the communications proposition

[image from small business marketing guide]

In a recent post on the Small Business Marketing Guide, Jean Aw of notcot shares her favourites from all the marketing materials she’s received recently.

The article makes a number of sharp observations, and reminded me of The Economist’s direct marketing to media agencies in Asia, which they develop with Ogilvy agency Red Card.

I always look forward to receiving these mailings, because they deliver their message in a way that actually benefits me.

They go beyond mere message relevance to deliver something that I actively want to interact with.

Take the bowling set (’striking performance’) and wooden massage tool (‘need better circulation?’) below:

[images courtesy of red card]

Both employ the clever play on words typical of The Economist’s communications.

But, more importantly, both deliver a ‘communications proposition’.

In other words, they deliver a benefit that results purely from engaging and interacting with the communication itself, regardless of what it is promoting.

These mailings still sit on my desk, and they still inspire conversations (and games) with colleagues.

This debunks another Media myth.

The challenge we face as marketers isn’t reduced attention.

It’s a lack of interest in what we’ve got to say, or at least in how we say it.

But find a way to reward people for paying attention, and they will be happy to listen.