PULP Chatter

Printing and Mailing - You Really Can Have It All

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 20:53:00 GMT

Do you ever send marketing mail? It may be catalogs, postcards, letters, or magazines. You might send them once a week, once a month, or once a year. Regardless of what you mail or how often you mail it, working with a printer who can mail in-house can make a world of difference.

Printing and mailing all in one place makes your job so much easier. Simply coordinating one supplier, as opposed to two or three, can spare you a number of headaches. With a single point-person, there’s less opportunity for miscommunication or error. Plus, the less people to manage, the faster your job will move through production. A one-stop-shop offers a completely seamless experience, with the least work possible on your end.

Ease of use isn’t the only benefit, there’s also cost savings to be had. Without the shipping costs you incur from the printer to the mail house, you have more money to use on another job (or more to keep in your pocket). Plus, you’ll often find that the cost of printing and mailing together in one place is less than the two are separately.

When you trust PULP for your printing and mailing needs, you’re trusting an expert on both counts. Our mailing software is connected to the USPS database and is up to date with every regulation. That means you get the cleanest address list with the lowest number of undeliverable addresses possible, saving you every spare penny on postage.

Our end to end printing and mailing services will have your project in the mail faster than any other option, and, as always, our quality is unbeatable. Contact us at 423-764-5751 when you’re ready for your next mailing project. We’ll show you just how easy printing and mailing can be.

Take Your Print Digital

Thu, 11 Apr 2013 17:27:00 GMT

Many of you know us for our printing capabilities. After all, it’s what we’ve been known for for over 40 years. But, did you know we have two distinctly different ways of printing? One is traditional offset printing, which can handle a large variety of printing projects (from postcards and brochures to newsletters and magazines). The other is digital printing, a newer method that has its own host of unique capabilities.

The most impressive distinction of digital printing is the ability to personalize each and every single piece that comes off the press. No longer are you restricted to static print runs and one-size-fits-all direct mail marketing. Text, pictures, and designs can be minutely or drastically altered for every individual. But the benefits of digital printing don’t end with personalization. In fact, there are a number of advantages that would suit any print project.

Small jobs and short runs are ideally suited to digital printing. Before digital, runs of 50 or 100 were unheard of. If you wanted a low quantity, you either had to run them yourself off your office printer or copier or order hundreds more than you needed from your local printer. Digital printing now makes small quantities possible, and cost effective, for nearly any project. Whether you’re looking for standard business cards, personalized and highly targeted marketing postcards, custom designed wedding invitations, or a monthly company newsletter, we’ve got you covered.

Short runs aren’t the only perk of digital. Would you believe that standard turnaround time is just 3 days? No more panic over looming deadlines or stress over a last minute project, we can meet any timeline you throw at us. If you’re in an especially tight pinch, we can even have it to you within 24 hours. How’s that for service?

You may be expecting a catch to all these benefits right about now, but we’re happy to tell you there isn’t a single one. In fact, the quality of digital printing is just as good, if not better than traditional offset. You’ll receive the same outstanding printed products you always expect from PULP, just in a smaller package.

If you have a job that you know would benefit from these unique capabilities, give us a call at 423-764-5751. We’d be happy to get you a quote and share more about all that we can do for you.

To find out more about our lightning fast turnaround, read our previous blog post, “Need It Done Fast?”

Have You Let Your Marketing Hibernate?

Thu, 28 Mar 2013 15:16:00 GMT

It may be hard to tell with our recent snow flurries and freezing weather, but Spring is just around the corner here in Tennessee. I know most of us have been hibernating through the long winter, but unfortunately for many of us, we’ve allowed our marketing efforts to hibernate as well. As the warmer weather comes, it’s time to get you and your marketing message outdoors.

One of the easiest and most effective ways of distributing your marketing message is direct mail. But when we talk about direct mail at PULP, we don’t mean the old-school “spray and pray” type. We’re talking about direct mail as one touchpoint in a multichannel outreach.

Direct mail has shifted from its original purpose of driving direct orders. Most of us don’t buy directly from a catalog or a postcard. Rarely will we call a toll free number. But, what most of us will do is visit a website. New direct mail campaigns are looking to set the hook, not generate the order. This type of marketing most often drives prospects online where offers can be given, more data can be gathered, and the call to action can be finalized.

