparent in your collateral
tree and web tree materials. If it helps, develop event trees to better
discern campaign materials (see the MarCom Acumen Guidebook for additional
information).
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Word of the Day |
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Look & Feel & Sound:
The troika; the major characteristics of an
organization's Marketing Communications. It establishes physical
[look], emotional [feel], and aural [sound] elements.
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Planning a Direct Marketing Campaign - Steve Knowles |
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There are three components to a successful
DM campaign: the creative (what you'll send); the list (who you'll send it
to); and the offer (what you want them to do). A good list is your most
important success factor, followed by a compelling offer and last, the
creative.
I want to add two critical planning elements: setting goals and measuring
results. We'll discuss these briefly here, then go into more detail in
future issues--and there's much more detail in the MarCom Acumen
Guidebook.
Setting Goals
Why are we doing this in the first place? There are many reasons to
execute a DM campaign but by far the most common reason is to get new
prospects into the sales funnel. Be clear about your goals up front and
you are more likely to succeed.
The List
There are three factors to look at in choosing your list: qualification,
volume, and quality. (Who you send to, how many you send, and how well the
list you use really matches those criteria.)
The Offer
The offer must give your prospects a reason to respond now. Prospects must
see real value and, if they don't have to act now, most will set your
offer aside--and forget to get back to it.
The Creative
Compelling and smart creative is important. See the article above for one
aspect of DM creative.
Measuring Results
Direct Marketing programs are directly measurable--the key to
demonstrating ROI and improving DM programs.
We'll look at each aspect of a Direct Marketing campaign in more depth
starting in the next issue.
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Dear mAc |
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Q: What is a brand?
A: A brand is: a reason to care. It is always from the customer's point of view. Brand is often confused with logo and look & feel, but the look and feel is in reality a representation of a brand.
Branding emerged in the 1950s with Stanley Tools; Ogilvy and Mather then put a process around developing a brand referred to today as Brand Print.
For more information on branding, read the 'Crafting a Brand' chapter in the MarCom Acumen Guidebook and review Brian McMahon's Executive Q & A on brand.
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About this
newsletter
Marketing Acumen
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readership, helping you turn x into 2x in all your marketing
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Contact Us
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About
Marketing Acumen, LLC
Marketing Acumen,
LLC provides marketing products and consulting based on over 30 years
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