Month: September 2015

Get a free copy of my book at DMA2015 &then

Update: DMA &then website has now been updated with full schedule information. Go to http://dma15.org/schedule/ to read all about it. BE SURE TO USE THIS LINK; the “build your schedule” menu on the home page of dma2015.org still produces the old placeholder content.

Here’s the session I am leading on Monday, October 4, from 4:45-5:30 at the DMA’s revamped &then conference in Boston:

Devilish Details: Looking for an Advantage in Your Copy and Design
An interactive sequel to one of last year’s most popular sessions, “The Devil’s in the Detail”. Share clever tweaks and clumsy misfires that made a big difference in creative execution and bottom line results—good or bad. Veteran copywriter Otis Maxwell will kick things off with examples of a few gems and gaffes, then you join the fun. Fabulous prizes for the best ideas!

This is an “Ignition” session which is designed for attendees to interact in a town-hall environment. I’ll share some examples of copy and design decisions that had a negative impact on campaigns, then make suggestions for how to improve them. After a few examples I’ll open things up to the floor and ask folks to share their own experiences which can be a/creative home runs and pratfalls they’ve experienced in their own work and what they’ve learned from them, or b/third party examples similar to my own.

While copies last, everybody who makes a meaningful contribution gets a free copy of my copywriting book, Copywriting that Gets Results!

Note: As of September 27, there is still placeholder copy on the DMA15.org website. This is the session in the slot called “Concentrating on the Detail: Copy & Color Choice”. That’s the placeholder title; what I’ve described above is the real deal.

Why too many good ideas can sink your direct marketing campaign

Front of Save the Children OE
Save the Children outer envelope has lots of good ideas

It’s great that you are brimming over with good ideas. Unfortunately, your prospect is not nearly as enchanted with your creativity as you are. They’ll sit still for one powerful marketing statement, perhaps supported by a call to action subhead, then it’s off to the deleted messages folder or the recycling bin. When you put out too many good ideas, you run the risk of getting none of them across.

This Save the Children appeal is an example of too many good ideas. On the front of the outer envelope is this headline: “What if your donation had 4x the impact for children in need?” That’s a very legitimate teaser and it’s supported by the subhead “learn more inside…” Unfortunately, the reply-by date is a complete non sequitur. Does the 4x benefit cease on that date? Then there’s the free notecard statement which I’m aware is a popular fundraising technique in today’s society, but it appeals to greed which is a different motivator than wanting your gift to do the most good so it’s misplaced here.

Save the Children OE back
Still more good ideas on the back of the same envelope (click the photo to enlarge and read the quotes)

On the back there are MORE good ideas. Here’s a quote from Bill Gates that would support a package all by itself. When asked to recommend a top philanthropic cause on the Today show, he replied, “you can go to Save the Children—they help mothers have safe births… It’s amazing. You can be sure that [this organization] will put your money to good use.” A minor quibble, not everybody knows who Bill Gates is so I’d set the stage by saying he was the world’s richest man until he started giving away his money. Then we’d have a very nice setup for a direct mail pack or maybe a long form print ad.

Unfortunately, the Bill Gates quote is diminished by a quote from the Save The Children’s own president, in the same size type. Since she has maybe a tenth the credibility of a legendary philanthropist in this context, that should be the weight of the two quotes—or, better yet, leave it off. And we’re not done; the envelope needs to tell us that Save the Children has earned its 14th consecutive 4-star rating from Charity Navigator. For what? Hopefully it’s for using my money efficiently instead of spending it on administration and marketing. But tell me; don’t just show me the Charity Navigator logo.

Save the Children is a fabulous organization that really does great work; I was quite familiar with some wonderful packages written by my mentor Robbin Gehrke at Russ Reid. But this isn’t a winning effort. It falls victim to too many good ideas.

Coming to DMA &then in Boston? We’ll be talking about this and other examples of marketing milestones and miscues in my interactive Ignition session, Devilish Details: Looking for an Advantage in Your Copy and Design. It’s at 4:45 pm on Monday, October 4. See you there!

Copywriters, don’t spill your candy in the lobby

Bowtie Cinema urinal sign
Sign over the urinal at Bowtie Cinema, New York

Gore movie maven and direct mail copy guru Herschell Gordon Lewis had a great admonition in one of his books: “Don’t spill your candy in the lobby.”* It means that you should not give away the premise of your selling message too soon but instead should take the time to build up some interest and curiosity. I have a good example in a OE teaser for Investor’s Daily which I show in my direct mail class:

40% are millionaires
35% have portfolios over $500,000
60% are in management
37% own two or more homes
What are they all reading?

Now, think what would happen if they left off that final line. You’d be fascinated by these impressive stats and would be thinking “who are these financial overachievers” and would tear open the envelope to find out. But IBD (which does not identify itself on the OE; the return address is an anonymous street address) has to refine the discussion and let us know they are selling a publication. If I’m not a reader, out it goes. The marketer spilled its candy in the lobby and arrives at the loge seating alone and empty handed.

I was reminded of this advice when visiting an actual movie theater the other day, where I spied the pictured plaque above the self-composting urinal. The initial message is praiseworthy: These state of the art waterless urinals will save over 600,000 gallons of water in their lifetime. Which is great, and they should stop there. But then comes the spillage: That’s enough water to take 20,000 showers.

It takes 30 gallons of water to take a shower? I had no idea… shame on me for taking so many showers. A positive message has been turned into a negative, unless this is exactly what the management of the theater intended. And maybe it is. But think what would have been the effect if the final line had been left off. You’d be left with a positive impression of the theater’s conservation practices, and that would be that.

* Actually, I don’t know if he said it or not but he’s said a lot of other clever things so I’ll give him credit for it.