University of Washington MBA Program

Managing Customer Relationships

through Direct Marketing”

“Creative Strategy”

Instructor: Elizabeth Stearns

One great, relevant, powerful creative idea, executed with rich style can build a client’s business.

The better the creative idea, the greater the effect of the campaign in persuading the consumer.

Strategy Definition

• Strategy is having a plan – aiming

• Knowing exactly who the customer is

• Knowing exactly what effect we want to have

• Knowing exactly how we are going to try to achieve that effect

The clue or secret of good direct marketing strategy is customer perspective.

i.e., approaching it from the customer’s point of view, NOT the manufacturer’s, the client’s

From Product Driven to Customer Driven Communications

• Product Driven Approach– Analyze competitive products– Produce a functionally superior product– Use advertising to tell consumers about your product’s

superiority– Consumer buys your product

• Consumer Driven Approach– Analyze consumer needs– Make a product to fit those needs– Use advertising to persuade consumers that your product is

relevant– Consumer buys product

Strategic Possibilities

Out of the multiple possibilities a strategy should be selected which:– Offers the best opportunity in terms of a

balance between sales potential and risk– Is able to deliver or surpass the marketing

objective– Offers the potential of developing superior

creative product

Situation Analysis

• People• Product• People/Product Relationship• People/Direct Marketing Relationship• Environmental Trends

The objective is a complete understanding of today’s marketplace.

Situation Analysis

A. PeopleOnce target is identified:

– Know everything you can about them– Know them in life not just as a post code– Meet them, talk to them, listen to them, watch

them– Recognize them and respect them– Find out how they feel about the product

Situation Analysis

B. The Product– Check frame of reference– Point of difference– Features and benefits– Incentivise – or not

Situation Analysis

C. People and Direct Marketing– How does the target feel about direct

marketing?• Receiving direct mail• Web vs Telemarketing

– Effects of incentives• Add value or not?

– Personalized vs. non-personalized– Frequency of contact

Program Development

The proposition:– Has to be single minded– Can be rational or emotional– Has to differentiate from competition

Program Development

Features and Benefits– All the points that must be mentioned– Features = What the product does– Benefits = Why the feature is important to you

What is positioning?

• A product’s positioning is the way in which we want the consumer to think about our products – the place we hold in our customers’ minds.

• It is not what you do to a product; it’s what you do to the mind of your prospect.

• Most basic of all strategic statements.• Not a slogan or tag line.

What is positioning and why is it so important to creative!

• Provides a blue print for marketing and development for the brand/product/company.

• Focuses efforts of all those involved.• Essential to the marketing strategy, and must

precede development of sub strategies.• States the reason for brand’s existence and once

successfully established, it should rarely be changed.

Traits sought when selecting a product position:

• Believable and consistent with product performance.• Directly linked to as large a frame of reference and

market target where the product can still deliver a meaningful point of difference.

• Targeted as delivering the most meaningful benefit and/or correcting the biggest problem in the frame of performance chosen.

• Unique from competition.• Capable of enduring the life of the brand.• Consistent with market targets knowledge and behavior

experience.

Steps to take to uncover potential positions:

• Analyze your “perceived” position and those of your competitors.

• Study the marketing environment for trends:– Trends in the marketplace– Consumer research

• List the reasons people buy the generic product (and the problems they may have with overall performance)

Steps to take to uncover potential positions:

• Discuss anything and everything your product/service delivers that competitors do not.

• Compare generic reasons for buying (or problems) against your unique benefits.

• Remember: Even if competitors can deliver a similar benefit, saying it first, with credible support points can be pre-emptive.

Strategic Development ProcessThe Client BriefStep 1 – Situation Analysis – of the market, the produce, the consumer

Step 2 – Examination of client’s marketing objectives and strategy

Step 3 – Agreement of role of direct marketing

Step 4 – Analysis of target audience

Step 5 – Analysis of the target audience’s thoughts and feelings towards the brand and their behavior

Step 6 – Analysis of points of difference between our brand and the competition

Step 7 – Agreement, positioning and key point(s) of difference

Step 8 – Agreement of what we want the target audience to think and feel and do as a result of our communication

Step 9 – Executional guidelines

These steps lead to an agreed direct marketing strategy and creative brief.

Strategy

1. Marketplace– Marketing Objective: What is the client

trying to achieve?– Market Environment: What is the

competition doing? Attach samples, trends, facts/figures

– Previous Marketing: What has the client done before? Why should this be changed? Attach previous work & results.

Strategy

2. Product– How will the produce help the customer?

What will the product do? Attach samples.– What makes the produce different? What is

interesting about the product?– What makes the product better? Why choose

this product?– What restraints are there on what we can say?

What legal/other restrictions?

Strategy

3. Target Market– Description: With whom are we talking?– What do they currently think and feel? (about

the category/product/brand/direct mail, etc.)– What do we want them to think and feel?

(having seen our communication)– What do we want them to do? Call to action.

Strategy

4. General– Main Thought/Proposition: One sentence if

possible.– Supporting/Selling Points: Features and

benefits that support the proposition– Personality/Tone of Voice/Creative

Guidelines

5 Key Questions Every Strategy Statement Should Answer

1. What’s the single biggest reason your prospect won’t want to do what you’re asking him to do?

2. How do you overcome the prospect’s big objection?

3. What is the competition doing?4. Does the client have any mandatories or

expectations?5. What will the customer think after reading your

piece?

The objective for smart marketers:

• “Own the loyalty of consumers, not the advantages of products.”

» Lester Wunderman, Wunderman Y & R

The 7 Rules of Creation

1. If the idea’s tired, imagine the reader.

2. Talk fresh.

3. Remember fear, sex, and greed.

4. Looks should kill.

5. Show and tell.

6. Business doesn’t mean boring.

7. Play with your mail.

10 Myths that Will Limit You from the Start

Myth #1: Everything must come in an envelopeMyth #2: Selfmailers just get thrown outMyth #3: A #10 envelope will outpull any other sizeMyth #4: Letters must look like business correspondenceMyth #5: Your target is a manMyth #6: Your copy must be shortMyth #7: Your tone must be all businessMyth #8: Humor doesn’t workMyth #9: “Promotional” executions aren’t effectiveMyth #10: Personal bribes don’t pull

Proven Formats

• The unexpected (plastic fish, air sickness bags)• Oversized or undersized (shout or whisper)• 3-D (boxes, tubes promise valuable contents)• Letters with unusual return addresses (famous

names or titles)• Serious-looking mail (western union, kraft

envelopes)• Personal stationery (even in a business

environment)• Postcards and selfmailers (no envelope to open)

OEs that Get Opened

• Good offers

• Free stuff

• News or information

• Serious, official notices

• Smart propositions

• Personally relevant information

• Provocative/intriguing statements

Checklist for Judging Creative Execution

• Does the execution carry out the creative strategy?• Will the execution appeal to the target audience?• Would you say this to a prospect in person?• Is it written from the prospect’s point of view or from the

marketer’s point of view?• Is the execution clear, concise, complete, and

convincing?• Does the execution get and hold the prospect’s attention?• If time or space is limited, make the message single-

minded.

• Make sure management knows exactly what the creatives have in mind.

• If there are several creative pieces, make sure they all work together effectively.

• Does the execution overwhelm the message?• Is the request for action clear and specific?• If a reply device is used, is it simple and easy to

use?• Do let the cost of the proposed execution influence

you.

Strategic Possibilities

Possible Roles of Direct Marketing– Fulfillment to advertising– Provide greater access to the product– To raise awareness– As a loyalty builder– Direct selling– As a research tool