Promo - February 2008 - (Page 28)

Direct Mail Toys ‘R’ Us used this cute mailer, by ShipShapes, to get people into its stores during the holidays. On the back the nearest store location was given, along with a peel-off ‘credit card’ good for a $10 discount on a purchase of $100 or more. MAILBOX MARKETING Direct mail creative can drive your promotion By Patricia Odell “One sip of The Glenlivet can tell you an entire story. The creamy notes of oak combined with the clean balance of citrus and spice has always been rewarding.” Now that’s smooth. Makes you want to snuggle by the fireplace and savor a glass of the scotch. The words, from a recent mailing to Glenlivet Society members, accompanied richly colored images of the whisky’s label and stacks of stately casks in the background. Enticing direct mail copy isn’t exactly a new phenomenon. But the massive shift in marketing dollars from mass to alternative media is forcing the creative bar to be raised. “The offer is the hero of the direct mail piece, but the creative is the sizzle,” says Catapult Marketing’s vice president and creative director Chris Kelman. IT’S ALL IN THE WORDS The language used in these pieces is more dynamic than ever: Engaging, inviting, respectful, provocative. All with a call to action like the Glenlivet mailing, which offered a set of six Glenlivet coasters “in their own slipcase,” free with the purchase of a bottle of the scotch. “Every word is a weapon that works for you or a weapon that will shoot you in your own foot,” says veteran direct mail copywriter Herschell Gordon Lewis. Facts should be presented with practical advice to help consumers make informed decisions about what’s being offered. Gone are the days of the hard-sell pitch; now it’s all about what benefits customers. People want to know what’s in it for them. Take Schick. It learned that women believed men’s razors were better engineered than those designed for ladies. And they were buying based on those beliefs. So when Schick launched its Quattro razor for women, it designed the mail piece along the lines of what a Ford engineer would put out to explain how to build the newest F-150 pickup. “We sold the Quattro with an owner’s manual that showed the razor’s schematics, features and benefits, all with a fairly masculine tone,” says Ted Parrack, chief strategic officer at the Colangelo agency. Continued on page 30 28 february 2008 / WWW.PROMOMAGAZINE.COM / Promo http://www.promomagazine.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Promo - February 2008

Promo - February 2008 Contents Editor's Note Reality TV Products Rebound - Soon? The Real World Young But Not Stupid Social Tease Health Quencher How Effective? Big Game in Big Easy Commentary Mailbox Marketing Q&A: Coke's Kruse Control Gift-Card Monte Room Service The Agency Center Resource Center Can't Beat Loyalty Index of Advertisers

Promo - February 2008

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