Since this department provides critical analysis, we are accustomed to being accused of throwing bricks at this DM campaign or that.
It therefore gave us pause to open a FedEx box and discover that we had been sent a brick. A real one.
We don’t like dimensionals as a rule. However, this one got our attention fast. It ain’t cheap to send a brick FedEx.
There was a note – or rather, a flier – tied to the brick with a plain string. Open the flier, and it turns out the dimensional is pitching the opening to an exhibition of marketing art. The One Club had mounted a 30-year retrospective of the works of McKinney & Silver called “The Second Revolution.” The flier’s design is Soviet Constructivist.
This was a targeted mailing intended to attract attention to the show’s opening. It’s a cute double gag on using a brick to toss a note through a window and throwing bricks (from walls that have been torn down) in a revolution.
Nevertheless, it’s not a winner. The invitation was stronger than the show (now closed). And as a targeted prospect, we should be wondering about the product or service being pitched, not about the expense in mounting the pitch.
Gone Fishin’
DMW Worldwide decided to launch a promotion for its new eTraffic division. The piece is a blue cardboard box, not much larger than a paperback book. The lid features a blue-tinted picture of sardines with a headline in white: “Fishing for more traffic and higher sales on your Web site?”
Open the lid, and you’ll find a tin sardine can. The inside of the cardboard lid says: “We really know how to pack ’em in!” Included are DMW’s URL and toll-free number as response devices.
The can says: “The key to driving qualified traffic – and better sales results – to your Web site may be missing. But it isn’t hard to find. Open up or call us toll-free at 1-877-744-DMWW. If anyone can help you net more business, we can.” And in small print near the bottom: “Do not open – not for consumption.”
We should add there is no key nor a tab to use a key with. But if you shake the tin, there is a sloshing sound suggesting sardines within.
The dimensional’s scale is OK, and we suspect enough prospects will rise to the bait for the campaign to be regarded as a success and not an old fisherman’s tale. We hate to wail, but that statement is also what’s wrong with the piece: It’s too cleverly self-conscious with the piscine puns and provides little beyond wordplay and a couple of contact numbers. If we were in e-commerce, we would want to know what sort of services DMWW provides that might increase traffic. Spicing up basic information with puns, of course, is a different story.
Playing Through
We’ve never been able to talk about golf without thinking about Mark Twain’s comment that the sport was a good walk spoiled by a game. Golfbox.com, a Web marketer trying to promote customized logo golf balls packaged in customized boxes, might be described as a good game spoiled by a branding opportunity.
Golfbox has generated 90% of its leads from its site since it launched in 1996. What differentiates the firm is that it not only applies logos to golf balls but creates a customized box. Golfbox can provide as few as 48 packages of logo balls for the same price as other companies charge for logo balls in generic packaging.
If it matters, there are two balls in a standard package. Larger and more elaborate boxes with three or six balls are also available.
A special campaign aimed at writers and editors began earlier this year. The piece included two balls with Golfbox’s logo in a sleeve, with a logo or a cover from the targeted publication. One side of the package features a picture of the head of a golf club and three floating golf balls. The large middle ball has the name of the publication while the two flanking balls each have a name of a reporter or editor.
What makes this work is that it’s an actual sample of the product and service. You are seeing an example of what you might order in bulk, and can therefore make an informed decision whether to buy.
What’s bad is that you have someone taking a 9-iron and bashing your logo, albeit on a golf ball you commissioned. Some branding opportunities are meant to missed.
By the way, anyone want a slightly used brick?
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