That offline to online marketing scenario (and the reverse) can happen in multiple ways. Think of an email where a response generates a catalog to be mailed. Then, that catalog guides the consumer back online to place an order. Or, perhaps it’s a postcard containing a special offer that’s mailed to consumers. That postcard encourages them to place an order online, which then causes products to be shipped through the mail.

This type of multichannel marketing gives you a number of touchpoints to cement your relationship with each customer. When at least one of those interactions is tangible (a piece of direct mail, a package delivery, etc.), you’re able to engage the customer on more than one level.

We’re ready to help you engage your customers and prospects, whatever your marketing needs. We know direct marketing like the back of our hand, and have the experience you need to pull off a successful direct mail campaign. So, wake up from your long winter’s nap and give PULP a call at 423-764-5751.

The Best Just Got Better

Mon, 11 Mar 2013 19:50:00 GMT

At PULP, we pride ourselves on delivering incredible quality and customer service to every customer. We don’t believe in being ordinary or “good enough.” We make it a point to stay on top of the latest technology and innovations so that we always bring the best to our customers.

So, in the spirit of innovation, we have completely revamped our entire pre-press workflow, replacing our existing system with a state of the art system from Kodak. We know it sounds great for us, but are you wondering what’s in it for you?

This new workflow will give you the absolute best color and quality in the region. Each of our new machines, including a brand new plate setter, are uniquely finger printed to the press for a perfect match to the proof you approve. There won’t be any surprises when you get your finished product; this system provides the best color and quality we’ve ever printed.

To complement our new equipment, our entire pre-press staff has completed the extensive training program with a Kodak representative. They fully understand all the new software and will be able to give you the best results possible. Plus, a Kodak representative will perform regular checks to guarantee that everything remains calibrated and running at optimum performance.

We can’t wait to show you what our new workflow can do for you. So, do you have a print project in the works? We promise to deliver the best color, quality, and service around. Contact us at 423-764-5751 to get the ball rolling.

What a Year

Fri, 14 Dec 2012 18:39:00 GMT

It’s been a busy year here at PULP as we've marked our 40th year. We’ve come a long way since our basement beginnings, and it’s all thanks to wonderful customers like you.

As most of you know, we expanded in 2007 to add marketing services to our mix, and this has been our biggest marketing year yet. We’ve had a full load of marketing projects to keep us busy. From brand new websites, to direct marketing campaigns, to trade show promotions, we’ve been able to help a number of businesses be successful. Whether you’re just a start up or a well-established corporation, we have the marketing tools to handle anything you can throw at us.

And now, we have an even bigger staff to accommodate you. This year, we ramped up our marketing department, adding a designer, a programmer, and a very experienced creative director. Along with our existing marketing staff, that’s six people to cater to your every marketing need.

Of course, marketing isn’t all that we’ve done this year. Print is at a five year high. Regardless of how many new digital services we offer, print will always be our staple. It's just as consistent as ever at delivering results, especially when you mix in our offering of marketing tools.

However, even with all the printing and marketing capabilities in the world, we would be nowhere without our loyal customers. Whether you just discovered us this year or you've been using our services for the last twenty years, we appreciate each and every one of you. We want to wish all of you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Thank you for making 2012 wonderful. We can’t wait to work with you again in 2013!

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

Color and Color Spaces

Tue, 11 Sep 2012 04:00:00 GMT

RGB vs CMYK Colorspace

In the design world, there are two main ways to mix color, and their differences can sometimes make it difficult to get the colors in the final product to look the way we want.

RGB

RGB is the mixing of red, green and blue points of light to produce colors on screens for computers and television. This is called an additive colorspace, which means that the more light on the screen, the brighter the image. When creating a design on the computer, all of the colors on the screen are produced by RGB.

CMYK

CMYK is the composite of tiny drops of pigments for four-color printing, and is the industry standard. Because of the nature of light and pigment, CMYK is a subtractive colorspace, which means that the more ink on the paper, the darker the image will be. Because of this, CMYK can't reproduce all of the same bright colors as RGB, so your files may look different from the screen once they are printed. If you compare the above images, you'll notice a difference in the vibrancy of the colors.

When you turn in files to be printed, make sure that none of your images are RGB. You can do this in Photoshop through the image>mode menu. If you forget, we will take care of it, but be aware that color shift may occur. Quality proofs should be obtained to verify that colors are accurate.

