Cartoon Characters Can Tell Your Story

This client sells a solution to a big problem for food manufacturers ... costly damage to valuable product during shipping. But, Locus-Traxx's amazing solution - a GPS powered monitoring system apropriately named "OVERSIGHT" - is so new that their potential customers don't even know they need it!

So, the Locus Traxx marketing director (a VERY smart guy!) asked us to tell a little story to get the point across: With OVERSIGHT you don't ever need to have another bad day! Here's the first in our series of "story ads" ...

Learn more about OVERSIGHT at http://locustraxx.com

New Media Merchandising: How To & Why To!

Learn about New Media Merchandising ... how you can brand your business and sell merchandise through social media campaigns. Click on each slide to get a close-up view and learn about the new way to go direct and how it can work for your business.

What’s your Unique Selling Proposition (USP)?

If you haven’t defined it yet, take a look at the definition of the term, written in Rosser Reeves in his 1960 book, Reality in Advertising:

"Each advertisement must make a proposition to the consumer. Not just words, not just product puffery, not just show-window advertising. Each advertisement must say to each reader: Buy this product, and you will get this specific benefit.

The proposition must be one that the competition either cannot, or does not, offer. It must be unique – either a uniqueness of the brand or a claim not otherwise made in that particular field of advertising.

The proposition must be so strong that it can move the mass millions (i.e., to pull over new customers to your product)."

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Own It! The Defining Attribute of Your Unique Selling Proposition (USP)

That one special distinctive feature or characteristic is what you want to define. What’s unique about your product is the attribute you want to promote. It cannot be the same as your competitor’s – your must own it. Adopt the complete opposite attribute from your competitor if what first comes to mind is already “owned.” Your defining attribute cannot be similar because it will simply be second best.

Keep it simple and benefit oriented. Find that one word or benefit that sums up your special attribute. And, as some attributes are more important to customers than others, try to “own” the most important one.

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A Few Simple Words About Differentiation

When differentiating your brand, keep it simple. Zero in on the one most powerful differentiating idea and drive it home. Help the consumer to immediately see how simply you’ll solve their problem. Your concept must make sense, be something your competitors cannot claim, and be easy to grasp without complex analysis. Find a fit with your customers’ perceptions.





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4 Steps to Constructing a Unique Selling Proposition (USP)

1. Identify The Differentiating Idea – Identify what separates you from your competitors; it doesn’t have to be product related. Figure out your difference and then turn it into a benefit for your customer.
2. Use It In Context – Understand the perceptions of both your product and your competitor’s product. Consumer perceptions are what matter and you need to know what they are. Your messaging has to make sense in the context of those perceptions.
3. Offer Your Credentials – You should be able to demonstrate a difference, providing proof of your claims. Your differentiating idea must be convincing and believable.
4. Tell Us Your Difference – Communicate your difference in everything you do, from business cards to packaging, and presentations to advertising. Perception is everything so get the word out.

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Being Different is Important! Differentiate.

When consumers choose among their options they base decisions on implicit or explicit differences. Science tells us that memory is enhanced when something can be intellectually appreciated. So, if you can take a product and tie it to strongly differentiated differences, you will help the consumer remember your product and give them a reason to choose it.



info@measuredmktg.com

312.929.4882

Are You Ready to Enter the Twitter Frontier?

There's no arguing that Twitter is the hot new trend and a hot topic at marketing meetings and ad conventions. Celebrities like Ashton Kutcher and Oprah tweet, and so do our moms. It's estimated that Twitter accounts have increased 3000%(!) year over year. No longer a fad, this tool may be here to stay. Businesses and marketers of all sizes can no longer ignore Twitter and are migrating to it en mass ― from companies like Whole Foods and Southwest, to the local store in your neighborhood. It's an unparalleled time in the history of communications and barriers are tumbling down. One of the best things about this free service is that even the smallest business, with a little guidance, can start using Twitter.

But the question remains, is it simply a rambling conversation or is it an effective method of finding and connecting people who share interests? No one knows the answer yet but it's probably a bit of both. Twitter's changing the way marketers communicate with their customers. When done well, it's a less intrusive way to communicate with your audience and a way to build your brand one person at a time. Users have the choice to listen to your message or not, so you better have something interesting to say.

Is social networking a marketing strategy your business should employ? Contact Measured Marketing today to help you navigate the social networking universe. It's a vast frontier of possibility and you'll harness its power sooner with some guidance and strategy. Let Measured Marketing show you how to brand, sell online, and/or generate leads using social network messages targeted to likely consumers who are ready to buy.

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312.929.4882

If You Think Direct Mail Is Dying, Think Again!

You've heard it before and you'll hear it again ― direct mail is dying. How many lives does this cat have? With every new marketing channel created, or improved, the eulogies start for direct mail. The truth is direct mail will not be leaving us anytime soon.

