Clever Aflac Duck Spills The Ink In Space Ad Spread

Aflac is to accident and hospital indemnity insurance what GEICO is to auto insurance. They both have catchy, odd names that are very untraditional - not your typical "American National Life & Home" type of thing. And both are highly advertised national brands with a strong "mascot" strategy to generate awareness and recall for their products (GEICO has the animated gecko, and Aflac has the white duck).

Recently, Aflac took out a bunch of space in USA Today to run a series of ads, each promoting various benefits of having Aflac's protection and reasons to go to the Aflac web site. The ads were numbered #1 through #5, each with the heading "get the Aflacts" on a white piece of paper held up by the familiar Aflac duck (does he or she have a name, I wonder?). The first ad said, "Aflac is different from health insurance; it's insurance for daily living." Aflac does sell life, dental, vision and other types of insurance, but these ads are focused on the company's accident and hospital indemnity products. Nevertheless, while their 4-color ads were very eye-catching, simple to read and quickly communicated key benefits, what was truly outstanding was a bit of clever creativity ...

Ink splashes! 

Next to the 4th ad in the lower right corner of the spread, Aflac media buyers bought the lower left quadrant and filed it with benign, fake newspaper text (at the very top of the copy you can see the word "Advertisement") - and over the type, they splayed some blue ink, as if it dripped from the duck's pen in the ad above it. 

Nice creative touch that helps make these strong copy and graphic ads stand out even more!

Celebrating Customer Retention With Birthday Messages

I just read a great article online recently that was filled with 21 ways to improve customer retention through relationship marketing programs. And great timing on my end for that topic, because I'm working on a customer retention project with one of my biggest clients - while my own mailbox seems to be filling up with customer retention efforts in honor of my upcoming birthday.

Some examples:A predictable yet perfectly executed birthday greeting, from my local Hallmark store arrived in my mailbox yesterday. They send me something similar every year. You'd expect a greeting card store to send a pretty card - and so they do. You'd expect the personal touches on the envelope that make it look like a "real" card, sent from "someone I know" - the live stamp, the handwritten font for the addressing areas, and a closed-face envelope. This mailing delivers it all - along with a coupon for 20% off my next purchase at the store.

Next up ...

Here's a nice email offer with a printable coupon for $5 off, from my local Famous Footwear store. I have one of their frequent buyer/membership cards. The email subject line was "Happy Birthday from Famous Footwear--Take $5 off." Pretty straight-forward. (My birthday, btw, is over a month away. This email came today.)

And here is something I'd never seen before, which also arrived by email this 

morning ...
It's a very unexpected, birthday-inspired email from a charity I've given to in the past -  the American Cancer Society. What I absolutely loved about this email was the subject line: "Who is the official sponsor of your birthday?" - and the whole campaign concept of a birthday sponsor. I also liked the brevity of this email. No long discourse, just a "Learn More" button to take me to the next step, where I can give a gift to the charity online.

When you remember that 80% of your sales come from 20% of your customers and clients, you can see why customer retention programs are not only a cost-effective and profitable strategy but in today's economic environment they're a necessity.

New Gas $aver Card From Shell - Better Than Your Debit Card?

A recent USA Today article said that we won't be seeing $4-a-gallon gas prices anytime soon - at least not through the summer and probably even next year. The article claims that gas prices could be pushed slightly higher by a modest rise in global crude, but any increase is likely to be tempered by the weak economy. OK ... but the weak economy is still causing many Americans to tighten their belts and look for ways to keep their costs down.

That's where the new Shell $aver Card comes in. According to Shell's new ad, "It's an easy way to save 5 cents on every gallon you buy at Shell." The card is termed a "payment card." You have to apply for the card (applications are available at participating Shell stations). Once approved, it works like this: Swipe the card at the pump and the discounted gas price (less 5 cents on every gallon during the introductory period) is AUTOMATICALLY DEDUCTED from your checking account.

Better than using your plain old debit card at the pump, huh? And even when the introductory rate goes down to 2 cents off the gallon after June 30, 2009, you're still pennies ahead. 

