First impressions

When asked what you do for a living, I doubt most people then get told they hate what you do.

People seem to assume it’s not insulting to immediately dismiss your job when you say you work in any form of advertising. It’s quite common to be instantly told that they never watch ads, click banners or read anything that lands on their doorstep.

It seems amazing that any form of advert should still bother to exist. The follow up question is usually ‘so have you ever made anything I would have seen?’, and this is usually followed with them recalling ads that they remember, fondly. Considering they were immediately dismissive of my career choice, they can talk at length on the subject with little encouragement.

‘…remember that drumming monkey? – that was so weird’…’or ‘…those meerkats are cute..’.

People like to dislike ads, but sometimes they are captivated by them and at times actually moved to action. Phew. For a minute I thought I might have to retrain to work in tax.

When I explain that I create the pieces that come through your letterbox, it opens up an even weirder conversation. The much misused and overused ‘J’ word is instantly trotted out. And I find myself wondering if I should go in search of a bar, or hold my ground and defend my career choices with lots of facts and stats about how wonderfully effective direct mail is. Of course, I usually go for the latter, and if you’ll stay with me to the end of your cuppa, I’ll share my retort.

All in the delivery

Advertising cuts into your time, it pops up on your screen and it’s even under your feet as you step in your own front door. It can feel like you’re being bombarded. We get it. And as a junior I was often told that making a great ad is just about having the slickest, and often simplest idea that cuts through all the rest. I don’t and have never disagreed, but there is something to be said for timing playing a big part of an ads success. The funniest joke in the world would probably sink if it was delivered to the wrong audience at the wrong time.

You can’t ignore mail. Even if you let it pile up behind the door, you eventually need to interact with it. The time taken to physically pick it up, is as much time as it takes to read a billboard. If the poster is the purest form of advertising, then the opportunity to put one in someone’s hand, invites some interesting ideas.

Perhaps it’s not the medium that’s loathed, but the legacy of how these items have been used that’s creating the antipathy. If it takes approximately 8 seconds to pick up mail and grab your readers attention, maybe you don’t need the whole menu. Just the one sizzling pizza.

But the humble leaflet or the blank side of an envelope rarely gets treated as a mini billboard. And this is where mail gets its creative band rep. It is usually a buffet of images and BOLD lists of services and offers. Which would instantly make anyone want to drive off the road if you piled all that onto a billboard.

But we’ve come a long way from flyers. Linking the offline and online world is now much more the thing. With big bold brand ads the usual journey is to direct an interested reader to a generic landing page, but through direct mail, you can take them to something much more personal. And you don’t have to use a flat sheet or screen. From big fun fold out formats to formal letters, to origami wonders. It doesn’t have to be the same solution for all. Your ‘mini billboard’, can take different readers on different pathways through personalisation, hyper-localised content, and even individual incentives.

Then there’s the timing of when people see mail, for me this is what is really special about direct mail. And why I think it’s more successful than most brands and consumers realise. When people see your advert can make or break it. And more often than not, people aren’t given the choice. Or if given the choice, they turn the page, skip or delete.

People actively choose when they want to read mail. It doesn’t force itself on the reader popping up like an advert during their viewing time. It’s more often put to one side for viewing later, when the reader is ready to deal with it and picked up in a moment of personal choice.

When people look at mail, it’s the only thing they are doing.

So, if you could stand in front of your customer while they were in their kitchen, relaxed and ready to hear your pitch, (you could even call them by their first name), what would you actually say? Would you try to talk them through the whole menu or would you just give them the specials? How would you adjust your approach for a younger or older audience, or someone who’s close to your shop versus someone who has to purchase online? These are creative opportunities that should ignite anyone working in advertising.

Mail isn’t loathed when it’s well thought through and considers it’s time and place. No one has ever hated a birthday card with a discount offer inside – it has a sense of time, and is considered. Advertising isn’t this hated thing when it creates memories and a connection.

This is why I take the time to stand and defend my job. Making ads isn’t saving lives, but sometimes it can put a smile on your face, make you donate to a cause, or help you put a fuss-free dinner on the table.

For some more conversation on mail – watch the ever inspiring advertising legend that is Rory Sutherland, who hosts a series on mail where he interviews industry leaders on their mail marketing experiences – click here. 

If you’d like to find out more about how we can help putting your brand in your customers hands, write us a note here.