Never a Lack of Ideas

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...

Another Year Older Today marks the second-year birthday of my blog. I made my first official post two years ago, today. 73 posts later and here we are. Thank you to all of my readers for making it fun to post all of my marketing ideas. To celebrate my blog's birthday this month, I'll be digging into my past and posting about the most successful direct mail campaign I've ever been a part of — and it involved a creative use of a hole punch. Look for it later this month. Until then, sit back and enjoy my top ten favorite posts over the past year: Bobbleheads! (Part 1) | Part 2 Nick's Knacks — How I Sold Myself for an Internship What Lady Gaga Should Wear to the Grammys Using a Facebook Advertisement to Land a Job The Woolly Mammoth Bus — The hardest I've worked for a post! The Exclusivity of Butterbeer Helicopter-Dropped Easter Egg Hunt IMDB Meets Google Maps When Realtors Become Commodities $#*! My Dad Says Add This to Your To-Do List Enjoy my top ten posts! There...

Google and the Beanstalk Google recently mailed a letter to small businesses, encouraging them to use Google AdWords to grow their business. The paper on which the letter was printed is embedded with wildfire seeds. The letter's postscript reads: "This card was printed on 100% recycled paper embedded with wildflower seeds. Plant it in a sunny spot with a thin layer of soil, add water, and watch it grow — while you watch your business grow with AdWords." I have planted the card in a pot. Let's see if it grows. Direct Mail is Not Dead Despite what many bloggers might say, direct mail advertising is not dead. This mailing proves that there are still many creative ways to reach customers through the printed page that can't be achieved in another way. It's easy to measure the success of direct mail marketing campaigns, which makes them easy to test. Add This To Your To-Do List If you've never tried a direct mail campaign, it's time to start. Build a list of...

Direct Response Cable Television Comcast is now selling products via a direct response advertising unit that appears at the bottom of a viewer's television screen. The advertisement pops up for a few seconds during a commercial and gives viewers an offer that they can accept or dismiss by using their remote control. (See the video above.) My wife and I were offered a free brochure about visiting Scottsdale, Arizona and we elected to have one shipped to us by following the prompts on the screen with our remote. My wife had seen a direct response ad for a bottle of lotion the previous day. In that ad, she could have chosen to receive a bottle for $5. I can only assume that the $5 charge would have been added to our monthly cable bill. We saw this new advertising unit at 7:45 p.m. on the SOAP network on a Wednesday and a Thursday. We have not seen it on any other channel or at any other time of day. We recorded the ad via our DVR, but when we played it back, the offer was not at the b...

10 Thousand Pictures Say 10 Million Words Lady Gaga should wear a dress to the Grammys composed of nothing but 10,000 photos of her fans. (Click the example on the right.) Last year, she famously wore a dress made of raw meat . This year, why not honor her fans by wearing their pictures on her dress? Lady Gaga is very close to her fans. She calls them her “Little Monsters” and many of them dress in elaborate costumes when they attend her concerts. Her devotion to her fans is one reason she has become so successful. In marketing, it’s important to show love to your biggest fans — your customers. Give them opportunities to provide input about your new product ideas. Allow them to submit feedback and then post that feedback publicly. Send your customers hand written thank you notes. And let your fans submit photos of them using your products. Add This To Your To-Do List Show some love to your fans! Every business has repeat customers. Give them ways to show their love for you by sponsori...

A Very Merry Christmas Close to midnight on December 24th, 2010, SpanAir surprised passengers with Christmas presents delivered through a baggage carousel. Every gift was hand wrapped and addressed to each of the flight's 190 passengers. I applaud the airline for employing such a fun idea to spark positive word of mouth. The airline has put together videos of the gift-giving event in both English and Spanish, and they have combined for a half a million views on YouTube to date. What would it cost for Spanair to buy a half a million brand impressions on tv? Certainly more than what it cost them to give out 190 Christmas presents and put up a video on YouTube. This was a win-win situation for both Spanair and its passengers. The most powerful form of marketing is a recommendation from a friend. With these presents, Spanair made 190 people happy and found a way to get those people to tell all of their friends and family about how great Spainair is. Then they put up a great video on ...

A Bundle of Joy I have previously written that bobblehead dolls make perfect gifts because they are personalized and they symbolize meaningful relationships. For Christmas, my wife and I gave my wife’s mother a bobblehead doll of herself (see the pictures on the right). The doll is wearing a shirt that says, “#1 Grandma.” That’s right — we used the doll to tell her that we’re going to have our first baby next year. Bobblehead dolls don’t just make great gifts — they make great announcement vehicles, too. My wife’s mother will now be able to bring the doll with her to work and show everyone in her office that she’s going to be a grandmother. In a way, we gave my wife’s mother a word of mouth marketing tool to help her spread the message that she’s going to be a grandmother. How fun! Add This To Your To-Do List My advice is the same as it was after the first time we bought a bobblehead doll: Give someone a bobblehead doll! Will it be the retiring executive for a long-time client? Your l...