A few weeks ago I wrote a post entitled “Can I have your attention please?” In it, I asked readers what is the best way for marketing to get your attention? A message that tugs at the heartstrings? Something thought provoking? One that makes you laugh so hard you spray that mouth full of water across the room? (Or at least I hope it’s just water, otherwise you’re often cleaning up a real mess.)

Well, you responded (for which I thank you), and I must say I found your feedback quite interesting. Though not necessarily unanimous, the general consensus was that humor wins. Being the inquisitive person that I am, as you responded I only wanted to know more.

We all know, not everyone and everything that tries to be funny is actually funny. While I at first believed that my obsession with commercials was just an annoying job hazard, the madness over Super Bowl commercials proves I’m not the only one paying attention to what’s happening between my favorite shows.

Therefore, I now ask you, which humorous messages are your favorites? Do you die laughing every time you see the eTrade babies? Love hearing from the man your man could smell like? What advertisements – commercials, magazine ads, billboards, anything! – are your favorites and why?

Marketing can be used to achieve many objectives. A website can inform you about a company’s new products, a commercial makes you feel good about an organization supporting the fight against cancer, and an advertisement shows you the benefits of one product over one of its competitors. However, there is one thing that each of those tools – websites, commercials, ads – must do first. They must get your attention.

A website can’t teach you anything if you quickly decide it’s not worth your time and go back to surfing YouTube. A commercial that is muted while you’re making a snack can’t change your opinion about anything, and if you flip right past the magazine ads to read the celebrity gossip all you’re comparing is who has the crazier lifestyle.

So I ask you, what types of marketing tricks make you sit up and take notice? Is it the witty or clever ads that make you think? Commercials that tug at your heartstrings? Or the ones that are just plain funny? At a time when everyone and everything wants your attention, what convinces you to actually give it?

I recently downloaded the free set of symbol signs made available by AIGA. These symbols are termed an “inventory of symbol systems… for use at the crossroads of modern life.” They are standardized icons we see daily with effective iconography for several languages, yet still modern, and don’t forget, adorable. I’m a fan of anything tiny, but more than their size, I appreciate that these symbols were designed with the goal to “communicate the required range of complex messages, addressed people of different ages and cultures and were clearly legible at a distance.” In the design world, the term “segmentation” or “target audience” is thrown around a time or two. While these are very important, at times it seems there must be one very direct, general purpose for a piece or message to reach a wide group of people, or dare I say everyone. Whether it be a specific ad campaign to an age group under 30 with a similar interest of golfing, or a wide, bold message stating a cause or stance to everyone that hears, Willow is available to help you communicate that message clearly. If you’re lucky, we may even design an icon or two for you.

Source:
http://www.aiga.org/content.cfm/symbol-signs

Want to boost the results of your next marketing campaign? Give customers a choice in how to respond. You might be thinking, ”that is silly, we put our phone number and web site on all of our communications.” But that’s not enough to grow your response rates. You need to consider your target audience and make it as easy and convenient for them to respond as possible. After all, unless you have a polished list or impeccable timing, most of what you are sending out is just unsolicited junk in the consumer’s eyes.

Match the avenue to the consumer, for example:

• A retiree might not respond to a personalized URL, but might make a phone call.
• Generation Y consumers, who might never make a phone call, might respond to a Facebook invitation.
• An executive might not take the time to log into a URL, but might snap a QR code to view an offer on his or her phone.
• A mom might not pick up the phone, but might log into a personalized URL where she can use survey buttons to generate personalized information without the pressure of a sales call.

Phone calls are difficult to track without the support of an advanced call center. Personalized URLs, QR codes and other techniques give you a way to track who is responding. This not only tells you how effective your campaigns are, but helps you determine where to spend your marketing dollars and which medias are most effective.

What QR codes can do for you!
These two-dimensional codes (most often in black-and-white but sometimes in color) that you scan or snap with your cell phone camera take you to a marketer’s Website where you can access content, get discounts, watch videos, and experience a wide variety of marketing content right on your phone.

What’s exciting about QR codes is that they grab the viewer’s interest at the very moment it is piqued—wherever they may be. Your customers don’t need to go anywhere. As long as they have an Internet-enabled phone, they can snap a picture of the code  and access the content right away.

The QR codes can do more than just take customers to the Web. Here are a few examples of what they can do:

Email: Want people to respond to a promotion by email? When the user snaps the code, this automatically launches the email application and populates the “send to” address with the email address you choose.

Phone number: Want people to respond to a promotion by phone? When the user snaps the code, it displays the phone number and automatically launches a button for the user to dial. No more lost sales because the prospect dialed wrong.

Plain text: Users can access plain text too. They can scan the code to view exclusive portions of an interview or access a discount code. If they are visiting a trade show, they might see a booth number.

Business card: With one snap, you can populate the user’s mobile phone contacts with your name, address, phone number, email, and URL.

Calendar: Want to remind users about a scheduled event? Once they snap the code, your event’s date and time are stored in their phone. If they have a calendar app, users can select the reminder function so their phone alerts them when your event comes up.

So, if you’re looking to grow your response rate, think beyond your phone number and web site and focus. Know your audience.

There’s one thing that I encourage every one of our clients to make sure they’re doing – strategic planning. Doesn’t sound so simple does it? But it can be if you just take a little time to Write It. Share It. Visualize It.

Write It. – As the leader of your organization or your division, you certainly have a strategic plan in your head…along with the million other important items on your mind. It’s important to take the time to write out your strategic direction. That doesn’t mean that you need to draft a 20 page strategic plan. It can just be the 5 key things you want to accomplish this year and how you want to do that. Leaders need to get the ideas out of their heads and documented.

Share It. - Now that you’ve written down the direction you want to see the organization head, sharing it with key individuals or the entire team is critical. If your employees don’t know where you’re headed, they can’t help you get there. They don’t need to know all of the details, but they do need to know how they can help in being a part of the strategic direction of the organization.

Visualize It. – Don’t just write down your strategy and put it on the shelf. Keep it handy. Reference it when you’re making key decisions. One simple thing that we encourage our clients to do is to visually display their strategic objectives for the entire organization to see. Whether it’s a banner in the break room, a screensaver on all of the computers, a progress chart shared at quarterly meetings, or simply a 1-page infographic, find a way to easily and visually keep the strategy top of mind for everyone on your team.

And of course, for those organizations that need help with facilitating a strategic planning session, determining the strategic direction they should take and how they can most effectively reach their goals, Willow Marketing is here!