How to add value to your direct mail campaign. An alarming letter!

November 30, 2016November 30, 2016
Eugenia Nazarova

When in doubt if direct mail marketing is useful today, I recommend you pay attention to this example. The Swedish alarm company Sector Alarm has recently come up with an interesting idea for its direct mail – an alarming letter – to grab consumer’s attention and showcase its service. To find out more, continue reading!

You might think that direct mail has gone the way of the dinosaur, but it is not true. It is not a forgotten form of advertising either! Companies continue using ‘old-school’ techniques including direct mail because they know that they still work.

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Despite the rise of digital media, direct mail is still a viable and effective strategy in the marketing mix: it is more personalized and tailored for a specific audience but it also an awesome tool that allows to deliver a tangible message to your target audience and encourage interaction.

Just like any other marketing tactics, direct mail is continually changing and evolving alongside the tremendous advances in technology to create a unique and powerful bond with the audience.

Nowadays making your direct mail piece stand out amongst the others and getting your brand noticed isn’t as simple as it used to be. Today consumers are bombarded with countless emails and advertisements every single day while they respond to only a few of them. People spend less than a minute scanning your message before they decide whether it’s worth their time and effort to read it.

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So, to create an immediate impact on potential consumers and to arouse their curiosity about the service, the Sector Alarm partnering with agency Milk have recently created an alarming letter – the direct mail that you won’t ignore! How did they succeed in it? By installing an alarm in an envelope that goes off when the letter is opened. Who doesn’t react to the sound of an alarm?

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To my mind, it is a perfect example of how direct mail can be a powerful and effective marketing tool that, when executed properly, delivers great results for your business. Don’t overlook the power of direct mail! 📬📩 🙂

The revival of Honda illustrations

September 25, 2015September 25, 2015
Eugenia Nazarova

To celebrate its 65th anniversary Honda has released an amazing 2-minute ad commercial that was done with paper and hands. It’s really worth watching!

It doesn’t seem just a simple ad! Honda doesn’t promote its newest model revealing its benefits or tells about its latest innovation. But on the contrary the commercial invites you to the journey of the evolution of their vehicles through 6 decades from the developing its first engine for bicycles, then progressed to motorsycles, automobiles, F1 racing cars, robotics and jets to its latest developement – Honda Pilot 2016.

What really caught my eye is a stunning idea that crossed Honda creative team minds to realise this remarkable ad.

Everything in the commercial has been created by hand. Engenieers together with advertisers from the agency RPA placed more than 3,000 colour illustrations in front of the camera that were stitched together and shot by PES, a stop-motion genius and Academy Award-nominated. He managed to convert the hand-drawn illustrations into incredible 3D world space.

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As you probably know, innovation, engineering, fresh thinking and passion drive Honda’s success through the years and this latest ad proves it very well.

The ad ends with the tagline “You never know where a dream will lead you” giving us the idea of Honda’s constant innovation into the future.

If mannequins could speak

February 20, 2015October 21, 2015
Eugenia Nazarova

Ted Baker – a British clothing retail company – has installed an interactive technology in Westfield store in London to make mannequins to communicate with consumers.

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This technology is called VMBeacon (or beacon) and installed into each mannequin or visual merchandising product. It transmits information programmed via a web-portal. The VMBeacon was developed by Iconeme, a technology and design company and works with a Iconeme free app on mobile devices. To communicate with mannequin a consumer has to be within 50 metres inside or outside the store.

To use this technology and interact with mannequins you need to download Iconeme app for iOS and Android. After the access, the app invites users to view more detailed photos with product description on display including price and links to buy the items online or directly in the store. Moreover, it is possible to share the products, save looks to use later and to find special offers and rewards.

To make shopping experience of the consumer more effective, mannequins are available for 24 hours. So you can find necessary information at every moment and to shop online directly from the window with mannequins when the store is closed.

The VMBeacon was installed in some British stores such as House of Fraser’s Online Store ad Aberdeen, Hawes & Curtis in London and Bentalls in Kingston upon Thames.

This app is an excellent way to be in touch with clients, it enables to understand better their needs and desires, have feedback of the sales products and can help improve service and enlarged sales. And what do you think of this innovation? 🙂