Trick or Treat?

by Elizabeth Buccianti

UPS customers in five test markets will receive a little something extra this month. Through the Direct to Door program, an extra box filled with marketing materials will show up with already scheduled UPS deliveries now through Oct. 2.

The value of direct marketing has been a long debated subject and my colleague, Kim Taylor, recently blogged about the fine line between direct and junk. I can’t wait to learn more about implementation of this new UPS venture and what side of the oh-so-fine line it falls.

The box packaging adds a unique twist on the traditional direct marketing format and if done right, UPS could be sending goodie boxes of free samples and special offers tailored to a customer’s demographics. On the other hand, Direct to Door could amount to little more than a box of useless fliers. On the plus side, if your junk mail is packaged into one neat little box, it’s easier to throw away.

With participants like Zappos.com, Sephora and Pottery Barn, my money is on UPS delivering offers and samples that customers will welcome. Cross your fingers for UPS . . . failure could quickly place the company among the ranks of spammers and jeopardize customer’s trust in their delivery service. With six consecutive quarters of lower package volume, the perception that UPS is selling customer information to advertisers is one this company cannot afford.

Don’t Take it Personal

by Dionne Aiken

From Web sites to print media and even logos, we see how visual communication can simplify complex ideas, processes and information, making them easier to understand.

Consider my colleague Ashley’s post.  Something as complex and as abstract as Web 2.0 can easily be explained using cut-outs and hand drawn graphics.

Check out this video by Common Craft:

(Visit their YouTube Channel for more neat videos.)

Design must be objective with clearly defined goals.  But most importantly, it must address client and consumer needs.

“Understanding Graphics and Visual Communication” by Ryan Hembree explains the difference between fine art and graphic design.  Fine art is a self-driven form of expression with a self-serving purpose where as graphic design, although it uses the same tools, has a client and/or audience/worldly serving purpose.

It’s important to keep in mind the big picture and communication goals at hand when approaching design projects, don’t take it too personal or you’ll just be making art.

If Someone Asked You to Explain Web 2.0 Would You Have an Answer?

by Ashley Pinder

I sat yesterday morning in a room full of professionals, some from the C-suite and some with the word “coordinator” still in their title. The presenter, Dr. James Hogg from the UCF Rosen College of Hospitality, asked the audience, “How many of you know what Web 2.0 is?” Of course every hand went up, as this was a session about honing social media and networking strategies. But, when he followed with, “Okay, who would like say what it is?” The audience was motionless.

Could it be that these seemingly skilled and respected folks were in the dark on a commonly used term? These people lead board meetings, provide communications consultation to high-level executives, create corporate branding campaigns, manage hundred person teams and have credentials a mile long. But they can’t explain “Web 2.0.”?

Well, I guess I really couldn’t either. I was in that room too, and all of a sudden motionless.

The answer is easy, he explained. It’s two ‘A’ words. Anytime. Anywhere.

Web 2.0 is what the Web is right now. It’s an interactive platform where users can input something and get something else out of it. You can log on to the “Internet” and get the same thing no matter where you access it. I think I knew that, I just couldn’t put it into words.

Shareable platforms like RSS Feeds, Blogs, Wikis, and even Delicious all make up Web 2.0.

Hogg said we’ve been calling it Web 2.0, because it’s different from the original Web 1.0, which was made-up of Web sites that displayed information but didn’t allow two-way communication or interactivity. Web 1.0 had simple pages that told you something you should know, and didn’t ask you anything about you. (Kind of like talking to a narcissist.)

So now you can explain Web 2.0 too.

But beware, just when you’ve become comfortable giving an answer in a presentation about any of the above terms, a whole new slew of them will be out there to learn.

Words. Just Words.

by Roger Pynn

The cavalier use of words … whether in political rhetoric or news headlines … seems to have become so acceptable these days that studying their meaning is almost not worth the effort.

Why, for instance, would we call a publication a newspaper when we can just as easily refer to it as a rag … or a fish wrapper?

After all, isn’t that what the Orlando Sentinel Web site did with its use of the term “fake” to describe the proposal to enhance the look of a bridge? Dictionary.com makes it pretty clear that fake is not a nice word.

Is the newspaper suggesting that Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer is trying to deceive someone?

Newspapers and politicians alike need to think twice before using words that can so easily be taken as offensive. Using them without considering their meaning, or the potential for misinterpretation is careless in any business.

A Picture is Worth 1000 Words

by Dionne Aiken

When I saw this caricature by Dale Stephanos in the 50^th Anniversary edition of Communication Arts magazine, I realized how powerful images can be, and how much they can communicate with out using any words at all.

As marketers, sometimes we do just the opposite when communicating with our audiences:  how much can we say on any single piece of media to make sure that we get all our points across?  The irony is that this actually has an adverse affect:  consumers filter this as “visual noise.”  Think about how many billboards, car wraps or ads you remember seeing on your drive to work this morning versus how many there actually were.

Image selection is crucial in design and in communicating with your targeted audience.  To demonstrate this further, take a look at these two ads:

At a glance, which ad do you think is more memorable?

Consider image selection when working with communication tools.  Be it online communications or print media, think about whether you should:

• go that extra step and hire a photographer
• purchase stock photography
• commission an artist or produce something original
• Photoshop it to give an image that extra polish

Having the right image can mean the difference between being remembered, and being forgotten.

