Hacker Group Blog

How to be NOT cool, know your audience and build brand through the sales process!

Michael Goerz — Fri, 17 May 2013 11:36:45 -0700

The NY Times article J.C. Penney’s New Plan Is to Reuse Its Old Plans summarizes efforts to go from jcp back to “Penney’s” (“I love Penney’s” as my Mom would say). They are bringing back St. John’s Bay, a wider range of clothing sizes and price promotions. They said they were sorry, too (“cough-LOSERS-cough”).

Contrast that with the idea to bring in the Apple guy (everyone loves Apple and deep in their hearts, ALL marketers know that their company is really “just like Apple”) who for jcp (lower case letters, no spacing – COOL!) developed boutiques, brought in new designers, and dropped price promotions (“those make our brand feel ‘cheap’”). Short of telling the world they didn’t want the fat and unpopular wearing their clothes like the Abercrombie CEO recently did, jcp was doing all the cool stuff.

What happened? jcp forgot who they were talking to. The J.C. Penney’s audience was not cool by the Apple definition or even the Target definition – because their audience consists of DIFFERENT PEOPLE. The direction that jcp went in sounds great and it echoes a lot of the sentiments we hear these days when marketers think about themselves as the audience v. the real audience. But it didn’t look like Penney’s customers – it didn’t sell clothes that fit them. On a large scale they don’t shop for coolness points – they shop at Penney’s because it’s affordable and they like getting a deal.

So, what - is Penney’s like totes uncoolio now? Uh, actually, they’re pretty damn cooler in my opinion. A) They made a mess into an opportunity and they’re getting attention, B) Penney’s customers feel like someone heard them, and C) Penney’s isn’t stopping there – they are using (cool) channels like the Facebook to listen and respond to their audience.

Penney’s was right to innovate, because if it wasn’t somewhat broken they wouldn’t have tried to fix it. What the marketing world can learn from this, however, is to make decisions for the audience and not your personal vision that doesn’t align with it. Keeping the real audience in mind may lead you down a path of discounts, dated clothing and advertising that doesn’t look like art – but it’s the right thing to do for the customer. That’s your job – know your audience, create the experience they want, and sell them your products on their terms.

J.C. Penney’s is gravitating towards the right blend of innovation for their audience (e.g. customer feedback loop noted above). This is what we call building brand through the sales process (“BOOM J.C.” <insert fist bump or better yet – good ol’ fashioned high 5>). That’s hotter than a stonewashed mom jean on a mid-40’s suburban dad!

Jolie's empowering choice

Jenifer Joyce — Wed, 15 May 2013 13:18:34 -0700

Angelina Jolie’s announcement of her double mastectomy has lit up the news wires in recent days and rightly so. As a woman and a mom, I applaud her thoughtful and courageous decision to take a proactive approach to her health. In Angelina’s case, knowing her carrier status for BRCA1 set in motion life-saving events to prevent breast cancer.

Thanks to revolutions in genetic testing, we now have more tools than ever to understand our risks for disease, and make informed decisions about our healthcare with our doctors. Genetic testing is going mainstream, with greater ranges of diseases and traits now being able to be isolated, understood, and able to be acted upon. Companies like our client 23andMe are leading the way, making it easy and affordable for all of us to gain information about our DNA, and take steps towards managing our health. I’m inspired by the growing number of stories I’ve heard from 23andMe customers like Kristin who learned she had a genetic risk for celiac disease, and made simple lifestyle changes that improved her health.

Learning about our DNA doesn’t have to be scary – it can be empowering. As Angelina Jolie stated in the New York Times, “Life comes with many challenges. The ones that should not scare us are the ones we can take on and take control of.” Words to live by.

When it comes to data protection, we’re number 27001

Stanley Bean — Tue, 14 May 2013 07:59:37 -0700

If you don’t know me personally, I’m the guy you see lugging locked, steel attaché cases around the office. Often from one secured room full of servers to another secured room.

It may look like I work for the CIA, but that’s how seriously we take our information security. Which is why we were one of the first agencies to become ISO/IEC 27001 certified in 2010.

