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Monthly Archives: September 2014

Do you want fries with that tablet?

30 Tuesday Sep 2014

Posted by Malcolm Auld in Advertising, Customer Service, Direct Marketing, Marketing, Marketing Automation, QR Codes, Social Media

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Tags

customer service, digital marketing, direct marketing, iPad, marketign automation, QR Codes, social media

I naturally assumed dear reader, you knew I meant computer tablets and not “mother’s little helpers” as Mick Jagger called them.

But now the humble tablet – be it iThing, Android or otherwise – is improving the way retailers serve, process sales, capture customer data, images and dare I say it – engage with customers.

When you walk into most telcos or iConcept stores you are greeted by Stylus-boy, who taps away at his tablet before directing you some place for “service”. Many appear battery-powered with cords running from their tablets to their ears.

One US restaurant owner told me last week how he uses tablets to build lists and followers. His waiter asks a table of customers if anyone would like to join the VIP reservation club.

Inevitably one person at the table says yes, possibly with a bit of persuasion from the waiter. They are handed a tablet and asked for their name, email address and mobile phone number. As they submit the details the computer invites them to customise their details with things like table and wine preferences. When complete, a pop-up message invites them to pass the tablet to the person next to them.

At the same time, the customer receives an email and sms inviting them to Like, Share, Follow the restaurant’s various social channels in return for an immediate free drink.

And there’s nothing like a free drink to motivate immediate action. Apparently the customers then try to wrestle the tablet from each other to complete their details and get their free booze.

19th_century_Coca-Cola_coupon

Mind you, 20 years ago I designed a customer satisfaction survey for The Observatory Hotel – a 5 star hotel in Sydney. Each delegate attending specific types of conferences at the hotel was given the survey to complete – the incentive was a free drink at the bar when they handed the barman the completed survey.

It became the cheapest way to generate new conference and accommodation leads and was copied by other hotels in Australia and NZ.

I’ve advised a number of wineries to build their social media followers by placing a tablet on the bar where the customers taste wine. The customers can take a selfie or have the staff take a photo and immediately upload it to their account. And it’s easier to convince the customers to get involved after they’ve had a tipple or two.

Recently I checked into a hotel in regional Queensland and was invited to Like the hotel on FB while I was checking in and was given a free drink as a result – is there a theme emerging here? How do they know my drinking habits?

While the tablets have had a major impact on back-of-house order systems, some restaurants are now moving to reduce waiter numbers by attaching tablets to the tables.

back of house

The menus are displayed on the tablet and the customers order using a DIY screen on the tablet – not sure who you tip in these circumstances?

Stacked-1

ipad-menu

Others simply use tablets as the menu or the waiters take the orders on their tablets, which are automatically sent to the kitchen.

waiter serving from ipad

Or there’s this Japanese restaurant in London testing the delivery of food using miniature helicopters controlled by iPads to deliver food to customers.

flying food

It’s most likely a spoof. And while I understand the novelty value in this, why pay for a helicopter to be controlled by one of the staff who could probably deliver the meal faster – even dressed in a helicopter suit?

helicopter person

Tag’by is an innovative European company that is putting tablets to use in numerous ways to get customers to link their store visits to their social media channels.

tagby-presentation-1-638

They use cameras on the tablets, Radio Frequency ID systems, QR codes and other methods to engage customers to share their physical visit on social channels.

Here’s are some videos showing how it works:

  • Cafe or restaurant
  • Fashion store
  • Shoe store
  • Hairdresser
  • Eyewear store

The issue of course is effectiveness. While it is good to get some brand awareness among customers’ friends and followers – that’s assuming of course the posts get noticed within their friend’s feeds – see “What’s Your A.S.S Time” – if the friends don’t live locally they’re not likely to shop at the store, so the value is limited.

Yes, they could shop online if that service is offered, but whether they do or don’t is a whole separate blog.

I’m sure you’ll soon be dining out when someone at the next table uses the tablet to order a meal/pizza delivered to the restaurant from a competing restaurant.

