Caricatures!

It's holiday gift-giving time. Now, you can do the fruitcake thing, the gift basket thing, the popcorn-in-a-tin thing or the gift certificate thing. But you might also want to consider giving a gift that is truly customized and personal.

Welcome to another edition of Not Your Usual Marketing Tips from JDK Marketing Communications Management.

Cartoonists have been lampooning politicians and royalty with devastating caricatures for over 300 years. This season you might wish to consider presenting a caricature from yourself. Not to devastate, however, but to tickle...

Caricatures make a great, customized gift for your clients or your favored customers...and certainly families and friends on the personal side. Caricatures of loyal (and long-standing) staff make great gifts as well, showing your appreciation for their dedicated service. Yours truly has done caricatures of individual staff members, framed and mounted on company walls. So it’s not only a unique, fun idea…it’s great for morale.

(If you’re new to this column, Yes, I do caricatures. And I’ve been doing them professionally – apart from my copywriting, conceptual and marketing strategy work – for, sheesh, three decades now.…)

Another popular means by which to utilize caricatures -- and no less a marketing tool than a corporate brochure or flyer -- is a Holiday Greetings card...customized to feature the illustrated likenesses of company officers and selected staff, and sent out to clients with a seasonal message thanking them for their business.

(See art above. If it cannot be opened for whatever reason, go to http://www.jdkmarketing.biz/caricaturesbyjoel/ for a look at that one, and others...)

Naturally, caricatures can be applied to ad specialty items as well -- on coffee mugs, beer decanters, tension sqeeze'em toys, and the like. And regardless of season, caricatures can enliven collateral marketing materials, ad campaigns, publicity packages, PowerPoint presentations and trade shows

If you've run out of ideas as we near the holidays, give a thought to caricatures...the "art" of gift-giving.

And in the meantime, frame the first Tuesday of next month for another masterpiece sampling of Not Your Usual Marketing Tips.

Joel Kweskin

Publish or Perish?

“Publish or perish.” That’s the mantra in post-graduate academia. To be taken seriously as a scholar, one needs to write a paper and have it published in some scholarly publication.

Well, it’s really not all that much different once you get out into the business world of the entrepreneur.

Welcome to another edition of Not Your Usual Marketing Tips from JDK Marketing Communications Management.

I had a nice chat with “sales growth” guru Bob Janet (http://www.bobjanet.com/) about the benefits of having his many articles on sales growth and marketing picked up by various publications representing a potpourri of industries. And how his speaking engagements have increased due to the cachet and presumed expertise – certainly earned in his case – that accompany one’s byline in a commercially or professionally established publication.

Other folks I know who are published – regularly, and that’s key – include Harvey Smith (http://www.carolinabusinesscoach.com/) periodically in The Charlotte Observer; business trainer and hiring consultant Denise Altman (http://www.altmaninitiative.com/) in Greater Charlotte Biz; IT marketing “maven” Sally Phillips (http://www.mariner-usa.com/) who skirts around the literal definition of “publishing” by appearing, vocally, on Charlotte’s local NPR station, WFAE-90.7 FM, with personal essays and observations; PR pro Patricia Pollack (http://www.myteamofexperts.com/) with an ongoing column in The Business Journal; and web marketing SEO queen Esther Kane (http://www.eckweb.com/), who offers her professional musings in a blog, along with her monthly newsletter.

When you write what you know, it translates to readers that you know what you write. That’s a glib way of saying there is a built-in respectability that comes with the distinction of having your words “archived” in a forum presented for public review. It doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to have a degree in journalism, either. (To my knowledge, the only one of the individuals I’ve noted who do have such a degree is…me.)

If you can get your knowledge down in a reasonably syntax-friendly way, you can write for the media. (And if you can’t or prefer not to tempt the grammar gods, there are professionals who can “ghost write” for you. Such as, again…yours truly.)

Getting selected media to accept your musings may not happen the very first time out of the gate, but it is do-able. Especially with said selected media always looking for informative – and entertaining – subjects that will help fill space and provide their subscribers with good, value-added material that reflects well on them.


Joel Kweskin

Alumni Affiliations

I caught an interesting article in The Charlotte Observer about how college alumni – as depicted in this case by a popular Midwestern NCAA athletic division represented by those living and working in the Charlotte area – are keeping the old “ties that bind” by continuing to connect through networking.

Welcome to another edition of “Not Your Usual Marketing Tips” from JDK Marketing Communications Management.

The article discusses how “In the heart of ACC country, a group of transplants has found value in networking with fellow graduates of Big Ten universities.