This may sound like something only an IT guy could appreciate (or understand), but there are many reasons to be impressed. Mainly, it means that all the data we collect is safely protected.

ISO/IEC 27001 provides a universal standard for data management, so anyone dealing with a certified vendor can rest assured their data is secure.

To be eligible, companies must be formally audited and certified compliant with the standards developed by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). No easy task!

ISO certification benefits us (and our clients) in many ways. Besides keeping data safe, it provides a framework to drive improvements in our processes and security.

It also aligns our data with international guidelines – essential for the efficient sharing of information with other organizations. This last benefit is especially critical to our insurance clients, who must adhere to Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) rules and regulations.

Now that you know how ISO improves our data security, you’re probably wondering why the International Organization for Standardization has the name ISO and not IOS. Here’s the answer: because every language would have a different acronym.

The founders needed a single, short-form name that would be the same for every country and language. They decided on ISO, derived from the Greek isos, meaning equal.

Direct marketing on the mobile edge

Spyro Kourtis — Wed, 08 May 2013 18:03:03 -0700

According to the IAB, last year mobile advertising spending increased by 111% and accounted for 9 percent of all digital ad revenue (which also increased).

It's a big jump, but not necessarily as big as it should have been.

They're easy to find but we don't need statistics to prove that behavior has already changed. To accurately reflect the word "marketing," we need to honor the market and reach people where they are - head down with their phones in cafes, restaurants and even sidewalks.

Retailers accounted for 20 percent of total Internet advertising during 2012. While also significant, this also suggests what we know, that mobile display is not yet widely used as a direct marketing sales strategy.

In our business, making the decision to shift media allocation can be daunting. Our clients face very real sales goals, and often succeed with the tried and true.

That's where good old-fashioned testing comes into play. By adhering to a sound test strategy your risk is minimal - and results will be quick - though it might take some time to find the right approach.

According to the Pew Research one-fourth of teens use the cell phone as their primary way of accessing the Internet, and among smartphone owners, that figure rises to 50 percent. Again, I don't need statistics to tell me that cellphone internet use is not for homework. It's for shopping and socializing (I've got my kids to prove that).

The tide has changed and will do so ever more quickly. Never has there been an environment more ripe for direct marketing. The inventory is there. Add localization and marketing to people where they live, work and play is an unprecedented opportunity.

A lot goes into an envelope

Jamie Bolles — Tue, 07 May 2013 08:38:29 -0700

Picture this: You’ve sent your mom a card for her birthday. She’ll reach into the mailbox, see the envelope, and pause. A smile will move across her face.

The envelope feels different and looks special. It has her name on it. She’ll either open it then and there, carefully untucking the card. Or she’ll place it on the kitchen table to savor the unveiling later.

All of this from a single envelope. The touch, the texture, the size and the shape. Little details help tell a story. And at Hacker Group, details matter a lot to us. They help create the right customer experience.

Each year we produce more than half a billion mail and print pieces. And we put a lot of thought into every piece that goes out our door.

For instance, the right paper depends on thickness, grade, finish and coating. A personalized message requires inkjet, laser or digital printing. Then there’s standard mail versus First Class to consider, along with different franking methods.

To help navigate the mail and print production process, we have subject matter experts who really know their stuff. We pick their brains on a regular basis. Their ideas and recommendations are crucial for getting the best possible results for our clients.

But if you want my advice, mail a card to your mom. And put it in a 6” x 6” gloss envelope.

Sales attribution matters.

Tom Reid — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 06:49:29 -0700

As large amounts of advertising dollars shift to digital vehicles, the age old struggle of marketers to determine what part of their budget is actually working has taken on a new name – “attribution.” While digital vehicles add more channels of audience reach, the fundamental issues of attribution remain the same.

The first thing to embrace is that complex buying decisions are typically influenced by many interactions. People rarely buy a new health insurance plan or a cruise vacation on the basis of a single phone call or website visit. In the case of health coverage, they might respond via reply card to get an information kit, then register to attend a seminar and then call a representative with questions before they enroll. As people move deeper into their buying cycle for a given product, they tend to become very responsive to communications related to their interest – often responding multiple times over the course of a short period. For marketers concerned with allocating media budgets to their most effective use, the question remains: which of these response activities (and their associated solicitations) should get credit for the sale?

