Never a Lack of Ideas

Get Flocked My twin sister Nichole leads student ministries at the church we attend . Each summer, she leads a group of high school students on a mission trip. To raise money for the trip each year, she implements the greatest fundraising idea ever: Every night during the month of May, our church's group of high school students drives to someone's house (it's usually a church member's) and plant 20 pink, plastic flamingos in their yard. This is called "getting flocked." In order to have the flamingos removed the next day, the owner of the house must donate at least $20 to the youth group. That's pretty awesome by itself, but there are fantastically fun twists: Church members can purchase flamingo insurance for $10 to prevent their house from being flocked. Church members can pay $10 to request the flocking of an uninsured house. An uninsured house can be flocked more than once during the month. There's something for everyone in this fund...

Mayan Predictions According to the ancient Mayan calendar, the world will end on December 21st, 2012. That's just days away! Where are all the doomsday ads? Think of the opportunities: The world is ending in a month, so buy that Mercedes you've always wanted now. You only have a few days left; take that Apple Vacation you've always dreamed of. Eat like there's no tomorrow — because there might not be! Join us at Red Lobster for all you can eat lobster and steak. Buy a Tiffany's ring and propose to your girlfriend. Don't experience the end of the world alone! The biggest opportunity for doomsday marketing is for non-profit organizations trying to attract donations. They can ask for all your money before the end of the world — do a good deed before we're all gone! Headline Marketing I call this type of marketing communication that uses a current event in the message, "headline marketing." There are two major benefits to using headli...

Holey Postcards In the summer of 2003, I created a direct mail campaign that earned a whopping 15% response rate — and it was probably the least expensive direct mail campaign ever run. I was trying to pick up freelance graphic design work with local non-profits. So, I identified 20 prospective clients nearby and then designed the postcard on the right. The headline read, “are there holes in your advertising and design plans?” I actually punched two holes in the postcard, represented on the right by the circles filled with black. I did my research and knew the post office would still deliver the cards with holes in those strategic spots. A few days after mailing the cards, I received calls from three different non-profits. After a week, I was working for two of them. The Little Things Matter There are three reasons this campaign succeeded: I targeted an untapped market. Not many people want to work with small non-profit organizations because there’s not a lot of money to be made. But...