How a Committee Can Screw Up a Simple Message

UPDATE 7/31/08  Apparently Youtube took the video down. Here’s another link:

 

I suspect everyone who’s ever worked in advertising has dealt with at least one client like this:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kU9YeOQm3Y0]

Thanks to Seth Godin for the alert.

 

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How to Convert Contest Entrants into Customers

As reported in an earlier post, my company will soon be launching the “Green Home” contest — an online lead-generation promotion for Portland-area environmentally-conscious home improvement companies.

We’re going to be delivering thousands of leads to the contest sponsors, and I was looking for “out of the box” ideas on how to turn those entrants into customers. So I posted the question on LinkedIn (see it here if you are a LinkedIn member).

Among the answers was this insight from Mike Seidle, who runs the internet marketing firm Indy Associates. Here’s what he has to say about follow-up techniques:

Doesn’t matter what the method of contacting the consumer is, the conversion rate is always a function of the offer you make after you generate the lead. We just did a contest that generated 78,000 leads. Soft offers worked (get a free catalog, try ___ for 30 days at no cost, free fertilizer application, etc…) , hard offers didn’t (SAVE 10%, $100 OFF, GET A FREE TRIP!). Funny thing is sellers don’t like soft offers because they see a risk of higher cost. Reality is that you get lower ROI on hard offers because they don’t convert as well.

It seems counter-intuitive at first — once you’ve got a whole bunch of qualified leads, why can’t you just sell ’em something. But I’m guessing that although these people, by definition, are interested, they’re not yet ready to buy. The contest is a promising first date, but it’s not time to get married yet.

Check out Mike’s blog here.

 

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Adjust Your Marketing to a Changing Market — A Great Example

If there’s one thing becoming increasingly clear in 2008, it’s that marketing techniques that have worked for years — and in some cases decades — may not get the job done anymore. Like it or not, the market’s different now. Nobody knows if the differences are temporary or permanent. But for the short term, at least, you may have to add some more creative steps to your dance routine.

A terrific Portland example appeared in the Oregonian over the weekend. Craig Reger, a principal broker at The Hasson Company, will be offering foreclosure bus tours beginning next month.

Reger, one of the region’s top producing brokers, normally works in the high-end market at $500,000 or higher. But the higher-end homes aren’t moving as fast as foreclosed homes.

“The market’s changed, and my business model’s changing,” Reger said.

Reger recognizes that the world is different now. He’s not sitting still, hoping it’ll change back — he’s making the necessary adjustments now.

The bus tours haven’t started yet, but it’s already gotten Reger quite a bit of attention. I called his office to see if I could help him spread the word, and his assistant told me he doesn’t need to advertise the tours right now — he’s getting all the free publicity he needs. [Craig, if you’re reading this, feel free to give me a call as soon as the media attention dies down…]

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For Portland/Vancouver Home Improvement Companies Only

This is a confidential message intended for Portland-area companies home remodeling or home improvement businesses. If you are not interested in talking to local homeowners in Northwest Oregon or Southwest Washington, you are forbidden to read this post. Please log off immediately.

Are they gone? Good. Now that it’s just us, I wanted to tell you about a lead-generation program that my company will be doing in September.

Can you help Portland-area homeowners save energy and reduce their impact on the environment? Then they want to talk to you. Clear Channel’s Green Home contest can put you in touch.  

Beginning in September, we’ll be promoting the Green Home Contest on all five of our radio stations and web sites. Listeners will log on and enter to win prizes that help them live greener lives. They’ll be interested in:

  • Insulation
  • Green Kitchen Materials
  • Environmentally Friendly Lighting
  • Energy-Saving Heating and Air Conditioning
  • “Green” Furniture
  • Sustainable Flooring 
  • … and much more.

Once they enter the contest, we’ll have their opt-in contact information — thousands of names, addresses, email addresses and phone numbers of people who have told us they’re interested in what you’re selling. And if you’re a category-exclusive sponsor of the Green Home contest, we’ll give that information to you.

Interested in these leads? Email me here to find out more, or call me at 503-323-6553.

Even More Airline Advertising

A quick follow-up to Wednesday’s post on airline ads. What the heck, why not just paint the whole airplane?

On Ideoblog, Larry Ribstein’s posted a picture of a plane he rode, emblazoned with the Highland Park distillery logo. Apparently, if you ask they’ll give you a small bottle of whiskey.Here’s hoping the pilot wasn’t partaking…

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