- Get noticed – In a wave of communications of all types, the campaign piece must get noticed.
- Get read – A powerful message is only good if it is read and understood by the receiver.
- Cause action – the goal of the communications is ultimately to cause the receiver to do something, whether that is to buy a product or to vote for a candidate.
Types of Campaigns
Different methods of communication obtain different types of results and are better suited to one type of campaign. Campaigns designed specifically for brand reinforcement seek to apply exactly the same message to as many people as possible, through as many channels as possible. An example is the ads Coke and Pepsi typically produce.
Another type of campaign is the type designed to increase the amount a person spends in their next shopping trip. This type of campaign seeks to motivate each individual to take action and is most successful when the message speaks to each individual differently. This is known by many different terms, but one-to-one marketing is the most common. The goal is for the appearance that the company knows the individual and is communicating to that person specifically. This is achieved by using variable data to personalize each piece in the communication and yields large jumps in response.
Another powerful marketing technology is the ability to have two-way communications with the receiver. This is most commonly done with the implementation of a personalized URL (a web address that contains the recipient’s name – for example:
http://www.ElectJohnSherrif.com/matthewdavies) that takes the recipient to a website that is made just for them. They are given an opportunity to answer questions and provide comments back to you. This gives the campaign valuable insight into the thoughts of the individuals they are trying to get to take action.
What About Results?
I know what you’re thinking: “This sounds very interesting, but you said results earlier”. We did. What we have seen with our customers is huge lifts in both responses to campaigns as well as the actions taken after response. Traditional direct mail campaigns typically see a response rate of 0.5 to 2 percent. Simply by adding relevant personalization the response rates could go up to 4 to 7 percent. Add in a response mechanism like personal URLs and we have seen campaigns get as high as a 17% response rate! Imagine: 17 people out of every 100 taking action on your message!
Coming Soon…
Over the next few months, we will examine in detail how one-to-one marketing communications, personal URLs and other technologies can be applied to election and general marketing campaigns to achieve the same staggering improvements in readership and response that marketers are now seeing. We will explore in detail each technology and provide some examples of how it can be applied to your next campaign.
Who is Think Big Results?
Think Big Results is a division of Think BIG Solutions focused completely on bringing big results to campaigns (marketing and political). Think Big has been providing leading-edge marketing technology solutions for over a decade. We work side by side with our clients to understand their business and campaign objectives and then sculpt a custom production solution to help drive results. With in-house production including Dynamic Content Email, Direct Mail, Web & SMS Text, we mix technology and traditional marketing production to produce results based solutions suited to your particular situation. When you work with Think Big Results, you are working with a business partner interested in your success.
Matthew Davies is a 20 year veteran of the printing and graphics arts industry. He has spent over 10 years specializing in digital printing and personalized digital communications. In addition to a freelance writer, he now works as a portrait photographer in Boulder, CO. You may contact him at matt@daviescreative.com.
