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AUGUST 2016 •
PPB
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color options, it costs ‘X’ net and
it’s on special for ‘X’ and we are
offering 100 units for ‘X’ for dis-
tributor self-promotion.” In
looking at this scenario I felt I
could do more with this oppor-
tunity. So I built a door.
When I consider self-pro-
motion opportunities, I look at
ways I can take the gracious
offers our suppliers give us and
take them up several levels. I
determine specific markets I
want to target. I develop a
theme and creative copy that
will resonate with that audience.
I look for creative packaging
that will augment the message
and develop a creative way to
deliver that message. I do
detailed research to ensure that
the audience I am reaching
needs what is being offered, has
the ability to pay and that the
person I am targeting is indeed
the decision maker. This is why,
in most cases, the self-promo-
tion programs I have developed
have netted upwards of 70 per-
cent positive response rates.
Taking It To The Next Level
Marketers—yes that’s you—
have a tremendous opportunity
to do more with the tools you
have at your disposal. I want to
share a few of my recent case
histories and the success of these
programs that I have developed
for myself and my distributor
client, iPROMOTEu.
MARKET
ING
CASE HISTORY NO. 1:
Puzzled On How To Stay Relevant Puzzle Invitation
NEEDING A CREATIVE WAY
to invite
clients and prospects to a lunch-and-
learn event, I worked with
iPROMOTEu affilliate Theresa
Gonzalez, president of Stay Visible,
Inc., and we decided on a nine-piece
puzzle to drive the messaging home.
The well-crafted theme—“Puzzled
About How to Stay Relevant with Your
Marketing?”—drew recipients to open
the can and engaged them to put the
puzzle together to get the full mes-
sage. Once completed, the recipients
got information about the event and a
brief introduction to the speakers.
Interestingly, when we followed up,
we found all of the recipients had put
the puzzle together. Eighty-eight per-
cent of the mailed recipients attended
the event.
CASE HISTORY NO. 2:
Accept No Substitutes
OUR CLIENT WAS PLAGUED
with the
problem of having to compete with
other photographers and videographers
in Washington, D.C. and the outer sub-
urbs. We learned the client typically
sent targeted media buyers and ad
agencies a portfolio of work, which was
a major expense. When the client was
called in for a meeting with a prospect,
he often noticed that his portfolio was
one in a stack of other portfolios—his
did not stand out. Utilizing a tear-sheet
format that was borrowed from a media
buying guide, we made a replica of the
piece on a hardboard, cork-backed
coaster. The tear-sheet coasters were placed in a bed of straw along with a cover letter detailing the client’s
services. The art on an accompanying card showed a scarecrow similar to the one from
The Wizard of Oz
holding a plastic replica of a brain with a very inquisitive look on his face. The tagline read: “Accept No
Substitutes.” The box was mailed to 300 media buyers and art directors in the Washington, D.C. area. To
add to the impact of the campaign, the pieces were mailed Express Mail the night before Halloween. The
campaign generated a massive response rate of more than 86 percent, garnering nearly 230 prospect leads
who were interested in his service.