How do you market to women entrepreneurs?

Let's take a look at a couple of examples from Enterprising Women magazine.

The first ad shown here speaks to a diverse range of women in a single headline. The ad is intended to promote a professional network called LEXCI, which is co-branded with the Women's Leadership Exchange and the American Express OPEN business credit card.

Fabulous layout - very attention-getting!

The second ad is meant to also appeal to women and minorities within diverse business communities. But instead of the "in-your-face" layout and brash headline, we've got something much more subtle, yet still full of impact ...

Here, American Airlines integrates the headline/call-outs to the various market segments with its own logo to make the point.

Side note: Many corporations have diversity initiatives whereupon they encourage the hiring of certified vendors that are women-owned or minority-owned. Enterprising Women magazine is strongly aligned with these programs. Their readership is different than that of Working Women or Fortune magazine. So the ads appearing within the pages of Enterprising Women must reflect the unique needs of their unique audience.

Kudos to the marketers cited above for their well-done ads in this fine publication.

More Bang For Your Buck: Turn your average business reply envelope into a bangtail to increase sales in direct mail packages

Before your potential customers send in their order for your main product or service, think about making a second sale using real estate on your business reply envelope (BRE). Make it interactive - by creating a bangtail BRE.

Here's an example of a bangtail BRE that recently arrived in my Bank of America credit card statement (you may have seen this piece if you're a Bank of America customer; it's been mailing for quite some time) ...

This is the reply envelope that we're supposed to use to return our credit card payment. But instead of just taking our payments, this envelope contains a special offer - and tries to make another sale. It starts to reel me by piquing my interest with a "please remove to reveal value" sticker. Half of the sticker is affixed on the back flap of the BRE. The other half of the sticker hides part of an insert that is folded and nested inside of the BRE.

In this example, the insert that is nested inside of the BRE is about the size of a buckslip and contains copy promoting a complimentary $20.00 gift card - which I can get just for trying Buyers Advantage(R), an added service that Bank of America offers their customers to help protect their purchases, get the lowest prices, and more.

Here I am with a "Direct Mail Minute" talking about this piece ...

Any questions?

(Note - This example is rather complicated! Bank of America spent some buck$$$ creating this piece - but since they send it to a high volume of people, the production costs are brought down to scale. Nevertheless, many marketers with smaller production budgets can still do a bangtail by extending the back flap of the BRE a couple of inches and adding a perforation - thereby turning the flap into a reply form that can be returned in the original BRE for the second offer or sale.)

Apollo 11 - 40th Anniversary celebrated with AOL morphed logo

On The Copy Grove's Directions blog, we've talked about how AOL has been periodically morphing their homepage logo to celebrate various seasons or holidays throughout the year - such as April Fool's Day and Tax Day. (Incidentally, April 15th marked the first time AOL ever morphed their logo into an actual product ad for Turbo Tax, which you can read about here.)

Well, as you can see from the above images, looks like AOL is at it again for the 40th Anniversary of Apollo 11.

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Speaking of logos, is the GM logo going green?

And you can test your logo IQ with this online quiz.

Have a great weekend!

If you can't wear the one glove ...

Click to view larger image.

... you can wear the bracelet - silver-tone charm bracelet, that is. 

At least The Franklin Mint waited until today to advertise this item in USA Today. They're calling it the "Pop Icon Charm Bracelet." Copy from franklinmint.com reads ...

"You can keep the thrill of Pop's greatest icon alive! Each charm is a work of art and a celebration of the greatest performer of all time. Remember the talent that has touched the world each time you wear this beautiful toggle bracelet. Seven handmade charms tell the story of a musical revolution that will live for generations. Swarovski crystal accents give it the sparkle of light."

Apparently The Franklin Mint is not the only one with an item like this for sale. The Bradford Exchange Australia Collectibles web site site was selling this - "Historic Michael Jackson Charm Bracelet Remembers the Music and Magic of the Legendary King of Pop in a Sparkling Salute! - He was a consummate artist and ..."  

Sorry, the item is no longer available from The Bradford web site. It IS available on eBay. (Um, was. Not any more.)

Compare this item and post to Bill Green's post today on MTLB: I JUST NEED ANOTHER $2,700 TO EXPLOIT THE MEMORY OF 9/11. 

At least the charm bracelet is affordably-priced (under $80).

Oxi Clean shows class with full page Billy Mays memorial in USA Today

Click to view larger image.

This appeared in today's USA Today newspaper, page 7A, "In memory of Billy Mays 1958-2009." Note the words above the Oxi Clean logo quoting the opening line that this passionate pitchman made famous ...

"'Billy Mays here!' Yes, he was but sadly not long enough." 

How true.

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Another famous pitchman passed away a little over a week ago today, Ed McMahon. Most people remember Mr. McMahon as Johnny Carson's sidekick on the Tonight Show ... but for us direct marketers in the Greater Philadelphia region, particularly those who have done work for the Colonial Penn Life Insurance Company, we remember him for his work in DRTV.  

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For more about pitchmen in advertising, how to pick one, why they work, etc. ... take a look at this Money Magazine article:  Why the Caveman Loves the Pitchman:  A little celebrity and a shrewd marketing strategy can go a long way to sell a product. The key is understanding how the human brain really works.

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Catch you after the holiday weekend. Have a good one!