Paul Ford |
on March 13, 2008 |
category: direct marketing |
Our brand of DM
I just got back from a whirlwind trip to The B-to-B Marketing Conference in Orlando where I was the poster-boy for something that no Hacker-ite would have dreamed of just a few years ago:
Brand.
Now, don't get me wrong. I'm a direct guy. If the writing, the creative, the offer, the strategy all aren't working on a particular, identifiable individual to take a particular action that leads to a particular, measurable business goal, then I'm not having half the fun I should be.
But . . .
Times have changed. Those individuals we're talking to are lot smarter than they used to be. They have to be. With 5,000 or more marketing messages vying for that person's attention every day, your little bit of mind-space must make itself clear from the start and do so in a way that's instantly relevant, desirable and trustworthy. Otherwise, the finger is always poised over the delete button, the envelope is that much closer to the trash, the clicker finger is more ready to TiVo-forward through your message. In short, you're toast.
But it's not just a matter of coming out with soothing brand messages with consistent color palettes, calmingly symmetrical layouts and copy so minimalist you could call it haiku. That's simply not DM.
So, what's the solution? Wire direct into brand from the ground up.
If you want to know how to do it, call Jürgen at 425-454-8556. He's our business development guru and if you tell him about your marketing program, he'll be happy to give you a proposal. (Okay, that was fun.)