Years ago, gas stations developed and marketed their own charge cards, but those cards have fallen by the wayside. And there's apparently a potential downside to using regular debit cards at the gas pump, according to this MSN Money article.

Nevertheless, this new card is good way to drive motorists to Shell pumps. Shell more than likely saves money with this type of payment card rather than going through other credit/debit middlemen. So it's good for Shell and good for the consumer from a savings standpoint. And that's gotta be good for the economy.

Tax Day

AOL is at it again - with a whimsical twist to their homepage logo on this April 15th Tax Day 2009. 

Some of my favorite quotes about taxes:

The taxpayer - that's someone who works for the federal government but doesn't have to take the civil service examination. ~ Ronald Reagan

America is a land of taxation that was founded to avoid taxation. ~ Dr. Laurence J. Peter

Did you ever notice that when you put the words "The" and "IRS" together, it spells "THEIRS?" ~ Author Unknown

Joined Together At The Hip

Looks like CVS and Depend Underwear are joined together at the hip for this recent self-mailer to CVS customers who have bought the brand.

The back story - no, I don't wear these things. And no offense to anyone who does. This is an important product for not just the over 65 crowd but anyone who needs it.

Anyway, over a year ago, my father was sick. And to help him get through his illness, during which time he had trouble getting up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom, I suggested he try using Depend underwear. I bought him a pack at CVS. 

Whenever I make a purchase at CVS, the cashier asks me to show my Extra Care Card. Showing my Extra Card helps me earn points and Extra Care bucks, which I like getting and using on things like dental floss, magazines and so forth. So I showed my card when I bought the Depend product and that purchase was registered on my Extra Care Card, along with everything else I have ever bought when I showed my card. 

Of course, the marketing strategy behind the Extra Care Card program is to tie your purchases to special savings offers with a coupon at the bottom of your CVS receipt that might say something like, "$2.00 off any CVS dental product." And thus drum up extra sales.

Well, more than a year after that Depend purchase for my dad, I get a piece of mail from CVS promoting a NEW Depend product. According to the mailing, instead of generic, cookie-cutter, unisex Depend underwear, there now is an anatomically-correct male/female version of said product. That's nice to know. (Too bad neither my dad, myself or anyone else I know is not currently using the product.) Inside the self-mailer is a $2.00 off coupon for either the male or female version and that expires 5/15/09 (not much shelf-value there - use it now or lose it, I guess).

The Depend brand is promoting their product extension on tv with their "Who rules the world?" spot, which you can catch on YouTube.

So who rules the world - men or women?

I say the Depend brand rules - the new product extension shows the brand has innovative thinkers on board who have (dare I say) b*lls. They're not afraid to launch something new in this tough economy. And what a great marketing strategy to promote the new products with CVS as a partner. Way to go, Depend!

Supporting A Worthy Cause

The Copy Grove is proud to be a sponsor of the Breast Cancer 3 Day Susan G. Komen for the Cure Event. Click to learn more and/or add your donation today.

April Fool's With AOL

When I logged on AOL this morning, I noticed an upside-down logo on their homepage. I actually thought, "Wonder if they know there's a glitch here. Should I contact them?"

The phone rang, and I was talking to a client. "Sure, next week is fine. Hey - this is strange. The AOL logo is upside-down and now it's spinning around ..."

"Huh?"

"Oh, I'm sorry - but this is so bizarre."

And then I got the joke!

Is this a trend?

Click on image to view larger.

Here's another "copy-driven" ad. All type, no graphic other than the Boys & Girls Clubs of America logo. If you visit the organization's web site at www.bgca.org, you'll see a very attractive and highly visual home page. There's plenty of visual fodder on the site around which to build a space ad for this organization. Which leads me to ask are we seeing a trend of more copy-driven ads nowadays and why? To save on photo fees? It behooves a direct marketer to create ads that stand out from the clutter - and especially in newspapers where you have a sea of type with scads of articles on virtually every page, why would one shun a photograph or some other attention-getting graphic?

