Alliteration is awesome

Alliteration is a-okay, I say. It’s a writing technique that goes back centuries in languages, especially by poets, philosophers, storytellers and authors (particularly authors of children’s stories). Today, it remains as popular as ever, popping up in poetry, speeches, music, greeting cards, children’s stories, and advertising.

Here are some examples of alliteration by yours truly:

Abolish antipathy and advance ambition.

Bigger is Better? BS.

Carefully consider culling combative customers.

Daring dancers dig deep, dismiss doubters.

Have you written an alliterative headline, slogan or poem? Post it in Comments or provide a link.

LiveJournal Tags: alliteration,copywriting,ghost writing,ad copy,freelance,marketing communications communications,social media writer,blogging

Promotional products by any other name are neither

We’ve seen this week that the purpose and value of promotional products is often misunderstood. Some of this is marketing’s fault for

• calling these items trash and trinkets or swag
• purchasing cheap products
• maintaining an assortment of items that have no rhyme or reason
• selecting an item that doesn’t fit the corporate image or marketing message

Believe me, this is not a comprehensive list. I’m sure you could add several bullets without hesitation. In fact, please do in the Comments section.

Internally, promotional products can engender camaraderie between marketing and sales in a multitude of ways:

• as awards bestowed upon salespersons for marketing funded and managed sales contests
• as a thank you for reporting back to marketing on the quality of leads
• as recognition for supporting a marketing campaign or product launch
• as appreciation for staffing a trade show exhibit

Marketing should keep a carefully thought out quantity of ad hoc - meaning the items aren’t necessarily tied to a campaign – promotional products in a locked supply closet for a number of reasons. On occasion, other departments such as HR, purchasing, supply chain and even Legal may have guests visiting and a company branded promotional product is a nice welcome and “we appreciate you” message.

Sales, however, must always get first dibs. A quality promotional product arms sales with an icebreaker for a new customer. It can thaw a frosty relationship with a long-time customer after a real or perceived slight. A nice “thank you” can ease the tension after a particularly contentious purchase contract negotiation, too.

In conclusion, always carefully consider the quality of an item before you decide to apply the company logo to it. If marketing, sales, customers, partners, distributors or even family or friends think of it as swag, a trinket, or an advertising specialty item, it’s not worthy of your good corporate name. The brand must be protected and its value should never be compromised or diminished by a promotional product.

What are your thoughts? Have I missed anything? Let me know in the Comments section.

Thank you for reading my blog.

LiveJournal Tags: promotional products,corporate gifts,advertising specialties,swag,give-away,sales incentive award,performance award,customer gift,brand reputation,copywriting,ghost writing,ad copy,freelance,marketing communications communications,social media writer,blogging

Sales earns, and rewards, customer loyalty

In a previous post, I mentioned that promotional products can be used for internal marketing and sales incentive campaigns. Add customer gifts to the list. Now, many companies have rules about giving and receiving gifts in a buyer/seller relationship, so it’s important that marketing consult with their Legal department before establishing a customer relationship program that includes a promotional product.

After getting the green light from Legal, be sure to consult with sales about the parameters of the program and the promotional product(s) you are proposing. This collaboration is essential to secure sales buy-in and ensure the program is implemented in the sales department as intended by marketing. An added bonus: it will strengthen the rapport between the sales and marketing teams.

One thing you’ll most certainly hear from sales is that the promotional product must be something of perceived value. Ideally, it will be an item that symbolizes how important the customer is to your company. Marketing must never forget that sales is on the front line. We can’t ask a salesperson to stand before the company’s most valuable customer and hand the very important contact a t-shirt, or a USB thumb drive, or a coffee mug. This is about relationship building. It’s also about the company’s brand reputation. Spend some money! Make it an item the salesperson can present with pride. Make it a conversation piece for the customer for years to come.

Did you oversee a customer relationship program for sales that included a gift? Was it a success? A failure? Please tell me your story in Comments.

LiveJournal Tags: promotional products,corporate gifts,advertising specialties,swag,give-away,sales incentive award,performance award,customer gift,brand reputation,copywriting,ghost writing,ad copy,freelance,marketing communications communications,social media writer,blogging

I really need that pen!

If you’ve ever held the role of demand generation for a business-to-business organization, you’ve undoubtedly conducted a direct mail or email campaign sometime in your past. It’s okay, you can admit it it. There’s no shame.

True, at times the paltry response may have been shameful. Demand generation professionals understand there’s no secret to a successful direct marketing endeavor. Of course, it starts with a quality list. But equally as important is the message. It must be spot on, addressing a real business problem and providing a simple and affordable solution in crisp, concise and clear language. Good messaging with supporting imagery that correlates with the problems  your customers face will usually generate sufficient response. I’ve never doubted that for a minute and my experience bears it out.

On occasion, I incorporated a promotional product as an inducement to encourage a more timely response. It was offered as a reward for completing and returning the business reply card by a certain date. With the clock ticking, response rates typically improved.