The answer of course, is "it all depends."

Historically, the most widely used approach to attribution is to credit the last click / last response with the sale. While relatively easy, this “LIFO” (last in, first out) approach under values the communications that intially engaged the prospect and often leads to questionable outcomes, such as crediting a large volume of sales to a final post-card reminder or set of banner clicks at the end of a stream of many prospect interactions.

In complex, considered purchase environments, where more often than not a salesperson is involved, marketers may be better served with at “FIFO” (first in, first out) approach for acquisition campaign measurement. The FIFO method gives more weight to the first response and often conforms more closely to a sales process in which responders are subsequently excluded from cold prospect / non-responder communications. With FIFO, the marketing vehicle and execution that drove the initial engagement is ultimately credited with sale. All other response and sales nurturing activity associated with the sale are tracked as contributing events – still vital to the sale, but not the originator of the sales activity. This is not to discount the importance of all other marketing and sales interactions but rather to establish the advertising vehicles – the media and the executions – that are producing the most cost effective volume of prospects that are converting into sales.

My life as an always-addressable consumer

Mark Capps — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 06:32:11 -0700

While perusing Forrester’s 2013 Interactive Marketing Predictions report (Forrester Research, February 11, 2013), I realized that I can now add another title to my role as a participant in the U.S. economy – I am now an “Always Addressable Consumer.” Forrester created the term “Always Addressable Consumer” to define the 42% of ultra-connected U.S. online adults who were accessing the Internet multiple times daily from multiple devices and locations at the end of 2012.

As a part of this elite new digital consumption force, I can be reached individually, at any time, whenever I experience a need that can be fulfilled. As an AAC, I’m more demanding that I used to be. I want my needs met wherever and whenever it matters to me. Situations that used to have no marketing communication demands are now table stakes for me. I find myself complaining about a restaurant or public place that doesn’t have a decent WiFi signal or a company that hasn’t yet evolved its web presence into a mobile-friendly version. It’s not enough to have streaming music whenever I want it – we AACs demand Bluetooth speakers of every size, strength and shape to maximize our freedom.

So what do AACs like me mean to U.S. marketers? Since we’ll make up more than 50% of global adults by the end of 2013, it means companies need to rethink the ways they’ve engaged consumers in the past:

- Consider the many possible locations and devices with which consumers may be receiving a given marketing message

- Figure out ways of bringing online and offline worlds together – gratuitous location-based tricks and augmented reality are not enough for the AAC – we want highly functional, highly relevant digital solutions that make our lives easier

- Stay on top of the expanding devices, platforms, sites, apps and tools that make up our new digital universe – the right place, time and channel today may not be the same next month

While I’m not yet sure if 2013 will bring a heads-up digital display to my glasses, crazy new functions to my smartphone or an embedded chip in my arm, I do know that we AACs will continue consuming the digital landscape with gusto. Marketers who want to get our business need to consider the competition for our attention, the way we’ll be consuming their messages and where we’ll be doing the consuming.

Keep an eye out for the Always Addressable Consumer. There are more of us every day!

How strong is your brand?

Spyro Kourtis — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 06:28:21 -0700

Recently I bought a new car. This new object of my affection is a Fiat 500 - you may remember their Super Bowl ad from last year. It's possible that I've wanted this car since then.

My car is a blast to drive. In fact, just thinking about it can cheer me up. Just like the advertising suggests, owning this car is a surprising, sexy, fun experience.

Not surprisingly, as a marketer, I view the customer experience critically. I had an expectation based on the car and the ads. My test drive was pretty consistent with the expectation that I had going in. Although the car salesman was not a statuesque Italian model, he was a really nice guy who was 110% into the car. He was a fan.
So far, so good. The experience was mostly consistent with its advertised aura - let's give it a good solid 7.5.

