Archive for the ‘Mail’ Category

I came across an interesting research paper focusing on Gen Y from Sweeney Research this week and thought I’d share some of the findings with you.

Sweeney Research is one of Australia’s most respected research companies, and is headed by Brian Sweeney. Brian is regarded as one of the leading qualitative researchers in Australia, having been voted by the marketing and advertising industry in Business Review Weekly magazine as Australia’s Best Market Researcher.

The research started with a simple question – “whilst Gen Y spend much of their time engaged with digital channels, is this where they want businesses to communicate with them?” The findings were quite surprising and here are just a few of the things that caught my attention…

Far from being seen as an outdated or old-fashioned way to communicate, Gen Y actually love to receive messages through addressed mail and email. This is especially true when it comes to how they want businesses they deal with to keep in touch. When it comes to businesses they don’t deal with, addressed mail out-pulls email with 87% of respondents marking this as their preference.

While an SMS from a friend or family member is warmly received by nearly all respondents, less than a quarter welcome a text message from a business they do not currently deal with. The ‘compartmentalisation’ of communication acceptance is even more marked when social networking sites are considered. Less than a fifth of Gen Y respondents state this as being an acceptable communication channel through which to receive a message from businesses, if they’re not a customer.

Another interesting point is the finding that mail offers a unique combination of qualities. Addressed mail owns the ‘formal’, ‘important’ and ‘personal’ territory. This is a unique point of difference for mail and a territory not shared by other channels.

All-in-all, some great learnings that we can capitalise on, particularly in the B2B space.

Channel Y, Sweeney Research, 2010.

To find out more:  http://www.openuptomail.com.au/index.php?pageID=9657&merchant_id=0

Wherever the world’s top direct and multi-channel marketers gather to speak, you can be sure the Decoder team won’t be far away.

In this case, the venue was the ADMA Forum in Sydney, and the keynote speakers were legendary direct marketing guru, Stan Rapp, and Obama for America DM Director, Meaghan Burdick. Even the busy end-of-FY period couldn’t deter Tracey, Kate and myself, as diaries were hurriedly cleared.

Stan didn’t disappoint. His keynote address was inspiring and enlightening, and gave us plenty of food for thought. We were doubly impressed when we received copies of his new book ‘Reinventing Interactive & Direct Marketing’. This is a must-read for anyone looking to make more of their marketing.

Other highlights included a great presentation from Neil Jorgensen from Signet on personalised approaches to gaining and retaining customers. We always like to support our clients and were thrilled that Decoder got a special mention.

Nick Adams inspired us all with a case study presentation on Westpac, and Ed Falconer provided some great insights into turning data into strategy via the Myer One program. We were also reminded about the need to focus on Return On Investment rather than just Response Rate by the team at Mercer Bell.

All work and no play makes for a long day, so it would be remiss not to mention the fabulous meal we shared at the Malaya at Darling Harbour. (Only just pipped to the post for ‘best meal of the trip’ by the cheeseburger Neil kindly shouted us at the airport on the way home… we were so hungry!)

Only one lowlight – missing out on the 1kg block of chocolate that was awarded for the best audience question. Must try harder next year!

All-in-all a great experience, and a timely reminder of the power of direct marketing. We can’t wait to apply some of the lessons we learned over the coming year. So keep an eye out for those.

For more information on the ADMA Forum visit:  http://www.admaforum.com/ 

For more information on Decoder visit:  www.decoder.net.au

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Each year ADMA Queensland holds a number of events aimed at supporting, educating and entertaining its members and the wider marketing fraternity. For its 18 June lunch event focused on sustainable marketing, ADMA engaged Decoder to develop a creative concept that could be used throughout the event and on invitations. The end product was very refreshing…

After intense industry focus over the past few years, many marketers consider themselves experts in environmentally responsible communications, however this still tends to be a misunderstood area. So, our task was to develop a concept that provided a clear and memorable message, encouraging people to refresh their knowledge in the area by attending the next ADMA event on Friday 18 June.

With both guest speakers on the day presenting case studies on Fosters’ carbon neutral beer Cascade Green, we decided to focus our creative direction around Australia’s favourite frosty beverage. Our ‘refreshment’ theme was brought to life in the invitation, using crisp copy and a vintage beer advertisement visual style. As well as all of the necessary information, the invitation also contained two pop out beer mats – the perfect thing for people to place on their desk to help remind them about the upcoming ‘Going Green’ event.

Response to the invitations has been fantastic, but there are still some seats available. If you’d like to refresh your sustainable marketing knowledge, register for the Going Green lunch now at admaqlevent.com. Cheers!

Visit Decoder at:  www.decoder.net.au

When MSIT enlisted Decoder’s help to create their 2010 Summer Enrolment Campaign, we grabbed the opportunity with both hands. With so many educational providers’ messages out in the market at this time of year, we needed to develop a campaign that would really connect with prospective students. So how’d we go? 

Our challenge was clear – to increase unique student enrolments by 5% on the previous year. We were given a total budget and asked to come back with the best channel mix and creative concept to achieve this goal. Decoder delivered!

The PROJECT: YOU campaign encouraged students to focus on their future and let them know that MSIT provides everything they need to achieve their career goals. Using our expertise in channel strategy and planning, we utilised online, press and out-of-home ads, as well as digital, radio and direct mail channels to connect with our target audiences.

The result? At the time of writing, we’d well and truly exceeded our goal of 5% increased enrolments, with an unbelievable 20% rise in student numbers from 2009! And there’s still a week or two left before enrolments close.  

We’re now looking forward to working on MSIT’s midyear campaign and boosting their enrolment figures even further.

Check out Decoder on: www.decoder.net.au 

I was so excited! Tracey (TJ) and I were off to the Direct Marketing Association (DMA) Conference in San Diego! Flights were booked. Sessions were planned. And we had tickets for some of the marketing world’s most exciting speakers. Why was it then that all I could think about was my visit to Sea World and the chance to see Shamu the Killer Whale? 

The Conference had been announced with the usual “ Roll up, roll up!” fanfare, but I was hoping that in among the hundreds of sessions, there would be a few that would deliver genuine insights on the latest DM technology, research and thinking – and take my mind off Shamu. Luckily, there were.

While Tracey sat through all the smart stuff, like data modelling and analytics, I got to hear Martha Stewart explain how DM helped create her empire. Yes, the Martha Stewart!

Scott Monty from Ford relived the “Fiesta movement” when Ford pre-launched their new model using only social media. And my all-time favourite DM legend, Stan Rapp, gave us his take on the “idirect” digital revolution.

While the talks were great, some of the work was pretty average. Having heard all about how creative is king, I was surprised at just how much American DM looked like junk mail! It all seemed to use the same standard font for a start (I think it was Courier). And no one gave paper stock or print quality a second thought. Now if only I had a ten million dollar budget!

So lots of valuable lessons learnt, and a very amusing talk about the greatest DM mistakes of all time – but no need for an inferiority complex just yet! Some of the stuff we do at Decoder leaves the US stuff for dead. Even if I do say so myself!

Keep an eye out for a special DMA Decoder presentation in the New Year. We’ll fill you in on all that we learnt – and all the best bits about Sea World too! Have a great Christmas!

Nick. 

Visit Decoder at:  www.decoder.net.au