The free dinner and seminar has become a stereotype method for financial investment advisors to prospect for clients. In the past few years, I’ve even seen newspaper articles that ridicule the dinner and seminar for being a blatant, worn-out sales cliche. That’s because the arrangement is used to promote a variety of products and merchandise…some seemingly less than reputable.
The other day while reading my weekly issues of Advertising Age and DM News, it occurred to me that the Internet era has ushered in an entirely new approach to selecting an agency name.
Here’s another direct mail marketing term you may not recognize, although you probably recognize the item if you see one.
It’s a lift letter.
You might hear it called other names, like publisher’s letter or lift note.
A lift letter is a small, folded note or brief letter added to a direct mail marketing envelope package. It’s called a lift letter because it’s intended to lift response to your offer.
Has unbiased journalism gone the way of our free market economy?
A questionable article is actually good news for direct mail marketers!
Three car purchases ago, I walked into a GM dealership. On the showroom floor a sporty Camero caught my attention. That’s why it was in the showroom, after all.
I wandered over and opened the car door. That made a salesman appear from nowhere.
But I was surprised at the indifference he showed. During our brief, nearly unintelligible conversation, I deduced Cameros were easy to sell and there was a backlog of orders. Most people who walked into the showroom weren’t interested in waiting the time it took to order one. The show model was loaded with everything so it was sky-high pricey meaning gawkers like me quickly walked away.
I have a friend I’ve known since high school. When he shot a hole-in-one a couple of weeks ago, there was a small mention in his city’s newspaper, which someone gave to me.
I sent him a note that teased him for using his wife and brother-in-law as witnesses. I told him if he ever plans to commit a crime, he needs to line up better alibis than his own family. Oh, and I congratulated him on the shot.
Is that any way to talk to a friend?
I was shocked by what I didn’t see!
Last Sunday as I was paging through my local newspaper in Sacramento, I came across two bank ads and one credit union ad. The first ad was a half-pager placed by one of the largest – and oldest – banks in the country. The second, page-dominant ad was placed by a lesser-known nationwide bank. The third ad was a much smaller “Father’s Day” tribute ad from a large California credit union.
Before I can fill up, the pump always asks: car wash today? I usually say no. But about every two months I say yes. And when I do I’m given three choices:
1. Supreme, with everything including Sunshine wax (don’t know what that is) and under-carriage cleaning.
2. Deluxe, basically a wash with some sort of wax and drying.
Most of us would describe the average New Mover as being a recent graduate, a young worker, or a young family. Those are images I had in mind when I’ve written New Mover promotional materials.
Recently, I read a newspaper article that said the older generations of Americans are moving in increasing numbers. The Boomers, after all, are aging. The first Boomers in that gigantic generation group are over age 60. Taking care of home chores, yard work, and repairs are the sorts of things they’re ready to avoid.
For a while there I thought my wife and I would never again see another credit card offer arrive in our daily mail. The slumping economy with accompanying credit crisis all but stopped the credit card mailers dead in their tracks. What once was a steady stream quickly slowed to a trickle and finally stopped flowing all together.
It would be a bold move to guarantee that you’ll enjoy reading this, but I can guarantee one thing. I’m going to discuss guarantees.
You’ve seen guarantees used with promotions. I found one of the briefest I’ve ever seen used with a magazine subscription offer for Archaeology:
Unconditional Guarantee
Even after I’ve paid, I can get my money back at any time on unmailed issues. Read more…
The brief five-word headline almost got me! It is one of the best headlines I’ve seen in some time.
Last week, a client asked, “Can you give me an idea of how many people are reading the mail I send them?”
I remembered some project research I did a few months ago that gave me an answer. Now I’ll pass it along to you.
In 2007, the U.S. Postal Service did a consumer survey called the Household Diary Study. Participants across the country recorded information about the mail they received and how they handled it.
The other day it occurred to me that I’ve almost forgotten the name of my bank and the location of my branch.
Many years ago when I was a young saver, I had tangible proof of my savings account and the amount saved. I could carry it with me or leave it safely at home. I could keep it private or share the growing balance with my brother, sisters, parents, and grandma. Boy, was I proud of that little passbook so kindly bestowed on me by my local bank.
Visa recently reported the use of debit cards exceeded the use of credit cards for transactions for the first time in its recorded history. There are two factors at play. People are spending more of their own money instead of using credit, and the use of the debit cards over cash and checks is still rising. In 2003, debit card transactions exceeded check transactions. There’s no looking back.
With more and more of your cards being pulled out of more and more wallets, it’s time you took another look at that card and realized what it is. It’s an extension of your brand. A piece of advertising. The one thing your customers carry with them all the time that endorses your product.
In my post on June 3, I explained “halo copy” qualifies as advertising jargon. Today, I’d like to define another term that gives some marketers puzzled expressions when they hear it.
The term is “Johnson Box” and it’s not the sort of box you pack with goods.
I’m always a bit suspicious when a company changes its name. First, it doesn’t happen that often. Second, it immediately makes me wonder why. Did management finally realize they were using a poor name and have recently discovered a better one? Or are they simply trying to escape the past . . . to remake the company? And need a better name to do so. Regardless, in my mind management needs an exceptionally strong argument for changing a recognizable name.
I still remember the day in 1968 when the book by Dr. Laurence J. Peter and Raymond Hull hit the bookstores. Its unusual title and controversial subject matter were major news all over America. In his book, business management expert Dr. Peter presented the pitfalls of bureaucracies observed during his extensive research into businesses and their management hierarchies.
