Denise Paccione of Marketing Design Group led a late Tuesday morning marketing session on graphic design and copy. Denise has done similar sessions at SISO, of which one much-anticipated portion of the session is peer critiques of promo pieces that session attendees have brought with them.
Some of this may appear basic, but it's always good to revisit fundamentals you may have forgotten...
Denise opened with an explanation of “What” vs. “Why”, noting that many in our industry continue to mistakenly promote the What more than Why.
What = features (biggest, most comprehensive, etc.). Why = benefits (find products that will improve your sales, meet the key buyers in your industry). The test on whether something is a benefit is as simple as this: if you can't put “you will...” in front of a bullet point, it's not a benfit.
Example: Denise had been working with SEMA for 23 years on designing their brochures. Both Denise and SEMA thought they had maxed out attendee potential and were relying on feature-oriented messages. One day a new VP of marketing walks in and suggests that they haven't – there were still lots more people out there not attending.
A look at some new potential markets and a change to benefits copy generated a 33% increase in verified attendance the first year of the new campaign and 17% more the second.
Denise's 10 rules to grab attention and create impact:
use a theme based on on “why” (benefits) message, not “what” (features)
create exciting covers, both front and back (recipients often look at the mailing label first)
write benefit-oriented headlines and subheads
write concise copy, bulleted when possible. Less is more. Get an good editor or become one
design should lead the reader through the copy, bringing their eyes to the points you want to emphasize
use color effectively – but don't empty the Crayola box on your brochure
find photos that your reader can relate to, use “on-the-job” images instead of show floor and conference session photos that look like they could be from any event
make your mailers unusual shapes or sizes to they stand out in the mail
include a clear call to action and create urgency – use incentive words (save, free, win)
be consistent throughout your campaign to build recognition and awareness – studies show most people do really “see” your message until the third time they've received it
Wish I was able to talk more about the critiquing part of the session, but I didn't walk away with samples and didn't have my camera with. You'll just have to imagine.
One of the better takeaways was during a discussion on how to brand a regional series of shows. Denise thought it important that all events share the same creative treatment, whereas Karen Vogel pointed to an event she did in Philly some years back where she focused on the venue, marketed it to New Yorkers, and talked in “East Coast” language - “Pressed for time? See it all and be home for dinner” all presented in a graphic theme resembling an Amtrak ticket jacket. Attendance increased by 100%.
Cris Levy, in his session later in the day, also noted that his company, Shomex, will go so far as to change an event's name if it make sense for certain markets, even if it's the same exact event its regional brethren.
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