Here’s the kicker: the free gift doesn’t have to be something of high value. I once offered a sub-$1 pen for free as a thank you to customers for completing a BRC. The message theme was “CONNECT the Dots” and pens and other writing instruments were visuals throughout the mailer, so this was a no-brainer.

The check boxes on the reply card had some fun language. It was remarkable to see how many people underlined the phrase “Don’t forget to send my pen” or “I really need that pen, too.” 

Always keep in mind that the promotional product should connect to the creative and message in the direct marketing mail brochure or email message. When the item adds impact or somehow reinforces the message for the target audience, you’ve hit a homerun, and I’m betting your metrics will bear that out.

LiveJournal Tags: direct marketing,direct mail,email marketing,e-direct,business reply card,promotional products,corporate gifts,advertising specialties,swag,give-away,sales incentive award,performance award,copywriting,ghost writing,ad copy,freelance,marketing communications communications,social media writer,blogging

The best promotional product ever

What is the best promotional product you ever received? Why did you like it? How long ago did you get it? Do you still have it today? Is it a functional product, or is it static, something to look at and remember when it was given to you? Does the company, representative and circumstances surrounding your receipt of the promotional product come easily to mind?

In my role as a product marketing communications professional, I received many promotional products from partners and vendors, usually at industry trade shows. They ran the gamut of what you typically see: business card holders, coasters, pens, Post-It Note pads, portfolios, mouse pads, thumb drives, screen savers (back in the day), Beanie Babies (again, back in the day when they were all the rage) caps and shirts, just to name a few.

So often, I walked away from a company booth scratching my head thinking: “Why are they giving that promotional item away? What the heck does that have to do with their company or their product? What is the message? The prospect is going to take the item back to the office and give it to the admin (coffee mug) or home and give it to their kid (Beanie Baby). It’s nice, but I doubt it’s going to build customer or brand loyalty, or result in a sale.”

Yes, I actually did have this thought quite often; after all, I’m a marketing communications professional, it’s how I’m wired.

The best promotional product you ever received drove you to take an action that helped you in your role with your employer and ultimately helped your company. Or, it was recognition bestowed upon you for achieving a goal or simply excelling and making your team and company better.

That’s a win for everyone and an item you probably will keep forever and look at occasionally with fond memories.

LiveJournal Tags: promotional products,corporate gifts,advertising specialties,swag,give-away,sales incentive award,performance award,copywriting,ghost writing,ad copy,freelance,marketing communications communications,social media writer,blogging

Promotional products keep on giving

I spent some time today with the owner of a promotional products company. What a fantastic business. He essentially provides people with gifts to bestow upon others who will smile with appreciation, probably keep it on their desk and likely reciprocate in the future.

I never understood why anyone refers to promotional products as give-aways, freebies, swag, or worse, trash and trinkets. These people lack vision and have little appreciation for the purpose and power behind a promotional product. As part of an integrated communications campaign, the promotional product serves as the physical representation of the value proposition. It’s a constant reminder of the company and the product or service they offer.

Of course, promotional products can also be used for internal marketing and sales incentive campaigns. So often, being given an item from the company with the individual’s name on it as an award reaps huge dividends in performance and attitude.  It doesn’t matter the value of the award, it’s the simple act of recognition that matters the most.

That’s a powerful message. And that’s the power of promotional products.

LiveJournal Tags: promotional products,corporate gifts,advertising specialties,swag,give-away,sales incentive award,performance award,copywriting,ghost writing,ad copy,freelance,marketing communications communications,social media writer,blogging

This letter covers it

Dear Mr. Y,

I learned through JF that you are seeking an individual to handle a variety of marketing communications (marcom) programs with a near-term focus on collateral, online content and social media. Over the past 15 years, I served in various marcom roles for SCI and two hi-tech firms. During this time, I managed and contributed to just about every type of marcom program imaginable.

I will bring all of this experience to bear on programs designed to position GES as an innovator and leader. I possess a keen mind and exceptional listening skills. I learn quickly through inquisitiveness, immersion, intuition, initiative and interaction. As a result, I become very adept at understanding my company, its products and services, competitive differentiators, benefits and the markets it serves.

An asset you will find very valuable is my ability to write crisp, concise and compelling copy that effectively communicates the desired message for a variety of media, from the web to social to sales communications to product collateral. I also possess a creative mind and revel in the ideation process. These skills are beneficial in developing the value proposition, key messages and supporting content.

Marcom managers wear many hats and must be as flexible as a contortionist. I am a thinker, researcher, planner, communicator, project manager, production manager, copywriter, editor, videographer, publicist, event planner, content manager and so much more. If variety is the spice of life, marcom managers are the entire rack. I bring the flava!

I offer all this, a sense of humor, personal integrity and a commitment to excellence to GES. I hope you agree this is worth a personal meeting to determine if we are a good fit. I will contact JT to get the process started. Thank you.

Best Regards,

Brian Beasley

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