Pizza Service

Hmm – I might go out for lunch today…

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B2B B.S. bodes badly but bothers bugger-all bosses…

26 Friday Sep 2014

Posted by Malcolm Auld in B2B Marketing, Branding, Content Marketing, Copywriting, Digital, Email marketing, Marketing

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

advertising, B2B Marketing, branding, content marketing, copywriting, customer engagement, email marketing

I received an email a couple of days ago from someone I don’t believe I know. He has the flash title of Head of Customer Engagement, at a company called nearmap. It started as follows:

Hi Malcolm,

I hope that you’re well.

I tried call earlier this week and your front desk asked me to send this email. As your company attended ADMA and so did we; I wanted to bring the below to your attention with a 20% discount and the first 3 months unlimited data package.

While I appreciate the sentiment about my health, the paragraph is a complete fantasy and almost illiterate.

Hello! I Hope You Are Well And Happy

I guess he uses spell checker – “I tried call”, as against “I tried to call” or “I tried calling”. Regardless, I did not get any call earlier in the week, as I don’t have a land line, only a mobile. And like everyone else with a mobile I can track my calls.

hello

More significantly, as I currently work from a home office, I do not have a front desk – let alone one that can speak. And I’ve never known any sort of furniture that can communicate like humans. Are there some sort of new digital desks with the ability to answer phone calls, manage diaries and send emails? Look out human receptionists.

The next sentence intrigued me as well. He says my company attended ADMA. My company? Does that include the amazing talking furniture, the files, computers, bookkeeper, accountant and other staff? Did we all front-up to the office of ADMA’s CEO and hang out?

If as I assume, he means I attended the ADMA Forum, his small data is corrupt. I didn’t attend this year. But I’m pleased he did and hope it helped his customer engagement.

As for my attendance being the reason he “wanted to bring the below to your attention with a 20% discount and the first 3 months unlimited data package” I have no idea what the statement means. And the rest of the email gave me no clues either.

I won’t bore you dear reader with the rest of the message. Suffice to say the majority of it talked about his company. There was no attempt to determine if I was even a prospect. And there was no other mention of the “20% discount and 3 months unlimited data package”.

no-discount

Though there was one sentence that peaked my curiosity and had me concerned I wasn’t up with my acronyms and jargon:

“Our PhotoMaps are served straight to your web browser via our website or alternatively via our WMS to use directly within your CAD/GIS as a mapping layer.”

It’s been a while since I’ve been able to drop a reference to GIS or WMS into a conversation, though I’m sure I will find a way?

He finished with: “Looking forward to hearing your thoughts so that we can set up a call to go through a full demo.”

Even that final sentence defies logic. Set up a call to go through a full demo? Is the demo over the phone? Is it a video call? Do we have to set up a call to set up the demo while on the call?

looking forward

If this is the quality of direct marketing in the digital world, then we may as well give up now. You cannot build a business using lies. At least if you are going to lie, make an attempt to write with some clarity, so your message has some chance of being read.

Maybe our schools are to blame? You only have to mark a few university assignments to realise the literacy problems throughout our education system.

illiteracy

Of course the real question has to be where did he get my email address – I doubt ADMA would be giving away contact details without permission? And given I didn’t attend how could I be on their list of delegates?

Regardless, how does somebody with a job title of Head of Customer Engagement, get away with this appalling communication? It’s no wonder content marketing is getting such a high profile.

Just write stuff, don’t ask for the order and business will take care of itself.

I wonder if the Head of the Company knows how the business is engaging customers? Does anyone even care anymore?

keep-calm-and-don-t-care-anymore-2

I can’t wait for the omni-channel follow-up…

 

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Two marketers walk into a bar and laugh at motivational posters…

19 Friday Sep 2014

Posted by Malcolm Auld in Digital, Marketing

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Tags

digital, marketing buzzwords, marketing jokes, motivation, motivational posters

Those two marketers couldn’t help but laugh along with Despair’s real take on motivational posters. More of these should be posted on LinkedIn to replace some of the mind-numbing drivel that gets dumped there.

