ETD: 788 Does advertising work?; Spam drives snail-mail; RFID
in humans
E-Tailer's Digest
etd_post at gapent.com
Tue May 25 11:23:51 GMT 2004
E-Tailer's Digest --- Everything for the Retailer
Issue #0788 May 25, 2004
George Matyjewicz, Moderator mailto:georgem at gapent.com
Published by: GAP Enterprises, Ltd. http://www.etailersdigest.com
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CONTENTS
[1] Greetings
[2] Does advertising work?
[3] Spam drives snail-mail
[4] RFID in humans
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[1] Greetings.
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Hi All:
We have some excellent comments from list members - great tips and
excellent resources. Check out the tips on making advertising work. Right
on target.
Looks like some enterprising entrepreneurs found a new use for RFID -
injected in humans. Is this the wave of the future? I can see many, many
uses for the concept. And, of course, there are the privacy issues, not to
mention the physical issues. What do you think?
Tell us about your business which will remain for posterity at
our "Members: Who Are You?" site. We just updated all those postings that
we were delinquent with the
updates. http://etailersdigest.com/resources/members/index.htm And we have
a form there for you to tell us about you. As I said when I first proposed
this idea, we have "known" each other for a long time, yet we often don't
know anything about each other. So, tell us who you are and what you do.
Now, let's get to everything for the retailer.
Sincerely
George Matyjewicz, PhD
Chief Global Strategist, GAP Enterprises, Ltd.
mailto:georgem at gapent.com
http://www.etailersdigest.com
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[2] Does advertising work?
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I'm involved in an area of business that depends on advertising almost
100%. Direct Marketing. We have no store front except for the web, other
then that, all sales result from some form of advertising or promotion.
The vehicle for this advertising can be catalog, direct mail, electronic
catalog, website, email, television, radio, magazine, newspaper, and others.
The beauty of course in direct marketing is that we build measuring devices
into most every advertisement. We know what is working and what is not. We
can cut the bad and expand the good.
As already mentioned, each company, product or service has different
circumstances, but after 20+ years in the business I can condense into four
points what most people do wrong in advertising. Especially smaller
companies that create their own ads.
1. For space ads, most don't know how to create a good attention
getting...hard selling...advertisement. Even some agencies are not good at
it. Award winning ads are not necessarily "selling" ads. Before anybody
creates an advertisement they should read a book by John Caples if they can
find one, or the one we sell by Jerry Fisher. This goes for direct mail as
well, you need to learn to write (structure) a good sales letter.
http://www.nmoa.org/catalog/index.htm
2. They don't track their advertising. They have no idea how much income
(if any) was produced by a particular advertisement. So they are
continually wasting money on things that are not creating sales or new
customers.
3. They don't pay attention to the word "campaign" in the phrase
"advertising campaign". This is especially true when someone does a direct
mailing to a list of prospects. They send a single piece of mail to the
prospect and if they don't buy right then they say direct mail doesn't
work. The word "campaign" means more than one time. This may seem to
contradict statement two a bit, but in certain cases you need to keep your
name in front of someone over a period of time so they think of you when
their needs arise, or when you are trying to convince a company to give you
a try over their current vendor.
4. They don't know how to pinpoint their target market, and/or they don't
really have a good profile of who their target market is so they can
pinpoint it. In retail, this can also include not knowing how far they can
draw from. I see many people taking big expensive ads in newspapers and the
yellow pages when realistically they can only draw customers from a few
miles away. Thus wasting thousands of dollars that could be put into a more
refined adverting medium.
So does advertising work? Of course it does. But it's not something that
you just "whip up" and expect to work. It's a learned skill that requires a
concentrated effort to do right.
--
Best regards,
John Schulte
President and Chairman
National Mail Order Association (NMOA)
http://www.nmoa.org
Email: schulte at nmoa.org
Tel: 612-788-1673
http://www.nmoa.org/schulte
+++ [Moderator's Comments] +++
Excellent points, John! John Caples is also famous for the International
Caples Award presented to advertising agency who's ads produce RESULTS
(imagine that - an award that doesn't merely feed egos. My son Heath won
that award a couple of years ago.). The Caples Organization lists 10 tips
to win the award, with the number one being:
"It's all in the write-up. Spend time writing up the problem and presenting
your creative solution. Sure, all the judges like a great execution. But
remember, the Caples Awards are for "creative problem solving," not for the
most brilliant use of foil-stamping, embossing and laminating a #10 package
-- not that there's anything wrong with that. Sell the concept to the
judges the way you would to a client. Enlist the help of your partners in
Strategic Planning and Account Service in crafting the entry write up."
http://www.caples.org/how_to.htm
Your comment on "campaign" is right on target. I'm having the most
difficult time in a present engagement getting the firm to understand that
concept. They waste money with ads and trade shows, without any
planning. Then they wonder why they don't work. Simply put, a campaign
brings "method to madness."
The 5 W's are still the best method to use when developing a marketing plan.
1. What are you trying to accomplish?
2. Who are you trying to reach?
3. Where can you sell your products, i.e., territory?
4. When can you sell, i.e., is their a season or event that drives the sales?
5. Why should somebody buy your products?
George
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[3] Spam drives snail-mail
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Since I'm The Passionate Postcarder, I have more than a passing interest in
this subject. Reason: The declining effectiveness of e-mail marketing means
that there's a greater interest in direct mail.
In recent months, a number of people have told me that their e-mail
marketing just doesn't have the oomph that it used to. Either the messages
are being ignored, or they're just not getting through. Hence the greater
willingness to try snail-mail.
Martha Retallick, "The Passionate Postcarder"
http://www.PostcardMarketingSecrets.com
+++ [Moderator's Comments] +++
I agree wholeheartedly. So, how well do post cards work? Who do they
reach, i.e., who is the best target? How often should they be sent to see
results?
Also, does this add to the junk mail, i.e., the snail mail version of spam?
George
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[4] RFID in humans
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> RFID is in the news more and more. Wal-Mart says they are on target. What
> do you think? Will it be the wave of the future, or is it too far ahead of
> it's time?
It has been used to identify dogs for years. Now it seems like some clubs
are using injectable RFID tags as a pass and debit card.
http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99995022
Clubbers in Spain are choosing to receive a microchip implant instead of
carrying a membership card. It is the latest and perhaps the most unlikely
of uses for implantable radio frequency ID chips.
The Baja Beach Club in Barcelona offers people signing up for VIP
membership a choice between an RFID chip and a normal card. VIP members can
jump the entrance queues, reserve a table and use the nightclub's VIP lounge.
When drinks are ordered the RFID is scanned with a handheld device and the
cost is added to your bill. The chips, called VeriChips, are produced by US
company Applied Digital Solutions.
They won't let drunk patrons sign up for it, though.
-javilk-
Today's Photo: http://www.mall-net.com/today/
------------------- IMAGINEERING --------------------
--------------- Every click, a vote. ----------------
----- Do people vote for, or against your pages? ----
-- What people want: http://www.SitePsych.com/free --
-----------------------------------------------------
+++ [Moderator's Comments] +++
Maybe we will see an RFID chip implanted in all babies someday, so they
can be tracked, much like Lojac. It makes sense for children and for the
elderly, both of whom need to be monitored. I'm sure we all remember the
button worn by the elderly, that, when pressed, alerts somebody that there
is an emergency. RFID could work there.
I know, the privacy laws will prevent it.
George
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