There's No Such Thing as the Creative Type

Thu, 07 Jun 2012 13:01:00 GMT

“There’s no such thing as a creative type. As if creative people can just show up and make stuff up. As if it were that easy.” - Milton Glaser

This is a common misconception of what a designer actually does. After reading this quote, you may think to yourself: “Well, what exactly does a creative person do?” There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being creative. A designer is more than just someone who makes things “look good.” As a professional artist, you have to be able to take an idea from your head and transform it into something real and tangible.

The most difficult part about being a designer is making design “good.” Design is not a simple task that can be done in a matter of seconds. It is often a long and difficult process that (hopefully) turns into something meaningful in the end; something to be very pleased with. Good design is not all about aesthetics. It’s not just meant to be pretty. It is innovative, functional, and intuitive. It is out of the ordinary, has purpose, and forces you to ponder. Above all though, good design is always the simplest solution to a complex problem. Less is always More.

You can be sure that our creative team will consider these principles when producing high quality work for any of your simple or complex marketing needs. Whether your needs are for print or web, our graphic designers, Creative Genius (Kyle Henn) and The Operator (Rachel Kirk), will fight to design the best creative piece for you by formulating ideas, paying attention to detail, and producing clever work that you can show off with confidence.

Design is ambitious, but well worth it.

Learn more about our Design Services on our website, or contact us with any questions you may have, 423-764-5751.

Print - Is It In Your Mix?

Thu, 17 May 2012 04:00:00 GMT

When it comes to marketing, print is the original universal medium. It is at the core of many marketing programs, and rightly so. Print is the only medium that you can hold in your hands and share with others. Simply the fact that it's tangible lends a degree of permanence to your marketing efforts. It's a wonderful medium to incorporate into a broader marketing effort. It can draw your audience to other channels, like email, web, and social, and ties these messages together. Print is especially powerful when mailed because 85% of mail is touched and scanned by the recipient. That's more exposure than any other marketing medium.

Traditional offset printing has been our main business since we started 40 years ago. With the only 40 inch presses in the region, we've got just what you need to print any job from brochures and newsletters to magazines and books. We offer a huge array of papers, inks, and finishing options so you can be as simple or as elaborate as you like, your creativity is the only limit. We also offer in-house mailing, so your marketing pieces can be on their way to your customers the second they're finished, no mail house necessary. If you'd like to see how our printing process is run, we're always happy to give you a tour.

Traditional printing will give you the most bang for your buck when you're printing medium to large sized runs. If you have something you'd only like a couple hundred of or if you need it in just a few days, our digital press may be the best option for you.

Our digital press is perfectly suited to small jobs and short runs. It is a cost effective option at even the smallest quantity, which can save you tons of money and waste that would come with an unnecessarily large run. We can print a variety of pieces from business cards and letterheads to postcards, brochures, and even booklets. The digital press offers just as many finishing options as traditional offset, so your choices are never limited.

The real perk of digital printing is the ability to personalize anything and everything. Each piece can be unique, from a simple name change on a postcard to different colors, copy, or pictures to suit the audience you're targeting. This capability is great for any marketing outreach you're planning. Plus, we can address your pieces right when they're printed so they're ready to mail, hot off the press.

If your interested in printing any project, big or small, any one of our Heroes can help you decide the best option for you. If you'd like to incorporate print into a larger marketing campaign, we'd love to talk strategy with you. Whatever you need, there's a Hero for the job, so just give us a call at 423-764-5751.

The Key Elements of Multichannel Marketing

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 05:00:00 GMT

There are so many ways and places to market. So many, in fact, that it can be overwhelming. Direct mail, email, mobile, social media, TV, billboards, brochures - the list goes on endlessly. But, one of the biggest mistakes a marketer can make is to just pick one or two channels and ignore the others.

The best marketing strategy you can develop is one that uses multiple channels. Multichannel marketing gives you a huge advantage. When your message shows up in more places, it's going to be seen by more people. Not everyone responds to the same media either. Even if someone sees your Facebook ad, they may not notice your message until they see your direct mail piece or TV spot. No customer is everywhere at once, but when your marketing message is, your customer is bound to see it, where ever they are.

This is the main element of multichannel marketing - Variety. When you use a variety of channels, the chance of reaching your customer at the right place and the right time increases dramatically. But variety isn't the only element of multichannel marketing. There are two other things you have to consider when you develop your marketing strategy - Frequency and Consistency.

Frequency is a bit of a no-brainer. You have to put your message in front of your audience often enough that they will notice it, read it, and take action. The key is finding the right frequency. Too often and the customer will become frustrated with you, especially if you're spamming their inbox or mailbox. Not often enough and they'll forget about you all together.