Avagoodweegend…

platitudesdemotivator

meetingsdemotivator

mistakesdemotivator

foresightdemotivator

destinyrockdemotivator

believeinyourselfdemotivator

ambitiondemotivator

multitaskingdemotivator

knowledgedemotivator

commitmentdemotivator

positivitydemotivator

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Google does it (again), maybe you should too…

18 Thursday Sep 2014

Posted by Malcolm Auld in Advertising, BIG DATA, Content Marketing, Copywriting, Digital, Direct Marketing, Marketing, PPC, SEM & SEO, Social Media

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

branding, digital marketing, direct marketing, Google, marketing, PPC, press advertising

I run a seminar called “Google does it why don’t you…“. In it, I reveal how Google is one of the world’s largest users of direct mail to acquire new customers. Read more here.

Hilariously (or more likely sadly) it sometimes upsets delegates when I reveal the truth. They get p****d off that Google uses proven media channels to promote its business, not just digital channels. They thought the seminar was going to unmask some amazo digi-secrets they can steal.

Well the seminar does share secrets. It reveals that to succeed with marketing in the digital world, you must not just focus narrowly on the digital channels. You risk losing your business if you rely solely on digital. Like Google, you should use a range of different media to grow your business – here’s an example:

Google Red 9300

Google – one of the world’s largest users of direct mail to grow business

To the detriment of the marketing industry, too many marketers have become digi-lemmings (following fashion rather than function) in the pursuit of what’s good for their career, rather than their brands. John Hancock’s brilliant essay – The marketer stripped bare and our nude future – explains it well.

So Google’s latest campaign in Australia should come as no surprise. Here’s one of the full page colour press ads (that’s FPC to use marketing jargon) now running in local suburban newspapers. That’s right folks – Google is running local newspaper advertisements – not a digital platform in sight.

press ad

Google’s FPC local press ads

The campaign is also on bus-sides and posters. And not that long ago Google also ran newspaper ads promoting Adwords. And in an amazing use of commonsense, the ads use sales language to convince prospects to buy. None of this comfy content, written in the vain hope you will read the warm fuzzies and be inspired to open your wallet as a result. Google asks for orders.

google-print-ad

So if Google is using the proven media channels and techniques as well as digital channels, why have most marketers chosen to dump what works, in favour for what in many cases, is yet to prove its worth?

The digital emperor’s new clothes are starting to be seen for what they are.

So if you are using a digi-spruiker who is foolishly directing you to only promote your business in digital channels, please save them from their folly. Fire them and send them on a 101 Marketing Course. They’ll thank you for it eventually.

After all, what’s “Good for the Google” has to be “Good for the Gullible”….

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Hallmark Helpers – handy hints for hand-written heart-felts…

17 Wednesday Sep 2014

Posted by Malcolm Auld in Advertising, Copywriting, Digital, Direct Marketing, Marketing

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Tags

advertising, customer service, digital marketing, direct marketing, ecards

One of the industries that suffered from disruption by the internet was the gift card business. Though in an ironic twist of fate, it is now growing rapidly thanks to a combination of the internet and digital print technology.

For a short while e-cards were all the rage, though have been on the decline for the last decade. There are still the JibJab cards and there are a range of video card formats. But in most cases, people feel that those who send basic e-cards haven’t really tried hard enough.

Though the cards from someecards often demonstrate that very precise thought has gone into the selection.

someecards

Kevin

But the big growth has been in the manufacture of customised gift cards on sites such as Send Out Cards or Hallmark Cards. I wrote about Send Out Cards last year.

On these sites you can choose from existing card designs, or create your own design by uploading your images and writing your message in your choice of font and colour.

The cards are then printed on digital printers and mailed on your behalf. The difference in the businesses is that Send Out Cards is a multi-level marketing business while Hallmark is a single purchase business.

Both are thriving – as there are so many reasons to give cards. And a customised card is fun to create, as well as to receive. In the event management industry for example, businesses are using them as follow-up to events, where they use photos from the event to really personalise the thank-you message.

Digitally printed cards are not the only way that Hallmark is evolving. Last week I was browsing the card section at my local newsagent for humorous Father’s Day cards – I had left it too late to customise one – which is the only downfall of creating your cards online.

