The other day a flyer dropped out of a magazine I subscribe to. Yes, I do still read paper!
I tossed it towards the recycling pile, along with all the others that came with it, without a glance. No surprises there – open rates are very low, and action rates even lower.
However, in this case, one of my children picked it up and opened it, probably because of the image of two dirty, tired, and very young girls on the front. Inside, the names of the children: the same as the names of my two daughters.
Coincidence? Or very clever marketing?
Whichever it was, the message was very powerful indeed.
Rationally, targeted marketing like this would be expensive, but doable:
- Problem 1. The magazine already has my name and address since I’m a subscriber, but the advertisers don’t – but perhaps I gave permission to share “with carefully selected partners” at some time?
- Problem 2. They’d need to find my daughters’ names. More difficult, but not impossible, given the multiplicity of databases out there.
- Problem 3. Then merge, print, and get the flyers in the right magazines. This is really just a logistical problem, tricky but not insurmountable.
So not easy, but worth it, perhaps, for the impact.
What can you do to personalise your message for your audience, so that you get the same power behind the message?
Lucy is Editor at Corporate Eye