What came next was a throwback to the auto sales experiences of "old" - complete with being pressed to "name my price"; and even being chased on a car lot. Not sexy. Not fun.

Well, one thing led to another and due to the persistence of a good sales person (reference the above test drive), I do, happily, own this car today.

This week I received a fun welcome kit in the mail from Fiat. Complete with stickers of the badge (my family's favorite part), a cool USB and more.

In this case, the brand has been so strong that it was able to largely overcome the very bad car lot experience. What's the lesson? In the purchase funnel, and in life, you cannot control the entire customer experience. But, you can try. And, you should. Because your efforts can be meaningful.

Did I mention how much I love my badge stickers?

Proofreading 101 in the age of 1011001010111010101

Jamie Bolles — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 07:27:02 -0700

At Hacker Group, proofreading is a crucial function in the flawless implementation of direct marketing programs across all accountable media. Our team of proofreaders is tasked with approving every element of each project they review—from the big picture to the smallest detail, from smartphone and tablet to the mailbox.

A proofreader can expect to review up to 100 individual projects during the course of a week. And that amounts to a lot of reading.

Aocdcrnig to rseecrah at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it dseno't mttaer in waht oderr the lterets in a wrod cmoe; the olny irpoamtnt tihng is taht the frsit and lsat ltteers be in the rhgit pclae. Araptnlepy, the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey ltteer by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe.

OK, I admit that the example above is extreme — not to mention apocryphal — but I use it to illustrate an important point. The human mind is fallible, and this fact informs our proofreading process at Hacker Group.

We have unique review steps in place for digital and print work: emails, microsites, banners, letters, postcards, variable messaging, DRTV scripts, and yes, even blogs. Everything is checked and checked again. Everything – not just spelling.

We visit each website, call each phone number and verify each address that appears in our work. We challenge each logo and image. We imagine how the piece will print or render. Word choices are scrutinized. We are constantly asking, “Does this make sense?” before signing off. To the casual observer, this level of checking and rechecking might seem like overkill, but I would argue that it’s mission critical.

Our clients are competing in an extremely reactive business environment, so we know that significant content changes can come at any time. Having the right proofing processes in place lets us move quickly, decisively and effectively to accommodate our clients’ objectives.

Since Hacker Group was founded in 1986, our proofing best practices have evolved considerably to meet the demands of new media and the changing needs of our clients. The goal, however, remains the same: perfection.

Customer experience lessons from the King of the Blues

Mark Capps — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 19:26:02 -0700

I had the honor of attending a B.B. King show last weekend and it struck me that we could all learn some customer relationship management lessons from one of the hardest working men in music history.

He’s in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, he’s considered one of the top 10 best guitarists of all time and he was born in 1925. Yes – you heard me – he’s 87 years old! While he’s pared back his touring schedule to about 100 shows annually (from a previous average of about 300 shows), he’s racked up over 15,000 total career performances.

No brand that counts on a loyal customer base can thrive 50+ years without great customer understanding and a firm grasp of a few key CRM best practices.

Manage Customer Expectations:
Mr. King doesn’t try to be something he can’t be anymore. At 87, he needs to play sitting down and he’s not going to play a three-hour set. He’s one of the coolest senior citizens in America, but he’s still a senior citizen and faces all the challenges of someone 80+. From the first intro music by his stellar backing band, he lets the audience know about the issues he faces just getting to the stage. Managing customer expectations avoids negative perceptions and the dreaded concept of overpromising.

Surprise and Delight:
It doesn’t take much to delight a sellout crowd witnessing music royalty, but B.B. throws in a few tricks to spice up the show. He flirts with a few women in the crowd, jokes about his bandmates and then brings out his 3-year old great granddaughter to the cheers of the crowd. While one of his 50 grandchildren needs to whisper the child’s name to him, he thrills the crowd with a memorable moment between a cute little girl and her famous great grandfather. Strong brands need to nurture their customer relationships with a healthy positive surprise from time to time – a new feature, positive customer service experience or sincere communication can go a long way toward building lifelong fans.