It was here that I came across these “Hallmark Helpers“. They are tactile printed tips to help you write better messages on your cards – because it’s not just the choice of card that is important, it’s the words you add that really make the card.

And we all know people who struggle to write cleverly, or ask others to write the messages – “you’re the wordsmith in the household” they exclaim.

thank you

thank you words

The Helpers have helpful tips for Love Notes, Thank You Notes, Sympathy Notes, Congratulations Notes, how to Make Dad’s Day and more. There’s even Favourite Words, Favourite Phrases and a website for more inspiration.

love note

love note words

So a simple customer service, supplied from the insights about the issues facing people when they write gift cards, is now helping to sell more cards. And apparently loads of people are using the Helpers.

As you know, most people appreciate a hand-written card more than a text message or e-card, as it demonstrates a higher level of involvement and consideration by the sender.

The problem for the future of hand-written or customised printed cards, is of course the literacy levels of our children and their ability to write comprehensibly and clearly. Not to mention their ability to concentrate for any period of time to write a message.

facebook

So despite the Helpers, we may eventually not be able to help ourselves – so to speak – as literacy levels continue to decline.

There may be a future for e-cards after all, where computers do it all for us?

What a sincere social world we’ll live in then – frightening really…

 

 

 

 

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Successful retailers prefer paper to pixels for profit…

11 Thursday Sep 2014

Posted by Malcolm Auld in Advertising, BIG DATA, Branding, Digital, Direct Marketing, Marketing, Social Media

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

advertising, bookbook, digital marketing, Ikea, omnichannel, retailing

My recent rant about Omni-channel created some interest. Like me, most marketers cannot understand why common sense needs a buzzword.

It doesn’t matter if you’re selling stuff in the analogue or digital world, you always ensure consistency of imagery, message and service. It is common sense to do so – and doesn’t need a label like Omni-channel for digi-sake.

Most of those who relish digi-buzzwords also naively claim any media channel that existed prior to the arrival of the internet, no longer works, or is irrelevant – some pompously call these channels old-fashioned.

Imagine if these digi-tossers consulted to Ikea – one of the world’s most profitable marketers (they made around 4 billion Euro last year). If Ikea listened to these digi-spruikers they would be out of business.

There’s hardly a person in the first-world that has not seen the printed Ikea Catalogue – it has almost reached icon status. And it’s the key to the company’s marketing success.

ikea 001

A quick background – the 2013 edition was more than 300 pages, with 12,000+ products. It was printed as 62 different versions for 43 countries in 30 languages.

Like many successful retailers, Ikea understands the power of paper over pixels. They also understand how to use pixels to make their paper work even harder. The brilliant Ikea Social Catalogue is one example.

Ikea invited their social media Followers, to upload a photograph of the page in the catalogue with their favourite product to Instagram, for a chance to win the product. Thousands of pages were uploaded and within 4 weeks every product in the catalogue had been photographed and posted.

They call it the Social Media Edition of the catalogue and all it costed was a few weekly prizes and some head hours.

And recently Ikea launched the amazing new bookbook – which they have trade marked. It’s already had around 10,000,000 views online. This incredible piece of technology has no internet or power cables and the battery lasts a lifetime.

The content is pre-installed with 328 high definition pages featuring thousands of products. And navigation is easy – just use your fingers. You can bookmark favourite pages and share the bookbook easily with others.

Yes dear reader, you’ve probably already guessed, the bookbook is the 2015 Ikea Catalogue, hot off the printing press.

Ikea 1

Ikea 2

Once again it will help them sell billions of dollars worth of products – and it will be supported by digital and analogue channels to create even more sales.

And continuing on my fashion retailing theme – here and here, the Sportscraft catalogue arrived in the mailbox this week, complete with VIP offer. Another smart retailer using paper for profit.

Sportscraft 001

Sportscraft 002

So if you suffer from a digi-spruiker trying to convince you the only channels you need to use are the digital ones, here’s a suggestion.

1. Take one Ikea catalogue (bookbook)

2. Hold it just above shoulder height near said digi-spruiker

3. Whack them once on the side of the head with the catalogue

hit in head

You can then leave them the catalogue, so they can do some virtual shopping.

