Eyes on your own paper!
The key to establishing a strong brand with a loyal following is to differentiate yourself and engage your consumer. So at Electrum Marketing, we are stupefied by how often clients come to us with their competitors’ ads, brochures, or direct mail piece and ask for something quite similar (if not the same).
When the atomic mushroom cloud radiating inside my head has dissipated, I slowly open my eyes – disappointed to see my client still waving the ad they so proudly clipped from the newspaper. I calmly invite them to look at the About Us page on the Electrum Marketing website. One of the first rules is “We refuse to make you look like someone else, so leave your competitor’s ads at home.”
In today’s world where technology makes customization affordable, social media makes customer engagement easy, smart phones and tablets keep people plugged in practically 24/7, and unconventional messaging is becoming more mainstream – there are countless opportunities to distinguish your brand and engage your customer. It’s time to stop following the leader!
Here are a few exceptional examples for you to enjoy.
To let women know that they sell more than shoes, online retailer Zappos worked with InStyle and Real Simple magazines to create foldout ads in subscriber issues revealing “Personalized Closets” packed full of trendy fall items. On the front of each closet door, the magazine printed the subscriber’s name. Plus, an online sweepstakes tie-in encouraged readers to tweet @Zappos for the chance to win a $2,500 gift card. The result: more than 1,500 mentions on Twitter, and a 20 percent increase in consumer recognition that Zappos sells more than just shoes.
Kraft Foods is driving engagement for its Macaroni and Cheese brand via their “Dinner, Not Art” iPad app which encourages customers not waste their product on the practice of gluing dried macaroni noodles on paper to create art. Kids can now create macaroni art via the app. And for every digital noodle used to create art, Kraft is donating 10 real noodles to Feeding America. Kraft is posting select artworks to its Facebook page. This campaign engages future buyers with their brand, benefits a worthy cause and increases social media interaction.
In Montreal, an advertising agency took advantage of the current popularity with the ubiquitous photo app Instagram! and asked people to submit photos to help promote a new film, “J’Espère Que Tu Vas Bien” (I Hope You’re Well). The movie follows two friends as they saunter around Montreal. The Instagramers visited locations used in the film, and submitted more than 600 shots, 87 of which were selected to become movie posters.
Are you ready to stand apart from the competition, engage your customers, and create a stronger brand? Contact Electrum Marketing and get creative in how you tell your brand story.