The other side of the coin is consistency. You have to be consistent with your message and your frequency. If your message is consistent across each channel, the customer will remember it more easily and the heart of what you're trying to convey won't get confused or jumbled. When the frequency of your message is consistent, the customer will come to expect it and will be more likely to notice it. If you sent 3 emails to customers one week and then none for a month, it would either confuse or annoy them and make you look unprofessional, which would do more harm than good.

There is one thing that I didn't mention that you have to keep in mind for all of this to work, and that's to keep it relevant. Even if you send your message at a consistent frequency through a variety of channels, if your message is not relevant to your customer, they won't listen. If it doesn't speak directly to them, they will delete the email, ignore the Facebook post, and toss the postcard. Relevance is the most important part of any marketing outreach. If you can remember that, along with these other key elements, you will be on your way to creating a successful multichannel marketing campaign.

PULP Lunch & Learn: 12 Marketing Objectives for 2012

Tue, 03 Jan 2012 05:00:00 GMT

Pulp Lunch & Learns are all new for 2012. This time around, we're discussing how the old rules of marketing have changed and what the new rules look like. You might be surprised to see how some of the "tried and trues" that you've always been taught don't hold so true in today's marketing landscape.

After we shake up the traditional concept of marketing, we'll identify 12 objectives that you might have for 2012. These range from generating more leads and raising brand awareness to developing a mobile marketing strategy and creating a great website. If you want a sneak peek at each of the 12 objectives, just visit the front page of our website. We give you a little teaser about each one, but you'll have to come to the Lunch & Learn to find out more.

Last year's presentation included several examples, but our attendees were still clamoring for more. So, this year, we'll show you a real-life example for each of the 12 objectives. We talk about the pain points each company in the example faced, how PULP helped them overcome them, and the results they saw. I bet you will find that you have some of these pain points in common, so come find out how to fix them.

There are still seats available for the first Lunch & Learn of the year on Tuesday, January 10th. Register now to reserve your spot for this month. If you can't make it this month, don't fret. We'll be at it again the second Tuesday of every month, all year long. So come and join us! We promise you'll walk away with new marketing insight and great ideas for your business. What better way to start the new year than to get your marketing on the right track?

Teaming Up for Lunch on PULP

Fri, 02 Dec 2011 05:00:00 GMT

A lot goes into preparing for lunch on PULP. This reel hits the highlights.

Don't Lose Touch with Your PULP Hero

Tue, 01 Nov 2011 04:00:00 GMT

Email is the way a lot of our customers prefer to talk to us. It's quick, it's easy, and you always get an answer back right away. That is, unless it's after December 1st and you're using a pulpoffice.com email.

We've recently changed all of our email addresses so it's easier to get a hold of us. They are now simply our first name at getpulp.com. No more pesky middle initials to remember. You want to talk to Tim? It's just tim@getpulp.com. Looking for Robert? Robert@getpulp.com. Simple, right? Just a warning though, wonderwoman@getpulp.com won't get you anywhere, no matter how many times Janice tells you that's her first name.

Now, as long as you know who you're looking for, you can always reach us. And if you don't know who you're looking for, check our entire list of PULP Heroes to find the one you need. So go delete all those old email addresses (which is a lot if you've been with us long enough), and replace them with these snazzy new ones. Don't wait until December 1st and lose touch with your PULP Hero.

Lunch and Learn Through the Eyes of the New Kid

Tue, 25 Oct 2011 04:00:00 GMT

As the new kid at PULP, I was skeptical the first time I heard the phrase “Lunch & Learn” tossed around. At first I thought, “Oh great, another boring lunch seminar with canned powerpoint slides and cold spam on white bread.” Shame on me for thinking that way!

I was able to experience my first Lunch & Learn about a week ago. Not only did I get to sit in, but was able to be part of the preparation. I got to see how much care is taken to make this a special event. Nothing was spared, everything, from the food to the information provided, was five stars.

Robert and Torey, our presenters gave a very informative, eye-opening presentation of how businesses can (and should) market in today’s times. Everything was presented with such ease that it was clear that everyone here is passionate about marketing and fully understand what it takes to be successful. I think I’m allowed to give them props; I’m still the new kid on the block here at PULP, it can’t be considered bragging yet.

