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What Thanksgiving Can Teach Us About Successful Print Campaigns

By Hannah Hill on Mon, Nov 25, 2013 @ 01:10 PM |

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The following is a guest post by Jenna Bruce.

Thanksgiving is not just a day to stuff our faces and grin and bear the psychological pain inflicted by our families. No. It’s also a day that can teach us a great deal about what it takes to create successful print campaigns.

What Thanksgiving Can Teach Us about Successful Print CampaignsIf you gobble up these tips, your next campaign will give you a reason to give thanks.

Get the Messaging Right

You’re itching for a fight if you say to your sister’s new boyfriend, “Hey, put the beer down
and go put a shirt on because your back hair is stealing focus from the dinner I just spent 10 hours preparing.” Instead, you might want to amend your message and say, “Gee Mark, you look positively freezing. Here’s a shirt that will bring out the blue in your remarkable eyes.”

Creating effective messaging means developing a pitch with your target market in mind. It should hold their interest and keep them engaged. Being creative in your message is great, but not at the risk of missing the mark on what your audience really wants to hear. Be sure to let them know you’re offering a solution they need.

Choose the Right Channels

You can’t serve gravy with a slotted spoon any more than you can baste a turkey with a dish towel.

The number of media channels available to marketers is expanding daily. Trying to use all of them will be a waste of time, energy and, more importantly, money. Select the right tools for the job by using only the channels that will get your campaigns in front of prospective customers.

Be Specific - Don’t Overwhelm Your Audience

When giving your 16-year-old son a chore to do on Thanksgiving, don’t give him too much information or you may incapacitate him. For example, don’t tell him Cousin Adrienne and Uncle Herb can’t sit next to each other because they’re still not speaking after the ugly casino incident. Or that Aunt Shirley and Aunt Vivienne shouldn’t sit next to each other either because they gossip extremely loudly on account of Aunt Shirley refusing to wear her hearing aid. Just ask your son to put the leaf in the table.

Good print campaigns are successful mostly because they are specific. They give the prospect specific information they need to make a buying decision and nothing more. Specificity begets persuasive messaging. Ads should be concise and not overwhelm the audience with too many facts and figures.

Highlight Your Competitive Advantage

My stuffing is superior to all other stuffing because I use fresh sage.

You obviously have a competitive advantage in the marketplace or you wouldn’t be in business. Many ads focus on being clever but neglect to highlight what makes the product or service superior to the products and services of the competition. Take this opportunity to let your light shine.

Calls-to-Action Should be Clear

Saying “Your brother doesn’t like it when you do that” is not nearly as clear as “StopWhat Thanksgiving Can Teach Us about Successful Print Campaigns throwing rolls at your brother’s head right NOW!” See the difference?

One of the biggest mistakes in any advertising campaign, especially in print pieces, is forgetting to include a call-to-action. You need to tell your prospect exactly what action you want them to take, whether that’s calling right now for a free quote, or bringing this coupon in to their next oil change. Offering the benefits of your product or service should get them interested, but you also want to get them to take action.

Now that you know the essential elements for a successful print campaign, it’s time to stand in line with the rest of America to buy your bird, pumpkin pie and cranberry sauce in a can.

Download ‘Proven Methods for Reaching Affluent and Educated Consumers’ to boost the success of your next print advertising campaign.

Download Proven Methods for Reaching Affluent and Educated Consumers

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