Brand Syndicate - Filed under 'Direct Marketing'

Fax You!

Here's my marketing question for today: Have you ever purchased something, directly related to receiving an unsolicited fax?

I find it hard to believe that in today's sophisticated marketing world, that direct marketing faxes are generating a strong return on investment. Yes, I understand that the technology developed to send faxes to a list is pretty simple and that phone time is now a commodity, whether local or long distance.

What I can't believe is that what is being offered in these faxes is so groundbreaking, that someone who receives it, can't wait to pick up the phone. My typical fax marketing opportunities usually relate to: (1) travel deal, (2) a hush-hush stock opportunity, or (3) an uninteresting seminar for small business. I figure that I get a minimum of two of these a day. Multiply that out for the typical year, just taking business days into consideration, and I figure that a ream of paper is wasted on just me (average 500 pages/year). Add to that five toner cartridges nd I figure the fax marketing market owes me $57.39 a year, just for my supplies to "carry their message."

I look at this as the parasite of the marketing world, with spam email a close second. Here's an idea: let's all collect the faxes we receive from companies, then compile them into one database. We can then all file a class action lawsuit against the combined entities and... wait a minute, I think its easier to just eat the yearly cost and spend 20 seconds of my day throwing them away.

Filed under // Direct Marketing

Let's Pick On The Government First

USPS Dino Roar!

OK, I know that the government is an easy first target. When the USPS dropped out of sponsoring Lance Armstrong's cycling team a few years ago, then watch him continue his quest toward 7 consecutive Tour de France victories, I never know what to expect from them. Regardless of the investment to sponsor the team, the USPS never had such a high profile marketing tool at their disposal.

That opportunity ranks up there in the highest of high "missed marketing opportunities," along with a past client of mine. Back in 1994, I was working at an Atlanta ad agency. Our client was finally biting the bullet and investing cable advertising, something it had never done before. At the last possible minute, they not only withdrew their advertising placements on CNN (due to cold feet), but it was done the day before the OJ Simpson White Bronco Run. The flights were due to start on June 17th, during the very same time that OJ was poking his way down the 405.

Getting back to the government, I received this useless piece of plastic, polybagged with one of my marketing magazines and thought that it could be interesting. Wrong. It turns out it's a glorified ad, in die-cut plastic. This must be what they transitioned their Lance Armstrong money to! The back has some useless information, with a CTA of: Get your FREE DVD, visit: usps.com/evolve (link now dead). It's funny, now that I think about it, the use of a dinosaur, relating to the USPS. Hmmmm.

So, now they wanted me to visit a website. I did. And was "underwealmed" with a reproduction of the plastic dino, along with a prompt to fill out a long form. Not only had they missed out on the immediacy of putting the DVD with the magazine (which, quite frankly couldn't have cost more that a custom die cut plastic dinosaur).

It's funny, they didn't even need to fulfill a DVD. I would have filled out the form, if I could have watched the content on the Internet. They could of had me. But like the dinosaurs, moved too slow to get out of the way of faster moving objects.

Filed under // Direct Marketing

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Direct Marketing

Fax You!

Let's Pick On The Government First