Catalog Costs: How Low Can You Go? (mytotalretail.com)

Marketing in a pandemic…how the heck do you do that?? A lot of us in the marketing world – including yours truly – have given this question quite a bit of thought since the start of the novel coronavirus. It’s been a crazy, frightening and ever-changing situation that seems to still be evolving more than half a year since it began. With many Americans cutting down their spending at this time, every blog post, advertisement or social media post might make you feel like Prince John and The Sheriff of Nottingham – the infamous villains in Robin Hood who regularly take advantage of the people of Nottinghamshire. In reality, all you really want to do is get the word out in a way that’s ethical, responsible and connects your product or service to people who feel it will make their life better. So, how do you responsibly go about marketing in a pandemic? click read more below...

One of the (many) advantages of working with CohereOne is the ability to aggregate data points from multiple sources to gain a clearer view on what can improve results for our clients. A strategy that has consistently stood out when we review results is the power of using “digital indicators” to identify customers who are more engaged with the brand when making selections on who to mail. We have found three that have proven to work in most cases: Email Opt-in vs. Opt-out: flagging your buyers on whether they have opted out of email marketing is a sure indication that they will not perform as well as buyers vs. those who have continued to hear from you. This delta is as high as 170% better for the opt-in buyers for one of our clients! click read more below for the rest...

Why are marketing campaigns so effective? What is the secret behind the good ones that people remember and talk about (REI’s “Opt Outside”)? Quite simply, a BIG IDEA. The best marketing and advertising over the decades have always been driven by a singular great idea (“Got Milk?”). A core idea that ties everything together. An idea that resonates with the audience and makes them think about your product or service in a different way. Remove that big idea and all you’re doing is selling products, just like the other brands. Blah. But when you build your marketing efforts around a campaign, and use that “big idea” consistently across all touch points, it’s more likely to get noticed, more likely to be remembered, and more likely to engage people on a human level. In other words, campaigns work. It’s no secret that I’m a huge Beatles fan, so once again, I will use them as a way of illustrating my point. When Paul McCartney was thinking about a different way to go about recording a new album in 1966, he came up with a big idea that would drive the entire creative process. What if the four lads took on a different persona, actually changing the name of the band? What if they reinvented their identity just this one time? much more at: https://www.jschmid.com/blog/campaign-building-blocks-the-big-idea/