The presenters discussed the whole cycle of marketing your business through different channels. They talked about using new technology, but they also suggested some time-tested methods, refreshed and revived with a new twist. The traditional scope of marketing was expanded to look at branding your business and brand awareness. Hot topics, like using mobile and social media in your marketing outreach, were also addressed. Current statistics were sprinkled throughout to back up their ideas and drive the message home.

It wasn’t just a one way session either. There was plenty of time for our guests to ask questions about anything they wanted to know more about. I was impressed to see so much communication going on. They weren’t just there to hear a speech. The guests left with some real solutions to their marketing struggles.

If you want to experience this for yourself, please come join us for a Lunch & Learn. You can enjoy great food and great company, all while learning how to make your business dangerous to your competition. I can’t wait to see you there. - Kyle Henn, Graphic Design

Personalized Messaging, Relevant Print

Sat, 15 Oct 2011 04:00:00 GMT

Regardless of what outreach they choose, every marketer ultimately just wants their message to be read. There are several ways of going about that, but one of the best ways is to use personalization in any type of marketing outreach. Often, they'll add the recipient's first name to try and get their attention. They may send an email that starts with, "Dear Cathy" or a print piece splashed with the call to action, "Check out our great deals, Mark!" It's a pretty simple addition to any marketing, but it may keep your message from being immediately discarded along with the "Dear Current Resident" junk mail.

Great personalization doesn't just stop with a first name. Even though adding a first name has been proven to generate a higher response, there is so much more you can do. A truly personalized marketing piece is relevant to the core, and that core is the message. To really connect with the customer and ensure higher response rates, you have to make sure your message fits the prospect. Something that works for one person isn't going to work for all (unless your entire audience fits the exact same demographic, which is virtually impossible).

Demographic data is a great place to start. If someone is an existing customer, you've probably gathered quite a lot of data. Even if you want to market to new prospects, there are a number of list services that you or your marketing provider can use. These list providers can append dozens of data points to your current prospect list or provide you with a brand new list of potential customers. Data drives relevance, and relevance drives response, and that's what all marketers are after.

You don't have to have a lot of data to be effective. Simple demographics, like gender, age, or ethnicity, can be powerful. If the person shown in your marketing outreach looks like the recipient, they're going to view your message as something more relevant to them. Another way to use demographics is to change what you're marketing based on the data (not just the way you're presenting it). For example, say you're a car company, and Debbie is one of your prospects. You know she's in her 30s and has 3 kids. You can send her postcards and emails all day long with a woman that fits her demographics, but if she's standing in front of a red sports car, the message probably won't resonate. Change the product you're marketing to an SUV or minivan, and you have a lot higher chance. Craft your message to fit the prospect.

Demographic data isn't the only information you can use to create a personalized message. These messages can also include references to past purchases, certain product or service preferences, and even location data. Take advantage of all the data you have, it's invaluable.

Marketing based on past purchases is a great way to use your existing data. Say you're a sporting goods store. If someone bought a golf bag from you, you should probably market golf clubs or shoes to them before you send them a piece on baseball bats. Or, to back to the car salesman, say Debbie bought that minivan. You can always market the same kind of vehicles to her again in a few years when she might be ready for a trade in.

Often, you can use purchase history to determine customer preferences. If someone buys something from you regularly, whether it's makeup, groceries, or construction supplies, consider sending them a promotion or coupon for complementary items. Whatever the product, there's usually something similar that you can suggest to cross-sell or up-sell. This can easily apply to services as well.

Another method of personalization to consider is based on the recipient’s address. Any marketer with an address can use location-based personalization. Since it only requires data you already have, it's a great, easy way to increase personalization. For example, a spa could use the messaging, "Sarah, you're only 3.4 miles from luxurious relaxation," to pique the recipient's interest. They could even include a map of the route on any marketing outreach.

Any one of these methods is an effective way to increase the relevance of you marketing. Anytime that you can add more personalization you're increasing your rate of response. This kind of personalization is difficult to create on your own. That's why you need a trusted professional who can not only develop a personalized marketing outreach, but can automate it to create less work for you. Call us at 800-264-5934 when you're ready for personalized messaging and relevant print.

Meet Our Marketing Team

Tue, 11 Oct 2011 04:00:00 GMT

We spend a lot of time talking about our marketing team on this blog. So much so that you probably have a good idea of what we do, but not necessarily who we are. You probably just saw us as a faceless group of creatives, until now. It's finally time to meet our marketing team.

