Confusion is high on the list of the worst results you can generate with your marketing promotions. The prospects simply don’t understand what you’re offering or how they can take advantage of your offer. It’s like comparing pumpkins to cherry pies.

Confused? Let me explain.

An ACTON Marketing colleague brought in a checking self-mailer promotion from an area bank. The bank was running a one-day October celebration that revolved around the theme of pumpkins.

Those attending the event could munch on pumpkin treats and take home free pumpkins. There was a gift for opening a checking account during the event …a bakeware set.

This part is more comical than confusing. Whoever designed the mailer used a manufacturer’s stock photo of the bakeware. So in the middle of all the  pumpkins pictured on the orange-colored mailer was an image of a cherry pie.

Where it gets confusing is inside. After repeating the bakeware offer at the top, on the lower panel of the mail piece is the headline, “Free Gift.” But instead of seeing another shot of the cherry pie bakeware photo, there’s a picture of an auto emergency kit.

Jump back up to the footnotes on the center panel and you discover the bakeware set is available only on the day of the pumpkin fest. While the copy doesn’t say so, apparently the auto emergency kit is the premium for all other days. That should be stated clearly, not hidden in footnotes. (Why two different gifts, anyway?)

When I first opened the self-mailer my eye was drawn to the photo of a woman in the lower corner of the piece. Not because she was so attractive. Dressed in winter jacket and a scarf so huge it seemed to jump out at me, she looked like a model plucked from the page of a Sears catalog.

Why was she there? The photo had nothing to do with anything else in the mailer. Apparently, there was a spot to fill and someone heard if you use photos of women it attracts women to your offer. (Which isn’t exactly the truth.) Or, maybe they believe it’s how other designers fill holes.

There are other minor problems with this mail piece that I don’t have space to explore. I highlighted these few to make a point.

Be certain your photos match your promotion. Don’t talk pumpkins and show cherry pies (literally and figuratively). Even if you’re trying to use Marketing to Women techniques, don’t plop in a photo because you’ve seen other marketers use people photos. Tie together your images and your text.

Obviously, don’t confuse people by making one offer while you squeeze in an entirely different offer. That includes other product offers. Confuse and lose. That’s how it works. When prospects don’t understand what you’re promoting, you lose their attention.

Always look over your marketing materials for all media and formats to be certain everything meshes together into one, complete, easy-to-understand sales message.