After all we’ve been virtually shopping by catalogue since the mid-1800’s – how terribly old-fashioned of us.

 

 

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Oh omni-channel, you naughty little digi-prangster…

05 Friday Sep 2014

Posted by Malcolm Auld in Advertising, BIG DATA, Branding, Customer Service, Digital, Direct Marketing, Marketing

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

marketing, omni-channel, omnichannel, retail marketing

For those of you who are regular readers, you may recall my bride enjoys her fashion.

And while I can rarely discern where her fingers end and her various screens start, she does not just rely on websites for her fashion information. And the retailers know this fact, because she is not alone amongst their customers.

Fashion, cosmetics, jewelery and accessories retailers all use personalised mail to build their brands, generate store traffic and to sell stuff. They’d go broke if they didn’t, as mail is one of the most successful and proven channels in retail marketing.

They also use email, social sites and in some cases apps, to communicate with their customers. Dare I say it, they’re omni-channel marketers. Oh my digi-goodness, how innovative of them.

You have to love the marketing buzzword “omni-channel“. According to Marketo it refers to the fact consumers can now engage with a company in more than one channel to enjoy a seamless or universal experience. Yes it’s true dear reader. And apparently something new in retailing, this multiple-omni-thing.

And omni-channel even has the buzzword ‘engage‘ in its definition – so it must be fascinating. If you want to read even more omni-drivel, particularly about the value of the omniscient customer experience click here.

For the digi-impaired here’s what it means in layman’s terms. Before the internet was invented, consumers were limited in the ways they could engage with brands – particularly in a seamless or universal way. They only had television, radio, press, print, mail, catalogues, sales people, retail stores, trade shows, telephone, sms, promotions, posters, brochures, sponsorship, videos, CDs, events, multi-level-marketing and such channels.

How frightfully old-fashioned I hear you say?

Now they can still engage using most of those channels of course. But they can also engage via a website, social site, app and email using various computer devices. So obviously this rush of new digi-channels demands a new buzzword to describe the fact consumers can now engage with a company in more than one channel to enjoy a seamless or universal experience. If you get my digi-drift.

It’s undigi-believable this brilliant ability of the digi-buzzword to claim ownership of behaviour we’ve always exhibited in the analogue world and now also exhibit in the digi-world. That is, we use a number of different reference sources before buying stuff – both online and offline sources. Amazing insight this omni-thing.

I was chatting with my soccer mums recently – as I coach their kids. I’m sure one of them said she loved this new Omni-world. She could look at a product on a printed catalogue. Then she could drive to the store and see the same image of the product on a poster at the store, or she could look at it online.

But if the product image on the poster or the website wasn’t a seamless match to the image on the catalogue, she could refuse to buy it on the basis her shopping experience was not universal and seamless. Such consumer control of brands is scary.

Apparently it happens all the time – consumers always use marketing speak when conversing with each other don’t they? Just ask a digi-spruiker.

In case you’re interested, Omni comes from the word Omnis, which can mean ‘all’ or ‘universal’, depending upon your definition reference. Yet there is no agreement on the spelling of the buzzword – is it Omnichannel, Omni channel or Omni-channel?

Let’s look at a a couple of Omni-channel graphics shall we:

omnichannel 1

omni-channel-300-x-272

As you can see these images describe a recently discovered parallel universe. In this new Wonderland humans don’t shop in physical stores (despite the sexist image of women shopping at a retail store). These people don’t speak with other humans, watch TV, listen to radio, see outdoor or in-store posters when they walk or drive, read catalogues received in the mail or engage in any other analogue channel. They just spend their life staring at screens and tapping keys.

What Omni-bollocks!

Yes, on some occasions people will notice or search for something online and then buy it online, without involvement in any other channel. This is a growth area of retailing. And the more consistent the content on the various screens, the easier it is on the eye and mind to process. This knowledge comes from decades of analogue retail experience by the way.

And yes, in many cases a statistically insignificant number of people will comment on a social site about their purchase, or even on the retailer’s site, or even less on a ratings site.