Torey Pickard

A recent King College graduate, Torey has been a member of our marketing team since early 2010. She does enjoy creative design like painting and drawing on the side, but at work she handles the other side of the marketing coin. Torey is our copywriter and editor (and the one who corrects everyone's grammar, whether they ask her to or not). Great copy is the foundation of any successful marketing effort; the message needs to click with your prospects. Whether you just need a few tweaks and edits to your direct mail outreach or you need to have the copy for your entire website written from scratch, Torey has you covered. She also blogs for several companies and can ghost write for you on any topic you can think of, from Botox to computer software. Torey's creative writing capabilities complement the rest of our team's other creative skills.

Kyle Henn

Of course everyone on the team is creative, but it's Kyle's job to handle a large part of the graphic design work. A recent graduate of ETSU, Kyle started his design career working for Morris Creative Group in Knoxville and Austin & Company right here in the Tri-Cities. With his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree and creative spirit, he has the right skills for any job you can throw at him. Kyle is more of a thinker than a talker, but you can be sure his silence means his wheels are turning, cranking out new ideas for your project. On top of all that, Kyle is an Eagle Scout, which proves he's hardworking and trustworthy, both important characteristics in any business partner. He'll do the job right, whatever it takes.

Erik Jones

One of the more seasoned members of our marketing team, Erik has been with PULP over 7 years. He attended ETSU for fine arts and graphic design and has been designing since his teens. You could certainly call Erik a graphic designer, but, like the rest of our team, that title doesn't do all of his skills justice. Erik is excellent at branding and can develop an identity for your company. He's one of the best at creative brainstorming and is great at fleshing out all of your marketing ideas. Another of Erik's talents is illustration. With his art background, he can freehand draw any number of things to give your marketing a unique, professional look. Ask him to show you some of the cars he's drawn, they're something else. As if all that art wasn't enough, Erik also handles the programming involved in launching and managing cross-media marketing campaigns.

Robert Carrier

Robert is the veteran on our team with 30 years of experience in the industry. He's done everything from run a press, to manage pre-press and the art department, to sales, and now to marketing. He understands the whole process inside and out and brings that expert knowledge to every project. He also has a mix of other creative skills, including design, programming, and copy writing, that are helpful when creating a strategy. One of Robert's most impressive skills is coming up with off-the-cuff marketing application. You tell him your marketing goals and your resources, and he'll have a strategy laid out in minutes. You'll never fail to leave a meeting without a few good ideas from Robert. Plus, he's the one who keeps our whole team running, managing every project and keeping everything on track. So now that you've met all of us, we'd love to meet you. If you have marketing needs, the five of us are here to help. Call today to schedule a meeting with our team, 800-264-5934.

Automation: Steady Drip Marketing Made Easy

Fri, 30 Sep 2011 04:00:00 GMT

Last week, I discussed the importance of steady drip marketing. Drip marketing can smooth out the ups and downs in your business by prompting continuous cash flow. Making that commitment to marketing will ensure that your pipeline is full of primed customers when you need them. But, like I said last time, making that commitment is difficult for most businesses. For some, it's even impossible to do on their own.

Making a marketing schedule is one thing, but sticking to it as a whole other ball game. If you rely on your own internal staff (who are probably stretched too thin already) to execute everything on time and according to plan, you are setting your drip marketing strategy up for failure (unless you have a fully-staffed in-house marketing team). There are far too many moving parts in even a basic drip marketing strategy for most in-house people to manage, especially with everything else they are responsible for. PULP can completely automate and manage your drip marketing plan, from strategy to execution, for less than the cost of just one skilled staff member.

We start out by sitting down with you and developing your drip marketing plan. You decide how often you want to "drip" and with what sort of media you want to use (direct mail, email, social media, SMS, or any combination of these and more). These drips can be as simple or complicated as you want. We can easily send a direct mail piece to your customer and be done. But, we can also trigger an email as soon as that direct mail piece is delivered, telling them to check their mailbox. If you have their phone number, we can shoot them a text too. Plus, we can add links to all of your social media sites on any marketing outreach. (We can even make those links in the form of QR codes for easy integration). And that's only a small example. To borrow a phrase from Walt Disney, if you can dream it, we can do it.