Like internet advertising, social networking, newspapers, radio and TV, direct mail is simply another tool to get your message out. How you use it, and how much you use it, depends on your marketing strategy and your target audience. No one tool can do it all and a strong marketing strategy is one that's integrated and based on your organization's goals.

Here are the facts about the current health of direct mail in a report from the United States Postal Service:

According to the USPS Household Diary Study, in 2008, U.S. households received 148.6 billion pieces of mail, and sent 21.3 billion.

Advertising mail represented 63% of all mail received by households in 2008.

According to McCann-Erickson, says the report, American businesses spent about $271 billion in 2008 advertising their products and services, a decrease of 3.2% from 2007. Of this total advertising spending, 22% was spent on direct mail. In 2008, more than one-fifth of total advertising dollars was spent on direct mail advertising.

Direct mail was the second leading media choice of advertisers in 2008, after television. However, due to a steep economic downturn, direct mail advertising spending fell 1.0% compared to 2007. Except for the Internet and Other, all other spending media categories declined as well.

Direct mail's share of total advertising spending has been on a strong upward trend for most of the past 17 years. Since 1999, the direct mail share has risen steadily reaching 22% in 2008. Direct mail has maintained its large ad share even with the introduction of new, fast-growing ad markets such as the Internet.

Ultimately, advertisers send direct mail because it works, says the report. Household members read and respond to it. Households report they intend to respond to about one in ten pieces of advertising mail. While intended responses do not always lead to actual responses, the data presented help explain why direct mail is the number one choice of advertisers in America, concludes the study.

View the full report from USPS.

What's the status of your direct mail program's health? If it needs a check up and some new life breathed into it give us a call. Measured Marketing can also help you decide if taking a more integrated approach is appropriate for your marketing strategy.

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312.929.4882

Email Advertising is Skyrocketing

Here are the latest findings (5/09) from Borrell Associates, a research & consulting firm that tracks local ad spending across 11 forms of media (online, newspapers, direct mail, cable, radio, etc.):

E-mail advertising is skyrocketing. Last year, email advertising moved to the #1 position in online advertising, surpassing all other forms of interactive advertising. Advertisers spent $12.1 billion last year on e-mail marketing, more than they spent on display/banner advertising or search advertising. We’re predicting e-mail will continue to distance itself from other online advertising formats over the next five years, growing to $15.7. Most of the growth in e-mail marketing will be local. We’re expecting local e-mail advertising to grow from $848 million in 2008, to $2 billion in 2013.

Borrell goes on to caution: Managing large e-mail marketing campaigns requires database marketing expertise, a savvy sales force, adequate e-mail management software, familiarity with the rules and regulations and a lot of patience.

Which leads to the question . . . What's your email strategy and do you have the right tools and expertise to add it to your marketing mix?

Don't sweat it if you don't – that's why we're here. Let Measured Marketing assist you with the how-to in creating effective, deliverable email communications. We'll guide you in list building & acquisition, targeting, compliance with CAN-SPAM laws, channel-appropriate design & copy writing, and most important of all – Strategy. Contact Measured Marketing today to get your campaign started.

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Get the Home Field Advantage with Trade Area Analysis

Do you know who your best customers are and how to identify prospective buyers just like them? In a tough economic climate it's more important than ever to properly analyze your competitive market before crafting your marketing campaign strategy.

With the right mapping tools and a systematic approach it's possible to learn a lot of valuable information about your clients, trade area and competition — why work on a level playing field when you can take the advantage? Measured Marketing can assist in...

Identifying neighborhoods loaded with customers and prospects

Defining your trade areas by drive-time and by driving habits

Understanding how and where your competitors

affect your business everyday

And with this information you can enhance your marketing strategy by:

• Targeting households most likely to respond (the low-hanging-fruit!)
• Capturing data on the back-end of your direct mail efforts
• Re-mailing non-responders (create a prospect database)
• Retaining and growing responders (create a customer database)
• Protecting against competitive incursions
• Taking advantage of exits by competitors

Contact Measured Marketing today to analyze your trade area and create a strategic plan to protect and grow your home field advantage.

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312.929.4882

Sanitized for Your Protection! A Clean List is a Happy List

Companies in all industries compile lists – client lists, prospect databases, assorted purchased lists. We all create lists with the intention of using the data to benefit the goals of our businesses.

What's the state of your lists? Lists have a life to them which can be extended with proper care. How old are your lists? Have your contacts moved? Are the addresses even deliverable? Are the files housed in different locations and with different layouts making them incompatible or hard to use? Regular list hygiene is imperative – lists are only as good as their last update. Do you have data confidence or are you overwhelmed and unsure of how to utilize and optimize the data in your lists?

With proper list processing and file management, you can be confident that your data is up-to-date and streamlined to maximize its full potential in customer acquisition and retention.

Contact us today to help identify the potential in your list and best practices for maintaining its health. We have the tools and the knowledge to make your list sparkling clean and ready to work to improve your bottom line.

info@measuredmktg.com
312.929.4882