Engage the Customer:
B.B. did a great job of chatting up the crowd while essentially playing parts of his most famous songs. A few lines of his Grammy-winning “The Thrill Is Gone” followed by a funny story about a bandmate or a session of guitar pick flinging (he was fed hundreds of them by “pick suppliers” positioned on each side of the legend. He spoke regularly to the crowd, gauged their interest in the action and kept them hungering for each melodic note from his guitar. Engaged customers are connected, present and aware of the features, benefits and communications coming their way.

The next time you’re considering a new customer touchpoint or crafting a message to an important customer segment, consider how the “King of the Blues” treats his customer base. Managing expectations, spontaneous delight and engagement never go out of style.

Tic Tacs, iPods and health insurance.

Michael Goerz — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 07:23:38 -0700

The recent New York Times article by Michael Moss – The Extraordinary Science of Addictive Junk Food – basically sums up that big food companies have engineered junk food to make fat, salt, and sugar-loving people ADDICTED to it like cigarettes. Details of Howard Moskowitz’s process for food optimization eventually leading to the industry term known as “the bliss point” that made products like Dr Pepper Cherry Vanilla and Prego Chunky Spaghetti Sauce winners are pretty fascinating. The rigorous testing of 61 different Dr Pepper variations with thousands of people is actually a lot like what we marketers do to test and determine the highest ROI strategies (PowerTest®). There’s also a recap of how bologna became sexy again (Lunchables) and the mojo behind Fritos and Cheetos and on and on.

This made me think about how we react to knowledge like this – that processed foods are like cigarettes, addictive, and could KILL us! Is the knowledge alone really enough to drive the extent of change needed? Don’t get me wrong – this is POWERFUL information and it will lead to a change in the industry, and if it doesn’t, the industry will direct their own changes to avoid killing off their audience (that would be their incentive). On the whole, however, it is not going to wipe out obesity and its ugly bedfellows. We will completely FAIL if we think that knowledge alone will drive a change in behavior for everyone, especially those most vulnerable to obesity.
Let’s go back to the word incentive. Now here’s something – people are more likely to do things because they are incented. Proof: people work for money. Teams compete for trophies. These aren’t the only motivators out there, but they sure do help and in some cases play a big role. Take my kids for example. They are homeschooled and therefore projects and assignments require creativity (“read Tom Sawyer” requests have fallen on deaf ears) and are often most successful with an incentive. My daughter, Fela, a frequent requester of things like gum and “Baby Lips” while in the checkout at the grocery, recently asked me for a 200-pack of Tic Tacs. I came up with something brilliant on the spot. I would buy the Tic Tacs and she would get to eat 5 of the 200 if she agreed to give the other 195 Tic Tacs away to 195 unique individuals by March 15th. She would need to photograph each individual with the Tic Tac in their palm and post it to Facebook. If she achieves the goal by the deadline, she gets her much desired iPod touch as a reward (but the catch is that she can’t tell anyone that’s the reason she’s giving away the Tic Tacs). She loved the idea so much that she could have cared less about only eating 5 Tic Tacs and is now working backwards from iPod and developing a plan and approach to scale unique Tic Tac accepters to reach her goal on time.

Incentives are all about the right offer for the right person. Fela wants an iPod touch and is therefore extremely motivated to get one and therefore is more likely to employ a diverse and creative set of tactics (e.g. strategizing, networking, public speaking, selling, etc.) to get to the goal. Along the way, she’s getting something more than an iPod touch – she’s going to build skills and confidence in herself! If incentives are so powerful, however, why aren’t they being used more often to motivate healthy behaviors…

It turns out that using incentives in health care is a tricky business. There are old and new regulations -- both HIPAA and PPACA have things to say about it. Financial incentives can end up being more of a punishment than a motivator, if the person with unhealthy habits can’t change.

But the approach can be effective, the cost is relatively low – and it would be a real brand differentiator for the most innovative health insurers.

Most incentive plans offer only financial rewards. This may work hard as a way to change behavior, but there may be more exciting, brand-related incentives to provide. Aetna offers gift certificates. Some Blue Cross Blue Shield insurers use a Blue Points Rewards System that offers a variety of gifts for recording what you eat and how much you exercise. If you want to get new customers, this brand-driven approach may be the better choice.