But in the real world, most people use any combination of analogue and digital channels when deciding what to purchase. Mind you, when they are repeat purchasing groceries for instance, they rarely use any channel to guide their decision, apart from the brands they see on the shelf. “What’s on sale today?”

If they buy groceries online, they often have a set shopping list and just hit the re-order button. Very little omni-experience there.

But back to the fashion retailers – they are Masters of the Omni-Channel.

In the last week both Mecca Cosmetica and anna thomas have mailed different types of catalogues with news and offers for their customers. For those who don’t know, Mecca has 40 stores across Australia and NZ, while anna thomas has six boutiques in Australia.

Here’s some shots from their mailings. Mecca is a cross between a catalogue and a broadsheet newspaper. It also included The Mecca Report Hotlist as an insert…

Fashion shots 006

Fashion shots 008

Fashion shots 007

The anna thomas mailing was a poster folded to C5 size:

Fashion shots 003

Fashion shots 004

Even Country Road doesn’t miss starting a new season without mailing their customers a broadsheet catalogue:

Fashion shots 001

Fashion shots 002

In fact, they probably do as Peter Sheppard did decades ago and use the sales results from their mailing to determine the floor stock for their stores.

And if you look at these retailer’s websites you’ll discover they include the same content on their sites as they do in their mailings, so they create a seamless experience for their customers – they’re omni-channel purists if you ask me. Bloody retailing legends really.

But I have to go now. I have some omni-engagement to do. I have a catalogue to read and a website to view – to help me drop hints for a Father’s Day gift.

Have an omni-goodweegend – and if you’re in Oz, Happy Father’s Day!

 

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I’ll shake your hand but won’t blow you kisses…

03 Wednesday Sep 2014

Posted by Malcolm Auld in Advertising, Content Marketing

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Big Aussie Barbie, Prostate Cancer, Prostate Cancer Awareness Month, Prostate Cancer Foundation

That’s exactly what my doctor said to me following my recent prostate examination, as part of my annual health check “I’ll shake your hand but won’t blow you kisses“.

He has a very engaging bedside manner – to use a marketing term – and a wicked sense of humour.

prostate gloves

You know the prostate examination. It’s the one where you expose your bare butt to the sound of rubber gloves snapping tight over the doctor’s hand. Once you hit 40-something these sort of check-ups become annual things.

The reason I’m creating content about this today is that September is “Prostate Cancer Awareness Month” in Australia. And my dad has just been diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer – so it’s top of my mind at the moment.

prostate

Diagnosis of prostate cancer is growing exponentially as our population ages. Apparently most men die with some form of prostate cancer in them, not from prostate cancer.

But it is the second most common cause of cancer death after lung cancer – see the statistics here. And it is also quite curable if diagnosed early enough.

As part of the monthly awareness campaign, the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia encourages Aussies to have a BBQ – as only the Aussies can – to raise money for the Foundation. Go to www.bigaussiebarbie.com.au

prostate bbq

You have to love a charity that says “get a bunch of mates around for a steak, sausages and a few beers, all for a good cause.” Strewth cobber what a bonza idea mate!

I’m not going to run a fundraiser or ask you for donations. I’ll make my own donation and hope my father recovers fully fit, following his surgery. Hopefully he’ll soon be up for a steak and a couple of beers with me again.

I learned years ago when first writing fundraising copy, that the majority of first-time donors to any charity are usually family or friends of someone who is suffering a disease, injury or is involved in a cause. So you will have your own causes to support.

But hey, a bit of publicity for a charity about a cancer that can affect half our species is probably worth it. And even you bullet-proof digi-kids under 40 years of age will be over 40 one day! Given my genes, it is now moving up the list on my health radar, so to speak.

I’m off to check my diary. I have to confirm the date for next year’s handshake with my doctor.

prostate gloves 2

 

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Suncorp’s “wow factor” loan misses one thing…the “wow factor”!

01 Monday Sep 2014

Posted by Malcolm Auld in Advertising, Branding, Content Marketing, Copywriting, Direct Marketing, Marketing

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

advertising, branding, content marketing, copywriting, direct mail, direct marketing, Suncorp

Don’t you love marketing messages that make you think aloud, “I wish I did that” – like the Ole Lynggaard mailing I mentioned earlier this week.