“Neil Swiacki, 48, made his way to Charlotte 41/2 years ago after stints in Massachusetts, Indiana and Michigan, where he graduated from Michigan State in 1980.

“Now he heads the Big 10 Biznet, a Charlotte networking group. It's for people who've graduated from the 10 Midwestern schools – plus Penn State – and want ways to find new business contacts.

“ ‘There’s a lot of value to locating people with similar backgrounds,’ he said.

“The group is emblematic of the wave of newcomers from Midwestern and Northeastern states. Of the estimated 80,000 people from outside the Carolinas who moved to Mecklenburg and surrounding counties from 2004 to 2005, 10 percent are from the Midwest and 28 percent from the Northeast…U.S. Census data found.

“…Other business groups form around college alumni associations as well as race or ethnicity, regional geography, specific trades or professions, and other special interests. Even a dog fanciers’ group can turn into business networking opportunities for participants…

“Charlotte is still very much about relationship-building – people want to do business with people they know.”

Now I’ll assume that many if not most of you already belong to business networking groups. Chances are they’re the types that generically meet in restaurants or coffee shops and are comprised of disparate businesses. But this Big Ten thing is a great way to expand on the BNI’s of the world and their offshoots.

Maybe you have a favorite pastime or pursuit that can be parlayed into a group of similarly interested individuals. This adds real passion to the business proceedings that those customary networking groups are, by definition, lacking. And you, of course, get to decide whether or not to “lock out” your particular competition.

Check out these types of associations or clubs online or through friends and neighbors. And if there isn’t an organization, for instance, already devoted to fans of the Chicago White Sox, start one – like I did.

(Of course, I’m the only member so far…)


Joel Kweskin

Cool Stuff

My wife and I were in Denver, Col., helping our son furnish his new apartment as he awaited the beginning of grad school at the University of Denver. Craving ice cream one evening, we sauntered into a 1950s retro place called “Gunther Toody’s” (named for a character in the old sitcom “Car 54, Where Are You?”…though I could swear that show didn’t air until the early ‘60s. Anyway, I digress…).

Marketing, as it were, to the nostalgia buffs among us from the get-go, there was one moment in particular that literally turned our heads…

Welcome to another edition of Not Your Usual Marketing Tips from JDK Marketing Communications Management.

When I asked to see the menu for the ice cream desserts, the waitress pointed instead to a curiously familiar item on the table. It was an old, red View Master. Remember those…the binocular-like housing with the circular array of tiny picture slides mounted partially on top? I looked through the viewers and immediately saw – in “3-D” yet! – an inviting thick chocolate shake with Reese’s pieces in it. I flipped the outside lever and another 3-D image came on, of a raspberry-flavored, vanilla-based shake. I delightedly continued to flip the lever for tantalizing pictures of more and more tasty treats…

I mean, how cool was that?

I’d love the opportunity to steal that idea some day and use it for a presentation either for my own marketing communications services, or the products of a “visionary” client.

What have you done lately to make your presentation, your product, your image “cool?” Or, at the least, something memorable, something unique, something for others to talk about?

Hey, I’m game if you are.



Joel Kweskin

Variable Data Printing

Have you ever had VDP?

Don’t worry, it’s not some communicable disease. But what you might catch from it is the contagious notion that your business could see anywhere from twice the normal response to 10-15 times the response, depending on how far you go with it…

What am I talking about?

Welcome to another edition of Not Your Usual Marketing Tips from JDK Marketing Communications Management.

VDP is “printer-speak” for Variable Data Printing. At some time or another, you’ve probably been the recipient of a postcard or pamphlet from a realtor or home improvement service, or similar company, that managed to address you by name. And not just where the address is customarily printed.

According to Wikapedia, the online source for just about anything, “Variable Data Printing…is a form of on-demand printing in which elements such as text, graphics and images may be changed from one printed piece to the next without stopping or slowing down the press, using information from a database or external file.

“For example, a set of personalized letters, each with the same basic layout, can be printed with a different name and address on each letter. Variable Data Printing is used mainly for direct marketing, customer relationship marketing and advertising.”

One printer in town, with whom I’ve done business, has sent out its own marketing direct marketing piece in which it “targeted” me by showing a graphic of a pizza. But not just any pizza. This one had the name “Joel” spelled out in slices of pepperoni!

The same folks sent out another piece inviting me to their plant…with a MapQuest graphic showing the route from MY HOME to their plant! Talk about “target” marketing!

