NO REWARDS, THANK YOU
I am making copies of Herschell Gordon Lewis' column (Curmudgeon-at-Large, January) and returning them in the postpaid envelopes sent by American Express, et al., in their offers for “rewards” programs and credit cards.
About three months ago, I paid off my credit card debt (not by refinancing my home mortgage) and started canceling credit card accounts. Previously, I felt I needed a large number of accounts, being self-employed and carrying a significant rollover debt. But that is no longer the case.
Since I began winnowing the wallet, the number of rewards offers, etc., has doubled, often from the accounts I recently closed. It seems that Marketing does not communicate with Billing more than four times per annum. (“Please allow up to 90 days for your removal to take effect…”)
I figure the best way to communicate with these folks is with their own response channels. After all, it only costs me a little printer ink and two sheets of paper.
By the way, in 15 years in business, I never have used unsolicited marketing. I find targeted advertising attracts more business than I can handle, when I even bother to advertise. Do something well and you only have to be accessible, not pushy.
Keep up the good work, Herschell.
Ruth B. Kaplan
Ruth's Custom Sewing
Slidell, LA
THE LOW-CARB MAKEOVER
I much prefer Tom Collins' Atkins ad to the rock-climbing original (The Makeover Maven, January).
If it were my ad to rewrite, I would change his copy slightly by dropping the salad bar connection totally. Many people think that salads are automatically low in carbohydrates. But they're not, actually. And the offerings in most salad bars lean toward the high-carb (pasta salads) and the relatively high-carb (carrots, tomatoes, nuts). Since many people don't know this, the copywriter could get away with linking the low-carb salad with the low-carb bar, but it wouldn't be accurate.
Instead, I would highlight the convenience of the bar (easy to put in your purse, keep in your desk, no microwaving required, etc.) and the idea that the consumer is being healthy and getting a candy bar at the same time.
Thanks, Tom, as always, for the fun of playing “What if.”
Katharine M. Holden
Consumer Marketing Manager
Affinity Group/Ehlert Publishing
Maple Grove, MN
Each time I receive the latest issue of Direct, the first thing I do is read Tom Collins' column. Tom hit the target dead-center again with his analysis of the Atkins ad. Whoever approved that creative should be shot, hung, flayed, quartered and then fired.
Creative types tend to overdo it in the name of keeping things fresh, believing that imagery is everything. True, we do think in images to a large extent, but the brain processes information in printed form much more effectively. I oftentimes think ad departments lack confidence in their copywriting skills, so turning to imagery becomes a panacea.
Collins also was spot-on regarding enticing the curious to a Web site with free candy…so to speak. “Free” is still one of the most powerful motivators, and you never can discount the value of acquiring the information of your target, which in this case is someone interested in or willing to eat one of those Atkins Salad Bars. If you get someone to take that extra step to reach out to you, their qualification as a prospect skyrockets.
Customer acquisition is still the biggest cost for most companies in the marketing life cycle. If I were Atkins I'd give away a million bars and absorb the cost to get a million people to eat the Salad Bar.
Please add me to the list started by reader Roy Hayes of Solothurnli Corp. (Letters to the Editor, Direct, January), who wrote: “If Tom ever does get the challenge to test one of his makeovers with the original, I want to put a few bucks down on the outcome.”
Benjamin Ice
Marketing Manager
Adaptive Learning Systems Inc.
DBA ExamForce
Largo, FL
I enjoy Tom Collins' point of view, and his January column was no exception
As for his question regarding “tandem advertising,” I refer to this type of paid space advertising as “click-response advertising.” This is a term I use internally at my organization, and one that descriptively conveys what I am talking about. It's been something I've had to utilize over the past few years to measure my ROI from traditional and vertical markets.
I just wanted to add my 2 cents to Tom's call for a suggestion.
Glenn C. Breslauer
Director, IT Marketing
Bell-Mark Corp.
Pine Brook, NJ
I have been reading Tom Collins' column in Direct for several years and always appreciate his perspective.
[Regarding the question of what to call print ads that drive prospects to a company's Web site,] since interactive brand advertising is called direct marketing, perhaps this new kind of advertising could be called “redirect marketing.”
Ellen Gross
New York
Tandem advertising, huh?
Maybe:
Adjunct advertising;
Symbiotic selling;
Piggyback advertising;
Extension marketing;
Complementary advertising.
Or not.
Like Tom's columns!
Rik Shafer
Fort Lauderdale, FL