According to an article by the Harvard School of Public Health, “More research is needed to learn just how effective workplace incentives and disincentives really are.” And that’s why we’re always encouraging a test and learn approach.

Mobile First = Customer First

BJ Hatcher — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 06:22:35 -0700

The concept of Mobile First has been around for a few years now, and like all new trends it has finally hit the main stage as the most important new term that you should keep in mind every day. There’s the Mobile First theory, and of course the major design and code elements that make a Mobile First campaign successful. I’m not a developer, so I’m going to stick to theory, and leave fluid and responsive code techniques to the people who know best.

Since I don’t see the world in 1’s and 0’s, the way that I like to think about this crazy new Mobile First phenomenon is to equate it to the other most-important-thought-to-ever-consider phenomenon that is still lingering in the background – Customer First. Mobile First truly is just a digital expression of Customer First. It extends our thinking about how customers interact with products, locations, or sales staff – but also what they’re using for those interactions and decision points – their phone!

I focus very heavily on marketing to connected devices, so most of my campaigns start and end with Mobile First in mind – so I’m done, right? Not really, that’s the lazy way out. The real challenge that I now face in my campaigns is integrating Mobile First and Customer First, especially in a channel that sees new techniques and placements and big ideas month after month. I have to be as nimble in campaign development as the general consumer is fickle about the latest place to spend their digital time – remember Highlight? It was all the rage for about a month or two.

How are the customers of my client interacting with their brand in real life? I mean, they’re still going into retail stores after all. I’ve been leading our team down pathways that bridge our on-device campaigns to in-store experiences, and there are lots of truly exciting opportunities ahead using location-aware strategies to fuel connections from the time a consumer is sitting at home all the way until they’ve arrived at your destination.

To put your customers first, you must think about how to engage them on their device, because they – your customers – have already put their mobile first.

Taking a hard look at 5-day delivery.

Mary Hildie — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 05:36:58 -0700

For years my livelihood in direct marketing was heavily dependent on mail. So the announcement of the loss of Saturday delivery, while no surprise, threw me for a bit of an emotional loop. In fact, it took me a while to process what it really meant – for me and for my organization.

Here’s my take, after some consideration.

From a delivery perspective: If Saturday delivery of mail is discontinued, first-class mail delivery time will be most affected. For example, if mailing first class on a Wednesday or Thursday, we may want to weigh in-home date vs. cost, as a switch to Standard Mail might be a consideration. Standard Mail delivery times may also be delayed slightly. But we plan our mail drops based on an in-home delivery range and the end of the range will likely not be affected.

From a strategy perspective: Hacker Group manages large, sophisticated direct mail programs which have developed finely tuned mail patterns and schedules that incorporate Saturday delivery. Reducing a service day may disturb some of these patterns which have been closely moderated both for marketers’ planning purposes and optimal service to customers.

However, with the potential 5-day service change not occurring for another six months, Hacker Group will be able to analyze each of our clients’ programs to determine the best new strategies to manage around the loss of the Saturday delivery without impacting results for our clients.

New strategies may involve not only new mail plans but also the inclusion of other proven marketing media we already deliver for clients, such as email, direct response TV spots, search engine marketing on Google, Bing and Yahoo!, as well as other accountable media.

In 1950, when the Post Office stopped delivering mail to residences twice a day, I imagine some traditionalists took it hard.

But we can’t operate on nostalgia. We’re a business. So is the USPS.

Where to next?

Mark Capps — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 12:59:03 -0700

Relevance is key in customer lifecycle communications. Today’s savvy customers understand that the companies seeking to retain them have the big data details behind their relationship. These customers increasingly allow and even expect these nuggets of relevance to be used to communicate with, inform and retain them.

Hacker Group’s customer lifecycle program for Carnival Cruise Lines uses a well-defined structure of traditional and digital touchpoints to effectively retain and rebook past cruise guests. Each touchpoint takes into account guest tenure, number of previous cruises, their point in the current cruise lifecycle and their overall propensity to cruise again.

