A message from Fine Art Connoisseur Magazine Publisher Eric Rhoads
Sorting through the mail, my wife, Laurie, discovered a postcard from a chiropractor with a real Band-Aid stuck to it. It stopped her in her tracks -- enough to make her read it and save it. After all, we had recently moved and knew we would be in need of a chiropractor.
Two weeks later, I heard Laurie screaming in agony. She had sprained her back, and we began a search for the card with the Band-Aid. We couldn't find the card, nor could we remember the doctor's name or location. A quick Google search of our town + Chiropractor + Band-Aid didn't give us an answer, nor did the Yellow Pages.
This chiropractor blew it. Though the creative message (the Band-Aid) cut through the clutter, there was no followup. Had this doctor sent more cards, three or four weeks in a row, she would have gotten our business. Instead, we just picked someone else at random.
Marketing requires repetition. People lose things, they don't notice things, and they need reminders. Plus, when we started looking for clues elsewhere, we couldn't find the chiropractor with the Band-Aid.
Message Unity: How The Band-Aid Could Have Worked Better
The idea of the Band-Aid on the card was effective enough to get us to stop for an extra second to read the card while sorting the mail into the trash. It was clever. But if this chiropractor had been extra savvy, she would have done a few more things so the Band Aid was used in all of her marketing efforts to reinforce her campaign:
1. More mailings with Band-Aids (repetition). I'd mail a Band-Aid-shaped sticker with the phone number for future use and put messages in front of the consumer several times.
2. Search terms and keywords, so if someone searched "Band-Aid + Chiropractor + our town," her page would have popped up.
3. A special website landing page showing the mailer and the Band-Aid and linked to vital information.
4. A Yellow Pages listing showing the Band-Aid. (Though I'm no longer big on Yellow Pages because Google has replaced them.)
5. A clever, memorable phone number. 1-888-Band-Aid might have been remembered if we couldn't find the card.
6. A small map on the card showing the location. This might have helped us remember where this doctor was.
7. A giant Band-Aid on the office sign so I could see it when driving by. (Galleries please no band-aids)
8. Band-Aids on everything you do (business cards, booths at the home show, TV campaigns, etc.). The Band-Aid becomes her marketing message at every touchpoint.
A great creative message was not enough. Though it generated attention one time, it failed to get our business when we were in the market. Marketing messages are erased with time, which is why you need repetition and why your creative theme needs to be carried into every touchpoint you make with customers.
Like most collectors, I receive postcards from dozens of galleries. They all look alike, and most don't get my attention. And I rarely get a second or third card (or e-mail) selling the same show. What can you do to stand out, get noticed, and increase your frequency? It will pay dividends in everything you do.
Eric Rhoads,
Fine Art Connoisseur
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