Sadly, the majority of marketing messages seem to aspire to mediocrity, regardless of media channel. It’s probably why we get excited when we see wonderful work.

So how would you feel receiving this self-mailer from Suncorp, as I did last week?

Suncorp 001

It breaks many of the rules, though not in a way that makes it work better. The first broken rule relates to the copy on the cover.

Bill Jayme described the purpose of the envelope and copy hook, as only he could – “the envelope is like the hot pants on the hooker. It should carry the contents securely and entice the recipient to open it.”

hotpants

Envelopes are like hot pants…

He was right of course, though maybe a tad politically incorrect for some.

There is nothing in this headline that entices me to proceed further. WIIFM? Where’s the benefit, offer, proposition, incentive or curiosity to motivate me to open the piece? I really don’t care what Suncorp has got.

But maybe you dear reader, can help by completing the headline? I’ve made some suggestions:

Suncorp – We’ve got…

  • Fleas
  • Bad breath
  • Sore feet
  • No idea
  • All of the above
  • Insert your thoughts here……

Rather than analyse this message page by page, I’ll let you see how it unfolded – so to speak. Because there is a subtle reference to all the folding in the final two words.

Suncorp 002

Suncorp – We’ve got…your home…

Suncorp 003

Suncorp – We’ve got…your home…covered from…

Suncorp 004

Suncorp – We’ve got…your home…covered from…every angle.

See what they did – folding the paper every which-way reflects the home coverage from every angle. Or maybe that’s just a coincidence, not a creative element?

But here’s the offer folks. It was hidden under the final panel – A loan with WOW FACTOR!

Suncorp 006

I’m not sure which focus group said “we want home loans with wow factor“? Is that really the sort of language people use?

It’s a worry, because this loan doesn’t seem to have much of it anyway – wow factor that is. The low rate is only an introductory rate. All banks have loans with no account keeping fees. Most loans let you pay either P&I or Interest-only. Most loans allow flexible payments. (You’d be nuts not to pay your loan weekly if you want to really save on interest) I have a redraw facility but have no idea if it’s standard or not.

So not much WOW really. To confirm the WOW claim I went to the Canstar comparison site, by simply searching for “home loan rates” and clicking on the link. It only took a few seconds.

As you can see the market is averaging about 4.65%

Suncorp comparison

Loans.com is 4.57%; UBank is 4.62%; YBR is 4.66%; CUA is 4.67%; and Bank mecu is 4.7% – so again very little WOW FACTOR compared to the market.

One of the hardest things in marketing in the home loan market is to get people to switch. The pain of change is perceived as too much. Plus there is confusion about the cost – it’s why the banks have traditionally had so little churn of mortgage customers.

The rule of thumb in financial services is that if you haven’t at least 0.25% better interest rate, don’t bother advertising. So you need more than just a rate to get traction with your prospects.

Or is that the wrong jargon? Maybe I meant to say, “get engagement with your prospects”? So much marketing jargon – so little marketing sense.

Wouldn’t it be better to just give prospects some reasons why it is easy to switch, given you offer a competitive interest rate?

Take the fear away. Or create curiosity. Here’s an example of a headline and image that would generate interest (excuse the financial pun):

Want to know something about your neighbours?

neighbour

Want to know something about your neighbours?

Inside the mailing you’d say something like: “they are switching their home loan to our WOW FACTOR loan“. Blah blah, special offer, blah blah..

I’ll bet my mortgage that more people are interested in what their neighbours are doing, than what Suncorp has got.

If you write from your customer’s point of view, not yours, you have a far greater chance of success.

But maybe it’s not Suncorp’s fault. Maybe a Content Marketing expert advised them. Probably told them you just have to create content then sit back and wait for the customer engagement to kick in. Don’t try to sell anything.

Though I suspect using more than two words of content in the headline is probably advisable.

I’m off to check my home loan rate. I’m guessing the only WOW FACTOR there will be how much I still owe the bank…

 

 

 

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