As has been pointed out by these printers and the few others in town who have this kind of technology capability, it “increases revenue, response rates and customer retention.” According to another printer I noted online, the benefits of VDP were clearly measured: Percentage increases in response time was 33.9%, overall revenue/profit was 31.6%, repetitive orders/retention was 47.6%, average size order/value of order was 24.5% and response rates was 36.0%.

There are different levels of personalization. And it is pricier than conventional direct marketing. But regardless of the way a client might go with this, I don’t think I’m overstating the case by saying that with this kind of ROI, this is a 21st century marketing tool to be reckoned with.

As always, yours truly would be happy to explore this option with you in marketing your business or service.



Joel Kweskin

Frequency

It’s the first Tuesday of the new month, and it’s a promise I make (if only to myself) to get this e-zine out on schedule. Which reminds me of another medium for which a timely “schedule” is even more crucial. If you’re contemplating running an ad campaign, keep in mind the importance of giving it time and frequency to do its thing.

Welcome to another edition of Not Your Usual Marketing Tips from JDK Marketing Communications Management.

Once is not enough.

Now, of course, if you’re appearing in some one-time publication as an industry or civic booster, once is all you’ve got. But if you’re thinking of running in a pub that significantly reaches your market, think of it as an ongoing relationship. “Going steady,” if you will.

That’s because it’s frequency that eventually aids the message in burrowing its way into the consciousness of the reader.

Conrad Levinson writes in his Guerrilla Marketing series of books that it actually takes nine (9) times for the ad’s message to run before it sinks in. Generally speaking…

The first time, the prospect pays no attention to the ad.

The second time, it’s still virtually “invisible.”

The third time, there is a flicker of recognition by the prospect.

The fourth time, the prospect acknowledges the ad by viewing the advertiser as “successful.”

The fifth time, the prospect reads the ad copy more intently, with more scrutiny.

The sixth time, the prospect begins to consider purchasing the product.

The seventh time, the consideration to purchase becomes more serious.

The eighth time, the prospect plans the time to actually make the purchase.

The ninth time “is the day you’ve been waiting for…your prospect actually makes a purchase, often with little sales resistance because the time you have taken for the prospect to notice your marketing has earned their trust in you.”

Levinson goes on to say that “experts recommend advertising three times for credibility and seven to nine times for people to buy from you.”

And, naturally, if you need help with conceptualizing as well as constructing and placing that ad campaign…consider the capabilities of yours truly.


Joel Kweskin

Da Vinci Code

I was in the grocery store the other day and noticed something called Da Vinci chianti on display. I had never heard of the product before; guess I’m just not an oenophile. But what made that display truly memorable for me was that the bottles were joined by interspersed copies of The Da Vinci Code.

Welcome to another edition of Not Your Usual Marketing Tips from JDK Marketing Communications Management.

So who hasn’t read or seen The Da Vinci Code by now? Forget what trespasses of faith the storyline may be breaching. The point here is that some company called Da Vinci that bottles chianti stuck its thumb in the marketing pie and pulled out a plum.

(Sorry, we’re not here to address mixed metaphors...)

Since the book has become a cottage industry unto itself, we will assume that it was the chianti that took advantage of the 800-pound gorilla in the pop culture consciousness of consumers and grabbed a bunch of the books to, in turn, call attention to itself.

Not a bad idea. In fact, it’s so not bad (sorry, we’re not here to address weird syntax either…) that I would heartily recommend, if pertinent, that kind of approach to you and your business.

Now, to tie in to a massive pop culture presence as The Da Vinci Code may be fraught with the kind of licensing considerations that would quickly render the idea moot. (Even though I have a sneaking suspicion that the distributors for this product threw caution to the wind and just did a localized, “maverick” thing.)

But there may be any numbers of ways that “plain folks” like you and me can still ”cross-promote” our product or service. It starts with finding an affinity profession to yours – i.e. commercial property managers with commercial movers/furniture/flooring dealers…realtors with interior decorators/landscapers…business coach with payroll services/accountant…or a humble copywriter/creative director with printers/web designers.

But you might even find an existing popular product – a drink, a candy, a movie – that you can put an appropriate “spin” on and leverage as having some relevance to you and your product.

The format might be a joint speaking engagement, or trade show presence, or newsletter, or special event, or announcement at a networking group.

Such affiliation may not exactly inspire a movie. But a dramatic “connection” can go a long way in making you memorable in the eyes of prospects and existing clients.

And remember…as with all these editions, we’re here to help you put any of these ideas into practice.


Joel Kweskin