Mad Men Inspired Ad

Witness the online ad. It is unmistakeably inspired by the opening graphics of the popular AMC TV show, "Mad Men." Dontchathink? Intentional or coincidental?

Talking About Talking About Social Media

CVS Caremark & Supplier Diversity: Making the Connection

Today:  Attended the CVS Caremark Supplier Diversity Business Building Event for women-owned businesses at the Baltimore Convention Center, in conjunction with WBENC’s 2010 Conference & Business Expo.

In this photo: Cynthia Maniglia of The Copy Grove (left)
and Joanne Lewis of Tango Vision, Inc. (right).

The event featured a one-hour session about doing business with CVS Caremark, followed by a series of intense, one-on-one 15-minute, "speed" presentations, scheduled prior to the event - a chance to give your best elevator pitch.

To hit a home run at one of these events:  Be sure to know your niche - where your product or service best fits within the company's structure, as well as how it aligns with your potential buyer's overall corporate strategy.

The Copy Grove has been asked to follow up our recent presentation - and we'll keep you posted.

You've Come A Long Way Since Bill Cosby

Temple University's fundraising pitches have come a long way since the tv commercials featuring Bill Cosby (who attended the University) with the memorable refrain, "I could have gone anywhere - I chose Temple." While not as high-profile as the Cosby spots, today's fundraising efforts from the University show spunk and creativity, as is the case with this recent email that I received from my alma mater, with the intriguing subject line:

A chair. A camera. 60 seconds.

To be truthful, when I read that subject line, I thought Temple wanted me to make a video for them (a chance to use the camera on my MacBook Pro and maybe get famous?). Silly me! And when the email opened with this personalized message ...

Cynthia,

During finals week in May, Temple students

were given one last test - to convince you

in just 60 seconds to support the university.

Click here to decide whether they passed.

... of course, I had to click to see the video.

I think you'll agree, this video is a great way to bring real faces to a fundraising effort, and what greater way to talk about supporting the next generation of society-molders than having them speak for themselves and the University.

Go Temple!

To give to the University, click here.

Long Live Summer ~ and Star Rewards!

For quite a few years, the mailers that Macy's has been sending to their charge card customers featured "clean release" cards (sometimes, they're not so clean and full of goo when you pull the cards off the mailer). The cards were good for "Star Rewards" discounts on purchases made with Macy's charge cards. These mailers tended to have upwards of four (or more) cards affixed. That's gotta be expensive to produce. So I wasn't surprised when this new mailer from Macy's arrived, sans the glued-in cards.

The format is a self-mailer with an insert that pulls out of the mailing sleeve. The insert is cleverly designed to pull down from the bottom, with the line of demarcation acting as the liquid inside of a die-cut cocktail glass, to reveal the word "CHEERS." When the insert is pulled completely out of the sleeve, you are left holding a little red booklet with one page filled with four discount cards, which you then can tear out.

With summer only 17 days away and the coupons good from June 3rd through July 18th, this is one promotion I'll be holding onto ~ and using on my next trip to the mall.

Where my mother/fathers at?

Watch as the Sienna Family drops their hot new single, Swagger Wagon. This goes out to all you minivan families ...

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Where's The Bun?

When I heard KFC was making a sandwich with no bread, I was thinking it would be like P.F. Chang's lettuce wrapped chicken ... not this monstrosity:Two all chicken patties, special sauce, cheese ... and is that bacon I see too? No bun. KFC’s new Double Down sandwich, which will become available at the chain's fast food locations nationwide and cost a whopping five bucks, is better than a bag of beef jerky, I guess, if you're into protein power. Atkins Diet followers will no doubt love this fare. But those who are watching their waistline, look out. This sandwhich is featured on a web site called "This is why you're fat; where dreams become heart attacks."

How would you advertise this sandwich? Forget the "Where's The Beef?" lady. Here's how KFC is doin' it:

Are you hungry now?

Do You See The Trend Here?

You've seen the newspaper print ad. Here's the free-standing mailbox insert. See the trend here? It's all about shape. Good tie in.