There are two general categories of drip marketing plans - nurturing existing customers and generating new leads. When it comes to nurture, the key is to get you top of mind positioning. You want all of your previous customers to think of you when they're ready to buy again. To do that, it's important to constantly stay in front of them, reminding them of your message and your value. This kind of drip marketing is focused on building customer loyalty and generating repeat business. Previous customers are easier to sell than brand new ones, and automated drip marketing can help you hold on to them.

Lead generation is all about gaining new customers. Sales people always need new leads, and a lead generation plan is a great way to fill their pipeline. This kind of drip marketing is focused on capturing customer data, and their business of course. You want to try and learn as much about these prospects as you can so your drip marketing will become more and more relevant.

Regardless of the focus of your drip marketing plan, once you confirm your schedule, it's in our hands, and you can rest easy. We take your schedule and put every step on a project timeline. You have full transparency into our system, so you don't have to worry about what's being done, you can just log in and see for yourself. You can easily see what's in progress and what's coming up.

This is just a little taste of what automation can do for your marketing. Every company's needs are different, and we take that into account with every marketing plan we help create. If you're interested in seeing how we can make automation work for you, give us a call at 800-264-5934.

Steady Drip Marketing Will Make the Cash Flow

Sat, 24 Sep 2011 04:00:00 GMT

Every business needs cash flow to survive. That's a fact that everyone understands. The tricky part is keeping that cash flow consistent. All companies experience ups and downs in their business for different reasons. For some, like retailers or contractors, it's seasonal. For many, it changes with the economy. Regardless of the reason, everyone is going to have good months and bad. The challenge is to keep the cash flowing continuously so the dips don't become ditches.

Many businesses make the mistake of freezing up when times are tough or slow. They hunker down and don't spend any more money than necessary. One of the first things that usually goes is marketing. They do it to save money, but really it's costing them money in the long run. Marketing plays a big role in bringing you business. It's what takes your message to the public and gives customers a reason to think of you. When you stop marketing, the tough times get tougher and the slow times get slower.

The other side of that coin is not marketing when times are good. Many people make the false assumption that since business is booming, there's no need to market. Clearly they've got enough business to do without it...until they hit an inevitable dip. When you don't market during the good times too, there's nothing waiting in the pipeline when sales reaches a lull. At that point, your cash flow may have dwindled to a trickle, and you don't feel like you can afford to market, and then you're back to the first problem.

The only way to combat this vicious cycle is to make a commitment to market, in good times and bad. I'm not suggesting that you break the bank with elaborate marketing when you can't afford it. What I'm recommending is a consistent drip marketing plan. These drips can be anything, big or small, from direct mail to TV spots to simple email newsletters. The whole point is to continuously get your name and your message in front of your customer.

Regardless of what channel or method you use, the key is commitment. If you don't make yourself a commitment from the beginning, you will be tempted to stop as soon as business slows down. It may be hard to make yourself market in the slow times, cash flow is just too tight. But you have to look at the big picture. There will be months that everything works beautifully and your phones will be ringing off the hooks. There will be months that you think nothing is working and that your drip marketing campaigns are wasting money, but they're not. Drip marketing evens out your cash flow by making sure there are primed customers ready to be sold, in good times or bad.

For most businesses, making that commitment is tough, maybe even impossible. Few can have the time or can afford to handle this continuous drip marketing schedule on their own. But there is a way to do it. Next week, I'll tell you how automation can make the process easier and more affordable for your company.

Need It Done Fast?

Sat, 10 Sep 2011 04:00:00 GMT

Have you ever had that moment of panic when you realized you needed something printed yesterday, or even last week? Maybe you forgot to order or a deadline snuck up on you. Maybe you just need something fast that you didn't even have time to plan for. You probably thought there was no use even calling your printer because there's no way they could get it to you in such a short time. Who could turn around a print job with only three days notice, much less with only 24 hours? Well, I've got good news for you - PULP can handle any short turnaround time you throw at us.

We have the power to get you out of any tight jam with our digital printing capabilities. We can have your order printed almost immediately. It can be ready for pick up or delivery within 24 hours. And you won't have to sacrifice quality for speed. Your pieces will be as high quality as any other out there, if not better.

But you don't just have to be crunched for time to get this blazing speed. On demand, quick turnaround printing is great for lots of situations. Several of our clients have online storefronts with us, so they can order whenever they want, 24/7, and decide just how quickly they need it. Whether it's business cards, flyers, brochures, or any variety of marketing pieces, they can have them as quickly as the next day. Since things change so rapidly in today's marketplace, it's important to be able to change right along with it.