So think about what you’re really trying to say, and before you say it all with words, think about how you can make it more memorable with imagery.

Invective & Social Media

by Roger Pynn

I may just have to find a new social network. Everywhere I look people are SHOUTING at each other. The invective is ruining the experience of staying in touch with people. Even people I like and respect are SCREAMING at each other, calling each other things they don’t mean … not even realizing they are ATTACKING.

And if you point out the decibel level, they reply by turning up the volume and HOLLERING back that they are not mad or angry … just SMARTER THAN YOU.

I told an old, respected friend yesterday that the cost of everything on our political plate right now … from bank bailouts to buying up GM and Chrysler to whatever happens in reforming health care and insurance will pale by comparison when the blood pressure of the debaters finally explodes and we have to pay for the cleanup.

Shhhhhhhh! People … whisper, please.

Note to self: you could make a fortune developing software that filters invective the way virus scanners keep out those nasty worms that take over your computer, steal your identity and turn it into an agent of the Namibian lottery.

When Direct Mail becomes Junk Mail

by Kim Taylor

I know what you’re thinking—all direct mail is junk mail.  But, for years, companies have subscribed to the notion that direct mail marketing works … even if the statistics show that the average response rate can be as low as a half percent.  Those stats also show that some campaigns can garner a much higher response … maybe even double-digits.

What creates that vast response variation?  Many things, from content to design, but perhaps most importantly, how targeted (read: appropriate) your list is. 

If you buy one of those canned lists and blanket thousands with your message, it’s no longer direct mail, it’s junk mail. 

If you know your audience and your intended target, but you opt to address your piece generically to “Resident” or “John Doe or Current Resident,” it’s no longer direct mail, it’s junk mail.

So, if you’ve taken the time to develop a custom piece for John Doe thanking John Doe for his contribution to your organization and then include return address labels specifically for John Doe as a part of the “thank you,” why not go all the way and mail it to John Doe rather than “Joe Doe or Current Resident” as was the case with a piece that arrived in yesterday’s mail.

Do you think the charity will ‘get it’ when the piece is mailed back to them using one of those personalized return address labels?

And, Yes … There’s an App for That!

by Dionne Aiken

Neenah Paper created an iPhone App called Think Ink that allows users to create custom color palettes from photos taken.  Users can also explore the psychology and meaning behind color, and even coordinate colors with papers and order paper samples.

Weber took their recipes beyond the cookbook when they released their mobile Grilling Companion App.  Users can access recipes, a grilling timer, shopping lists, sauces, marinades and more.

These marketing approaches take products and services beyond traditional marketing.  They integrate them into the consumers’ lifestyle placing information at their finger tips.

In an ever-changing tech world it’s important to consider how people are getting information.  Watch as these shifts occur, and tailor your delivery accordingly. Consider non-traditional approaches and find new ways to reach your audience.

On Saying “No”

by Roger Pynn

It is easy to understand that the economy is causing many companies to do things differently.

We’ve certainly changed a bit. We find ourselves taking on new types of clients and work that in the past we might not have gone for … and by choosing carefully, we’re finding challenging and profitable opportunities.

But that doesn’t mean a “take it all” mentality is justified, as I was reminded this morning when a voice from the past surfaced on the phone. I’ve told this fellow twice before that what he is trying to do doesn’t have market value.

“This time, I’ve finally got it,” he told me.  “This is breakthrough, game-changing stuff.”   So I listened to the same old story all over again.

When a prospect becomes like a bad penny and just keeps coming back, what should you do?

We’re in the business of giving people honest, candid advice.  If someone doesn’t want to hear it, we’re not really in business.  And we’re not in the business of debating with bad pennies and wasting valuable, billable time.

So, “honestly,” I told him, “I just don’t think I’ve been able to communicate with you, and if I’m not good at that, I doubt you’d want me to represent you.  You need someone who understands you better than I do.  Best of luck and thanks for thinking of us.”

Add polite to honest and candid.  I’m hoping the third time was a charm.

Off the Record

by Dan Ward

In our Message Matrix^® training sessions, we tell clients that with very few exceptions, there is no such thing as “off the record.”  What you say can, and will, be used against you in the court of public opinion.

The president found this out last night, when his supposedly “off the record” comments in a CNBC interview (calling Kanye West a jackass), were tweeted by ABC News reporter Terry Moran to his more than a million followers, before later being removed.

I can understand exceptions to the no-such-thing-as-off-the-record rule when it comes to the leader of the free world.  There are certain to be times when the president or members of his staff need to brief reporters in off-the-record sessions about matters of national security.  But how does Kanye West fit in?

Is West secretly a spy for the CIA?  Do his outbursts at awards shows contain secret code about troop positions or security parameters?  There must be a reason why a Presidential declaration that West is a jackass is considered a vital matter of national security.

Certainly it can’t be that the administration was embarrassed by the comment, and later asked ABC News to both remove it and apologize.  For one thing, what the president said was correct … Kanye West did act like a jackass.  For another, an administration that has embraced social media like none before surely knows that a tweet, once posted and shared, can never truly be removed. 

Should Moran have posted information from another reporter’s off-the-record interview?  Probably not.  But off-the-record interviews also should be reserved for more serious discussions than those involving the rants of recording artists.

Instead of asking that our comments remain private, perhaps all of us (the president included) need to remember that everything we say has the potential to come back to us … so the old “think before you speak” rule applies no matter who you are.