To achieve the highest degree of relevance and an increasingly personalized customer experience, Hacker Group relies heavily on digital/variable messaging. Dynamically variable emails and fully dynamic digital printing techniques combine to create truly unique, personal and relevant customer touches.

One great example of this relevant and personal communication is our “next cruise” postcard. Using digital data and printing technology, we build the customer’s name, their last cruise destination and the timing of their last cruise into a simple headline that demands attention: “Where To Next?”

With today’s big data depth, digital/variable technology and customers getting used to the idea of companies using this information, marketers need to continue developing creative ways of delivering relevance.

So where to next?

The multi-channel sales attribution challenge.

Tom Reid — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 08:00:03 -0700

While it is counterintuitive to think a single interaction – a response to a solicitation – should get marketing credit for a sale, most marketers strive to prove this very fact in their efforts to understand what part of their budget is actually working.

The intent of multi-channel marketing is to produce a greater volume of market engagement than from the use of a single channel. The promise being that multiple channels will work together to build credibility for the offering, expand the effective reach into the target audience and increase opportunities to generate new customer relationships.

The challenge becomes measurement – determining which channel and which creative execution within each channel had the most impact on generating sales. This determination is at the heart of multi-channel attribution analysis. To be most effective, the analysis should provide visibility into what worked well and can be expanded and what didn’t work and should be reduced or adjusted.

Success in multi-channel marketing means recognizing the many-to-many nature of our communications. A single sale is often associated with many responses. And a single response is likely associated with many solicitations. Overcoming the metrics challenge requires us to redouble our efforts to produce consistent and reliable data capture of all marketing and sales events – effective marketing resource allocation depends upon it.

Customer-Focused Messaging, Part Two

BJ Hatcher — Tue, 12 Feb 2013 08:03:05 -0700

I recently promised more examples of what I’m calling “Customer-Focused Messaging.”

What I mean by that is considering deeply not just the customer’s attitude toward the brand or product, not just an insight into her pain points, but thinking about what she expects, wants or hopes for from the medium she’s using. We’ve found this thoughtful consideration of the customer yields great engagement.

I gave a couple of examples in my previous post. Here are a few more.

• JiWire WiFi Sponsorship – If you access the Internet at the airport, you probably have too much time on your hands. We made sure our sponsorship placement addressed that notion with a Cure for Common Boredom.

• Amazon Kindle – What the customer wants from an e-reader is to get completely involved in the story, so we gave the Kindle community a story about the HTC OneX. This design also emulates the initial page of a new book you may be reading. We showed the readers something that was, at long last, not only a phone.

• Pandora Internet Radio – Most listeners of Pandora Radio do so somewhat passively, while our goal was to rock their world. Our approach, therefore, was to get their attention while staying true to the musical nature of the placement. For the AT&T U-verse product, our ad had a Rock Anthem feel with a memorable and attention-getting eagle call at the end!

For AT&T Wireless our Pandora ad gave an example of how our devices can change the world around you – with Beats Audio and the HTC OneX, you can add life to your life. Even at the dentist.

These examples, we believe, show real respect for the audience.

So don’t forget the necessary steps of understanding your consumer as a whole and how they want to be messaged to. But once you drill down to these intimate placements make sure you’re also having conversations that align with their mindspace in that moment. Now, how can we help you find and convert your consumers where they live, work, and play?

Customer-focused messaging is the key

BJ Hatcher — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 10:30:03 -0700

Marketers like to debate campaign execution: Should the approach center on one consistent design theme? Does there need to be a fully consistent design across platforms? Is the consistent thread of a brand identity enough to unite a message?

I suppose there’s no right answer to these questions, but there are certainly other critical factors to consider. Plus, we should never forget the real point – is it going to sell something?

Our partnership with AT&T has allowed us to test campaign-focused executions against placements centered on an idea and executed to fit the placement perfectly. We saw much higher levels of engagement by ensuring that this second notion of considering the audience to be just as critical – if not more, dare I say – than the actual campaign.

