Tag Archives: common sense

Chemist Warehouse goes radical to promote annual sale…

24 Wednesday Jan 2018

Posted by in Advertising, BIG DATA, Content Marketing, Customer Service, Digital, Digital marketing, Direct Marketing, Email marketing, Marketing, Sales Promotion

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As the summer holidays (yes my mates in the northern hemisphere, it’s summer down under) draw to a close, another annual ritual is also winding up.

It’s the annual post-Christmas retail sales. Although many stores started their sales prior to Christmas. This is the busiest time of year for retailers, as they clear stock to get ready for the new season and year ahead.

The major channels used by retailers to generate sales are:

  • Unaddressed mail
  • Direct mail
  • Television
  • Radio
  • Press
  • Email

You’ll notice digital doesn’t rate, apart from email. Broadcast channels aside though, the dominant channel is the letterbox. Unaddressed catalogues and leaflets abound.

One of my favourite catalogues is the Chemist Warehouse custom newspaper. This is a 16-page tabloid newspaper called The House of Wellness. It’s chock-full of information, advertising and promotions, including third party offers.

These types of publications were created in the 1980’s by mail-order marketers. As the publications were a cross between a catalogue and a magazine, they were called a magalogue. Luckily that buzzword didn’t last, though I think I once went to a seminar on how to create successful magalogues?

It’s a very good read. Here are some pages:

Front cover

Double-page spread

Third party offers

Back cover

Chemist Warehouse also uses television and email to promote its brand and sales. Consumers can buy in-store or in the online store. Amazing stuff.

These radical marketing tactics are summed-up simply by the term; common sense. This is known as a multi-channel approach. It’s branding. It’s selling, and it’s adding value to customers.

It’s not omnichannel. It’s not content marketing. It’s not data-driven marketing. It’s not customer engagement. There’s not even a customer journey – apart from driving to the store.

In a nutshell, it’s just plain old common sense marketing – and it works.

So why not start your year with a radical dose of common sense? Avoid the mandatory digital BS and buzzwords. Don’t chase the latest shiny silver digital bullet. Focus on your customers and do the simple things well. You’ll be surprised how successful you’ll be.

P.S. Today’s letterbox has a fabulous bunch of retailers making lots of offers. And there’s also a leaflet from Salmat, looking for people to deliver the catalogues into letterboxes in my street.

I might just take them up on it. Getting paid for a brisk early morning walk plus the opportunity to read marketing messages – it’s a marketer’s dream!

The Daily Mail’s ironic typo about retail store Typo…

29 Tuesday Nov 2016

Posted by in Content Marketing, Copywriting, Digital, Digital marketing, Marketing, Marketing Automation

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If you ever needed more evidence of the disease being spread by the content marketers, just read a typical content marketer’s content or “curated” online publication.

The mistake these cyber-hustlers perpetuate is summed up by this phrase “I type, therefore I am….a copywriter”. The “experts” peddling content marketing claim “everybody writes”. Well sorry to state the obvious, but it’s simply not true.

Everybody types, but not everybody writes.

Here’s a headline running today, in the curated online “news” site The Daily Mail.

Parents ‘disgusted’ after finding swear words on books candles and beach towels in popular stationary shop on display in front of children

typo-2

typo

I’m no grammar dude, but any primary school child knows the word stationary means “standing still, not moving”. Just like the brain of the article’s author.

Anything referring to writing materials, books, pens etc is known as “stationery“. The easy way to remember it is “e for envelope”.

Here’s a clanger by BigW – sent to me by a colleague who wants anonymity. And the company wonders why it’s standing still in terms of growth?

bigw

And here’s another typo I noticed in the Qantas magazine last week.

epson

The subhead says “Epson have it in the bag“.

The last time I looked Epson was singular, while have is plural – in layman’s terms.

The subhead should read: “Epson has it in the bag”.

Mistakes like this are everywhere. An application I read for a marketing role requiring writing skills, included the following: “Unfortunately, motor accidents do happen, with thousands hospitalised in Queensland due to road traffic crashes each year.”

The subject of this sentence is “motor accidents”. How do thousands of motor accidents end up in hospital each year?

Maybe Confucius should be taught in schools? Here’s what he had to say about communication:

“If language is not correct, then what is said is not what is meant; if what is said is not what is meant, then what must be done remains undone; if this remains undone, morals and art will deteriorate; if justice goes astray, the people will stand about in helpless confusion. Hence there must be no arbitrariness in what is said. This matters above everything.”

This gives me an idea. Given the B.S. being peddled by the content marketers, maybe content marketing should be rebranded. Just call it “helpless confusion” as that’s how it makes most intelligent marketers feel…