After I wrote my previous post, I thought all of you highly-evolved creative and marketing readers out there were thinking, "Big deal." And maybe I was making a big deal out of a little thing. But it pays to notice subtle creative touches like the trend here. You never know when they'll come in handy.

Shape It Up: Progressive Space Ad

Nowhere are ads more "boxed in" than in the world of print. Which is why the ad below caught my eye ...

Here, Progressive Auto Insurance works its space at the bottom of the page in USA Today's Life Section, with an ad that follows the shape of an umbrella. If not for a thin black border, the ad would blend in completely with the newspaper's "table of content" area. Taking a quick glance, a reader might think the ad is a teaser for a newspaper article featuring Flo, the gal from the Progressive ads. (I wonder, might this ad have been even more eye-catching with reversed-out type and a dark background?)

Nevertheless, the next time you have a space ad assignment, inquire with the publication about shapes other than squares or rectangles. You might find some creative leeway you can use to make your ad stand out from the clutter.

What NOT to do in Direct Mail Creative

Double window envelopes - the kind that have a window in the upper left corner for the sender's information to show through, plus a window below it for the recipient's information - are pretty generic. They can be blank (just stock paper with no teaser copy printed on the envelope) and used by any sender and sent to anyone, so long as the sender's logo and recipient's addressing information are positioned to show through the windows properly. So this envelope says to me "generic."

And the teaser copy "This is not junk mail" says doodly-squat. In fact, that's a generic teaser. Could be used by any company. This is not junk mail? Yes, it is.

Worse yet, CLEAR - the company that mailed this gem of a direct mail package - is a wireless internet service that's trying to make a name for itself, and this isn't the way to do it in direct mail. So my message to them is: "My dear CLEAR, you can gain a stronger foothold in the marketplace with a clearer message on your envelopes about what you have to offer, rather than hyping what you're not. I mean, you're not the unVerizon or the unComcast, are you?"

Let this be one small lesson to direct marketers in "What NOT to do in Direct Mail Creative."

Until next time ...

Do Not Bend

The "Do Not Bend" caption on a direct mail envelope is something we marketers have been using for years. And it's good to see it's still in use - a tried and true line of copy that's more curiosity provoking than warning.

Recently, these two samples arrived in my mail - each bearing the same "Do Not Bend" teaser copy. Reading the cautionary words, the recipient is made to believe that there's something delicate inside that could be harmed by bending - a photograph perhaps? We often use this line of copy when there's a membership or plastic card inside the package - to allude to the thing of value without showing it and heighten the curiosity factor. What's inside the envelope? In these two cases, nothing so worthy of the "Do Not Bend" line, such as a membership card or photograph. Just magazine subscription renewal forms - BUT the cautionary line of copy DID get me to open the envelope, and that's half the battle in direct mail.

Now, if they'd only make me reply!

Legislation Against Loud TV Commercials

Catalog Wednesday

We've got Black Friday for brick and mortar shopping and Cyber Monday for online shopping. How about Catalog Wednesday for catalog shopping?

And to help us get started, CVS is on the scene with this new catalog ...

Yes, pharmacy super store CVS has put out a glossy, 4-color, 84-page Holiday shopping catalog for the first time. The piece arrived in my mail about two weeks ago. If you didn't get yours, they're giving it out at the retail stores. Items are available in the stores, online AND by calling 1-800-shopCVS. Take that, Walgreens!

State Farm Agents Mail Holiday Address Labels

What's New In Agent Insurance Mailings?

Recently, my auto insurance agent retired and a new guy took over his office - and his clientele. Just about a week ago, around the middle of November, the new agent sent me an interesting mailing for the holidays. It was a 6 x 9 envelope with address labels inside. Wow, a lot more costly than your typical/standard holiday greeting card! I'm impressed. While I've seen LOTS and LOTS of direct mail kits with holiday address labels - from just about every charity know to man and woman - I've yet to receive one from my insurance agent. Good show, State Farm and your agents!