Looking back over 2012, a few examples demonstrate how we kept our brand focus, while delivering a message steeped in consumer research and understanding to ensure that our placement would resonate with the consumer in that moment.

• Hearst iPad Publications: Popular Mechanics – Popular Mechanics isn’t light reading, this audience skews male and they love details. Many articles in Popular Mechanics focus on the inner workings of machines. This placement provided an in-depth exploration of the 100-year history of innovation AT&T has brought to the marketplace.

iMonitor also highlighted this approach in its June 20, 2012 edition regarding our Popular Mechanics placement, saying:
AT&T has an excellent ad running in the July issue of Popular Mechanics. It allows the user to walk through an animated timeline of technological developments in the telecommunications industry from the first telephone conversation in 1876 to the 2011 release of the Samsung Galaxy Note—as well as transactional capabilities allowing for purchase of said phone. The ad also features animation, slideshows, and navigable features.

• Hearst iPad Publications: O, The Oprah Magazine – O is about life improvement, and the audience skews female. This placement addressed that insight through concise messaging that speaks this audience’s language while selling phones… Balance Achieved.

I have several other examples to share . . . but not enough space. So look for a second post on this topic soon.

Customer-centric email design inspiration

Matt Witter — Wed, 16 Jan 2013 10:59:16 -0700

No one wants to be “that guy” . . . the one with the annoying habit that everyone notices except him. Brands risk that when they don’t pay attention to how people are consuming their marketing messages.

But you’re not “that guy.” Right?

If you create unique email interfaces for the most popular devices and email clients, that’s certainly a start. But something is still bound to fall through the cracks.

The customer-centric approach is responsive design. The email is designed to work well on desktop, laptop, tablet and mobile devices – seamlessly and (potentially) beautifully in every iteration.

Take a look at some examples of what I mean. (Full disclosure: Hacker Group is responsible for email #6 – the one for AT&T.)

I am glad to see that the forethought and innovation of these brands are being recognized.

No one believes advertising anymore.

Carolyn Hansen — Mon, 07 Jan 2013 08:45:20 -0700

Just saw in Mashable a shocking new infographic from Lab42 that broke the news that no one believes advertising.

Hmmm.

No one believes they are influenced by advertising – and it has been that way since pretty much forever. I’m surprised they could find anyone who thinks ads are “very accurate.” (Maybe those people are in advertising?)

That is not to say that marketers should run away from advertising. And it particularly doesn’t mean we should flout the truth.

One interesting stat was that 38% of responders “wish claims in ads were more accurate.” Does that mean they wish advertisers told the truth? Or do they wish it were true that they could have flat abs in 30 days?

Until we can call up miracles on a dime, honesty is always the better choice. Even if lying (or photoshopping) can get someone to buy your product once, if you have to sell again to remain in business, you’re better off with the truth. It used to be that you wouldn’t be able to sell that particular customer again. Now, with Facebook and Twitter to spread their story, you’ll have a much bigger problem.

Digital/direct marketers know that marketing works. Self-reported data about perceptions of advertising are always amusing. And they have been since pretty much forever.

Keep the sales conversation going

Carolyn Hansen — Mon, 17 Dec 2012 07:08:12 -0700

Look at all the communications you’ve delivered in 2012. Email, direct mail, Twitter and Facebook conversations – and, we hope, face-to-face or (at least) phone conversations.

Are they engaging your customers, leads and prospects as much as they possibly could? Are there key facts you could gather through upcoming programs that could improve your close rate?

Much has been said about “engagement” – but I urge you not to engage for the sake of merely getting a reaction. Get something meaningful from your prospects that you can use in your next communication. To see just how NOT to do it, check out Condescending Corporate Brand Page on Facebook.

A better choice is to ask questions that help you understand your potential customer – in a way that you can use in the future. For example, ask a few simple questions in an email survey and keep track of the answers for your next communications. Try to be creative and fun (like: What kind of vacation do you like to take?), rather than just concerned about what’s meaningful to you (not: When do you plan to make a purchase decision?)

You can be likeable and assertive at the same time. It just takes some forethought and consideration.