PPB May 2015

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MAY 2015 • PPB • 37
What Would You Do?
PPB ASKED PERRY WEHRLE, PRESIDENT of PAW Marketing, Inc. (UPIC:
PAW), in Des Moines, Iowa, how he would approach a prospective client in the creative
services sector with a hypothetical marketing challenge. Here’s what he shared.
Promotional Challenge #1: Branding
A public relations firm wants to rebrand itself in order to more accurately
depict what it can do for clients. What questions would you ask the decision
maker(s) in order to craft a message that best reflects the client’s offerings and
choose a product that fits the campaign?
The key questions are:
• What is the demographic you are targeting?
• Do you have a focus “niche” market you cater to or do
you consider your firm one that covers all markets?
• Who are your competitors?
• What have you done in the past; what worked and what
did not work for you?
• Is there anything “off-limits”?
Promotional Challenge #2: Self promotion
A graphic design agency wants to attract more clients. What promotional
products would you recommend they use, and how would you recommend they
distribute those products and follow up?
I would recommend using a journal or notebook, to which
I would add custom pages that reveal some of their case histo-
ries and successes. Then I would put alternating copy headers
on the fill sheets to inspire creativity, as we would want to
encourage the recipient of the book to be creative and journal
their own thoughts, ideas and direction. Perhaps the headings
could be something like ‘Creativity, Vision, Resourceful,
Innovation, and Concept.’ I would then do a follow-up mailing
using a USB flash drive imprinted with these words and pre-
loaded with other projects the firm has created.
Promotional Challenge #3: Trade-show participation
A wedding photographer is exhibiting at a large bridal show, where other
photographers will also be exhibiting. What items would you recommend for use
as giveaways, and how would you recommend they follow up with interested
attendees to ensure maximum impact?
At the trade show I would have a table throw and display branded with recent
images of weddings. Since this is a visual, ‘happy’ market, clients will want to see what
the photographer’s work is about. I would carry the same visual concept to the giveaway
item. For starters, I might suggest a full-color, imprinted nail file. The filing side would
have various images, and the reverse side would have a mirror. Since the majority of
guests at the event will be women, this would be a very
appealing and affordable item to use.
I would also make sure the photographer’s website is up-
to-date and uses the latest smartphone/tablet-based technol-
ogy. At the event the photographer could request email
addresses and ask for permission to include them in a mail-
ing list. Once the email addresses are captured, the photog-
rapher can send a follow-up email with a popular digital gift
such as a music download, movie tickets or an e-book.
HOW THEY DID IT
CHECK OUT THE CAMPAIGNS
THESE CREATIVE FOLKS CREATED
FOR THEMSELVES USING CREATIVE
PROMOTIONAL METHODS.
Drawing A Solution
Illustrator Dawn Schreiner wanted
to hear it from the horse’s mouth:
what do art directors want from illus-
trators? So she sketched a portrait of
herself asking that question, and
asked art directors to send their
responses and a photo, and she
promised to create a sketch of them
answering the questions, and post
the sketches on social media. About
70 percent of the individuals she
contacted sent in responses; what’s
more, her experiment resulted in job
offers. Source:
A-C-T-I-O-N
Jens Lennartson is a commercial
and travel photographer based in
Denmark who came up with a way to
sell himself—literally. He produced
action figures of himself as a self pro-
motion. The figure, called GI Jens,
not only introduces potential clients
to his work, but proceeds from sales
go toward a good cause—
Lennartson’s own nonprofit, EYE AM.
The nonprofit works to teach youths
in developing countries how to tell
their stories through photography.
Source:
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