But the ad shown above, which appeared in the business section of USA Today yesterday, sure does start off great. What a fabulous headline:

"IF YOU THINK NOW IS A TOUGH TIME TO BE IN
BUSINESS, TRY BEING A KID."

Then come over 30 lines of Courier type, some of which I greatly admire.

This Boys & Girls Clubs of America ad does a few things right, as opposed to the copy-driven ad for Hyatt Place featured in a previous post.

At least the type in the Boys & Girls Clubs of America ad is easy-to-read black. And while Courier tends to be a highly legible font, it is a bit lightweight for the grainy newsprint paper. (You have to consider the paper an ad is printing on when designing it.) 

And while the copy in the Boys & Girls Clubs of America ad is well-written, I would have cut the opening and started the ad with the sentence in the 2nd paragraph:

"When a local youth agency fails, there are no severance packages. No bonuses. No second chances. Just scores of children with one less haven to turn to during non-school hours."

Adding a photo to this ad might have given the message a little more weight. But this is major - the call to action at the bottom should have DEFINITELY been set in BOLD type to help make it stand out and drive response.

What do you think? Could this ad use a visual? Is Courier the right font for this? What about a different kind of layout? Maybe an "open letter" look, where the ad would appear on letterhead, signed by the president of the organization? I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Hyatt Place Space Ad Gone Wrong

If you thought this ad was hard to read, then you are not alone. The headline/offer/first sentence is so long that I stopped reading about 1/3 of the way into this ad. It's easy to miss the main message; it's all the way at the bottom, under the logo: "Only 3 days to save 30%. Call 888 HYATT HP or visit HPLimitedTimeOffer.com." 

Yes, bad typesetting can kill an ad. This was supposed to be one of those ads that are "copy driven." After all (thinks the Account Executive/Marketing Strategist/Creative Director), prospective customers for Hyatt Place are educated. High brow. They read long copy. Right? Maybe. So they will read this, right? Maybe not.

Talk about reader-unfriendly colors for the type. I would have went with the burgundy type for the majority of the headline-as-body-text (it's darker, easier to read) and used the lighter "ochre" color for the "highlights." At the very least. But take a look at the Hyatt Place logo. It's chock-full of color:

Why not pick up something more springy, like say the periwinkle, lime green or robin's egg blue? 

Whatever. 

Now there's only 1 day left to get the 30% off. Hurry! Act now! : )

Designers, find icon heaven

... or rather the Icon Garden of Eden - with FREE icons, here at www.iconeden.com.

Through the mailbox ...

Watch the Pitney Bowes video posted on this link to see how people sort your direct mail.

The video was produced by Creative Concepts (PR, Marketing and New Media Solutions), with offices in NYC and Connecticut.

Posted using ShareThis

... because it's nice to share!

Is Discover Card reading my blog?

Sometimes it feels like somebody's watching me. And I don't mean those big eyes from the GEICO TV spot. 

Is seems like the folks at Discover Card read my post yesterday. Because look what came in my email today:

Now that's upping the ante! 

What's New In Credit Card Offers?

I'm torn. Should I get this card and forget about the measly 1% cash back bonus Discover gives? 

A direct mail package recently came in the mail from Fidelity, telling me that the Fidelity Investment Rewards American Express Card is designed to help bring me closer to my investment goals - with a whopping 2 points (2%) for every dollar in net retail purchases.

The specifics:  For every 5,000 points ($2,500 in purchases), a $50 deposit can be automatically deposited into a designated, eligible Fidelity account - or I can redeem points for gift cards, merchadise and more through the WorldPoints program ... with no cap or limit on the amount of points or rewards I can earn.

And there's no annual fee.

Not a bad deal - especially in this economy! 

In the direct mail package I received from Fidelity, the 2% is printed on the outer envelope and in the letter headline, which captured my attention - and I'm sure it will capture others. Let's see if this card takes off. I have a feeling it will!

A Nickel For Your Thoughts

I just received this mailing from the Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA) association. The organization is well known in the direct mail community for its fundraising packages featuring address labels as a gift for donations. This package stood out in the mail for it's size (5" x 11.5") and the fact that it not only contained the usual address labels, but also a real, live nickel.

