The Stackpile

January 27th, 2009

To DM or not to DM

At last week’s NEFMA conference, amid the usual hubbub about the newest, hottest marketing gadgets (Twitter, Facebook, et al), another, older marketing tool was getting a surprising amount of airtime: direct marketing.

Now, I have nothing against direct marketing. It is, in fact, a great tool under certain circumstances. If you have a special deal or event you want to promote, direct mail is often the way to go.

The problem is that many organizations use direct marketing in lieu of a comprehensive marketing campaign. Promotions are great, but what really drives customer acquisitions is brand recognition. People need to know who you are, and what you stand for—particularly in the banking category, where there is so little perceived differentiation. (In fact, according to the most recent Stackpole Report, the number one reason people don’t switch banks, even when they’re unhappy, is because there is “no difference” between banks and “no better option out there.”)
Junk mail
Differentiation can’t be earned through a single direct mail drop, or even ten. In order to create differentiation, you need brand personality. And the best way to convey brand personality is through broad-reach media like TV, radio, and print—ideally in a coordinated campaign.

You may hear a radio ad on your way to work, skim over a print ad while reading the paper, click past a banner ad on your favorite website, and finally end with a TV spot later that night. If all of these gears are working together with a unique message, the cumulative effect is a passive familiarity that stays with you for a long time. And when you’re finally ready to switch to a new bank, guess which one will be at the top of your list?

Hint: it’s not the one that sent you a coupon for free pizza last month.

Posted by Simon on January 27th, 2009
Filed under Banking, Marketing | No Comments »

January 22nd, 2009

Marketing in Tough Times

In a difficult economy, it’s tough to know whether you’re spending your marketing dollars wisely. Should you scale back your budget, or should you fight for an increase? Should you pursue new guerilla marketing techniques, or fall back on the old standbys like direct mail?

This month I’d like to offer some insight that will help you sort out these questions and come out on top.

1. Try to preserve your budget
Research shows that companies that maintain their advertising budgets through economic downturns perform better over the long run. A McGraw-Hill study of 600 companies found that businesses that maintained or increased their advertising during the 1982 recession had sales 256% higher than those that stopped advertising. Clearly, not everyone can increase their marketing budget—but if you can maintain your marketing spend through the downturn, you’ll be way ahead of the game.

2. Maintain traditional advertising
Maintaining your presence in traditional broad-reach media like print and TV shows confidence and intent—both highly desirable traits in uncertain times. As competitive advertising spending thins out, you’ll stand out. You’ll also be in a position to negotiate highly favorable media rates and aggressive packages. Sustaining general brand awareness, which can take years to establish, is critical. If you diminish your share of voice in a down market, the cost to regain awareness will be much more expensive than maintaining what you currently have.

3. Increase your online presence
In a downturn, it’s even more important that every advertising dollar work its hardest. It’s hard to find a medium that works harder than the Internet. Why? For one thing, the results are often quantifiable, so you can quickly determine what’s working and what isn’t. And since the costs are so controllable, it’s easy to calculate your return on investment. Finally, the Internet is often the first point of contact by anyone researching your product or service. By having a strategy that includes search engine marketing (SEM) and search engine optimization (SEO), you can ensure that you’re high on the list for any new prospects.

4. Be smart about high-cost, high-touch campaigns
Used sparingly, high-touch campaigns like direct mail can be effective in reaching decision makers and landing new business. But most successful campaigns come at a significant cost. For that reason, you should make sure the campaign goals are clearly established at the outset. Furthermore, before considering such a campaign, you should make sure you have something unique to offer. What is the call to action? Is it compelling? If it’s not a showstopper, you may want to consider a less-costly course of action.

5. Beef up your strategy
Stay busy through any downtime by refining your marketing strategy and brainstorming new approaches. Take advantage of free research (the Stackpole Report on Banking is a great place to start), and preempt questions by having the facts close at hand.

Posted by Peter on January 22nd, 2009
Filed under Advertising, Marketing | No Comments »

January 6th, 2009

McDonald’s looks good on paper.

After years of revamping the interior of McDonald’s locations across the globe, the chain has also decided to make changes to the way they package their food. With a focus on a more environmentally friendly and wholesome brand image, the restaurant’s packaging will now be made from a high percentage of recycled paper- an improvement from the non-biodegradable styrofoam and cardboard containers of the past.

McDonald's Clam Shells

Along with being eco-friendly, the containers will display images of some of the “fresh” products used to make the world-famous food. Photos of onions, 100% real beef, slices of cheese, and lettuce are shown on the the Big Mac boxes while the french fry sleeves display pictures of a semi-peeled potato. A similar approach is also used on the chicken sandwich and nugget packaging. The containers also possess short narratives on how each product is particularly unique and desirable to the consumer.

McDonald's Packaging

McDonald’s hope is that by focusing on the importance of locally grown, fresh, and high-quality products, consumers will think differently about the often stigmatized fast-food. Although they claim to be making efforts to stay ahead of obesity concerns, I’m not sure that adding a leaf of Iceberg lettuce to a 590 calorie, 34 gram of fat Big Mac will exactly entice the health conscious to trade in their salads and sushi.

Posted by Lindsay on January 6th, 2009
Filed under Branding, Design, Marketing, Miscellaneous | No Comments »

December 1st, 2008

Facecard

Facecard Logo

It’s a new world out there for kids these days. No more asking for a couple bucks from their parents, no more chores for 10 cents. Instead, Mastercard is providing them with a prepaid debit card. Essentially it is a reusable gift card but so much cooler! Facecard is the new thing, it is a debit card that you can sign up for online and allows you, or anyone else, to transfer money onto the card from a bank or your paycheck. Kids must be going around giving out their Facecard number to friends and families for their birthdays, graduations, etc.

Though this is a very simple idea, I think the marketing behind it is very interesting. Facecard is being promoted on Facebook, MySpace, concerts, and colleges. Banks and Credit Card companies have been looking for new, innovative ways to target this age group with an age appropriate item, and I think this simplicity is making the way. Facecard will email or text specific people about special promotions that their demographics, which they received from signing up, would be interested in, like sales, clothes, music, etc.

Even though this is a not a novel idea, it opens the doors to marketing financial products to this age group. The age group in which print, tv, nor direct mail are effective.

The website itself is very cool, check out Facecard!

Facecard

Posted by Nirali on December 1st, 2008
Filed under Banking, Marketing | No Comments »

November 5th, 2008

On a historic day…

November 4th, 2008 will go down in history…Barack Obama has been elected the 44th president of the United States. I get goosebumps just saying it! Now after all is said and done, looks like us marketers have a lot to learn from the Obama campaign. This great article sums up the brilliance and strength behind the campaign and its tactics and has compared it to the best brands out there. I just wanted to share how the Obama campaign has really captured our hearts like no other brand has done before, between the Obama logo my husband carved into a pumpkin for Halloween, or my Fantasy Football team named Team Obama, to the cookies we made last night for our election party with Obama’s logo on it. We are embracing the Change! Simply amazing…Congrats Barack Obama!

Posted by Nirali on November 5th, 2008
Filed under Fun, Marketing | Comments Off

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To DM or not to DM

Marketing in Tough Times

McDonald’s looks good on paper.

Facecard

On a historic day…