It's been a while since I've seen any nickel (or penny) kits, as we in the direct mail biz like to call them. For many clients, these kits are too expensive to produce UNLESS you have a huge mailing list, which the PVA undoubtedly has. At small quantities, packages with real, live coins tipped on can be extremely cost-prohibitive. But at larger quantities, and when you count in vendor relationships with the client/agency producing the kit, it's entirely possible to come in at budget.

The coin acts as a kind of envelope opener - much the same way a plastic card works to get envelopes opened. 

(At one time, I seem to remember some direct marketers shying away from inserting coinage into kits and showing the "money" through the envelope, because there was a wave of undeliverable mail and suspicion/reports of kits being "stolen" to collect the change.)

Nevertheless, the creative challenge that comes with the execution of a successful nickel or penny kit is in how you tie the coin to the offer. In this PVA package, that challenge is met two ways:

1) With some great letter copy! From the headline to the close of the letter ("For many of these vets who are down to their last few nickels, Paralyzed Veterans of America - and you - are their last hope!), the copy works to persuade the recipient to make a donation.

AND

2) With an extra push of a yellow sticky note, affixed to the business reply envelope, which echoes the letter's P.S. ("P.S. Even if you can't send a gift today, please return the enclosed nickel as a symbol of your support - Paralyzed Veterans of America needs every nickel to continue to provide vital services to veterans who have sacrificed so much in the service of our country.")

Another fine example of fundraising done right. Kudos to the PVA creative team for a well-put-together nickel kit.

Temple University's Latest Fundraising Effort

Is it me, or does this email sound - at first - like it's coming from a student who is hearing disabled? Here, let me "read" it to you - since the above image is way too small (or click on the image for a larger view):

Dear Ms. Maniglia,

As a current Temple University student, I use many different types of technology and campus resources to enhance my education. Of them all, one of the most important is the headset I use as a Temple Telefund caller. My headset allows me to call alumni, parents and friends to encourage the Temple community to stay involved with the university.

I have been trying to contact you from the Telefund, but have been unable to reach you. As a student with a part-time job, I completely understand how busy life can get. If you could spare just a few minutes the next time one of my peers or I call, we can share campus news with you, update your information and let you know about great ways you can stay involved at Temple.

We look forward to speaking with you during this year's Telefund!

Sincerely,

Marquis
Temple Student Caller

All gifts made to Temple through December 31, 2009 will be credited toward Access to Excellence: The 125th Anniversary Campaign for Temple. Learn more at www.temple.edu/accesstoexcellence.

Temple University · 1938 Liacouras Walk · Philadelphia, PA 19122 · (215) 204-1001 

tupledge@temple.edu

I had to read the opening paragraph about three times for some reason. Clever copywriting in that it could possibly "trick" some people into donating, thinking they are helping the hearing disabled. But also potentially misleading and capable of pissing off potential alumni donors big time.

The problem is a disconnect between the first sentence and the second - and probably the third sentence too. And maybe the rest of the letter. The copy doesn't say how the headset and the Telefund enhance the student's education. I don't really care if the headset is important to the student, unless of course he or she is hearing disabled. Maybe he or she is? I'm feeling sort of guilty for not answering their calls lately...

There's no mention in the letter about a donation (unless you count that little footnote at the bottom), just about "ways I can stay involved," and all I'm being asked is to spare a few minutes to talk to this student, who will no doubt be wearing his or headphone - which somehow enhances his or her education.

I must tell you - actually I CAN'T tell you - how many calls from Temple University I've received in the past month that we haven't answered because they invariably come while we're enjoying our dinner.

Sure, I've received great fundraising efforts from Temple in the past, like the one where they tipped on a HUGE magnet (the thing must have been 5" x 5") to the inside of a cool brochure. And I've given in the past ... which is obviously why they keep hounding me now. But this email and their persistent calls have me, well, confused and miffed.

Sorry, Temple - better luck next fundraising drive. You can call me mean if you want to.