Even if you don't need to change all the time, it's always nice to be able to reduce your inventory. There's no need to stock your basic printed items in quantities of thousands when you can just order tens or even hundreds as you need them. You can save space and reduce waste. That way, you won't be throwing out hundreds when you do decide to change or update.

If you're interested in setting up a print storefront, reducing your inventory, or just getting it done fast, give us a call at 800-264-5934. We're ready to get your print rolling.

Spice Up Your Traditional Print with These Marketing Technologies

Sat, 27 Aug 2011 04:00:00 GMT

We spend a lot of time on this blog talking about our marketing services. And why shouldn't we, we have a ton of them to offer. However, we tend to neglect the very thing we started with back in 1972 - Print. We've made huge strides with our digital press and new marketing technologies, but traditional printing is still going strong. In fact, there are several new things you can add to your traditional print to give it a boost.

You may have heard us mention PURLs (personalized URLs) before, but there's also such a thing as GURLs, which are general URLs. These are special web addresses that lead to any page you specify (like your website, landing page, or social media sites). So what makes them better than just putting a direct link to those pages on your printed piece? The unique thing about GURLs is that they can be tracked. That way, you can measure the response to your marketing outreach, even on a traditional mass media piece. You'll be able to tell which tactics are working (and which aren't). Plus, if you send the respondents to a landing page, you have a chance to collect more information about them to use in future marketing or sales. GURLs are perfect for things like brochures, catalogs, flyers, posters, billboards, and even TV commercials.

QR codes are another great marketing tool that's not just for digital print. QR codes are 2D barcodes that can easily be read with the camera on any smartphone. They have the unique ability to seamlessly connect your offline and online marketing channels. With other methods, you have to rely on someone sitting down at their computer and typing in a web address (that is, if they even remember you by the time they're at a computer). With a QR code, they can simply snap a picture with their phone. There's no remembering, no waiting, just instant gratification. When you make it that easy, your response rates are bound to increase. QR codes are the perfect vehicle for all sorts of information, such as GURLs, geo locations, calendar events, RSVPs, contact information, and more.

The last thing technology is perfect for giving your direct mail a boost - the intelligent mail barcode. The intelligent mail barcode makes it possible to track each individual mail piece, from the mail drop all the way to the recipient's front door. So, what's so special about mail tracking, you ask? Well, the tracking isn't nearly as cool as what you can do once you've tracked it. A delivery alert can automatically trigger follow-up activities, such as SMS, email, a second direct mail touch, or even a personal call. This ability to hit the prospect again, right when they're hot, is invaluable. Intelligent mail barcodes can easily be added to any direct mail outreach.

Despite all our talk about other marketing services, traditional print is still an important part of most marketing strategies. When you take advantage of these three technologies, you give your print outreach even more marketing power. Call us today at 800-264-5934 to add some extra oomph to your traditional print projects.

So What Is Cross-Media Marketing Anyway?

Fri, 19 Aug 2011 04:00:00 GMT

Cross-Media. It's a term we tend to throw around here at PULP anytime we talk about marketing strategy. Sometimes though, it's a term not everyone understands.

Using cross-media is the best way to get the most out of your marketing. Basically, it simply means using more than one or two channels to reach your customer. But it's really more than just that. Using multiple channels willy nilly with no strategy and nothing to connect them is hardly better than just using one channel. With a true cross-media outreach, all the channels you use are connected, giving your customer an integrated experience and making it easy to measure your effectiveness.

Cross-media marketing can use any mix of marketing channels, including direct mail, email, mobile, social media, TV, billboards, or any other kind of personalized or mass outreach. When you use a variety of channels, the chance of reaching your customer at the right place and the right time increases dramatically. Not everyone is checking their email, but some are. Not everyone will drive past your billboard, but some will. Not everyone uses social media, but some do. When your marketing message is present at all these channels, instead of just one, a lot more people will see it and respond to it.

The power of cross-media, like any marketing strategy from PULP, lies in the ability to measure everything. You won't just be marketing through one channel and assume it's what's bringing you business. Every channel will have tracking attached. That way, you can see what kind of response each outreach is pulling. Once you find out what's working, and what's not, you can fine tune your marketing to be even more effective in the future.

If that doesn't explain cross-media enough for you, or if you're like a lot of people and prefer a visual, this video gives an excellent picture of how cross-media works. We recommend that you watch it, even if you think you have a handle on the idea. It shows you a cross-media campaign in action, from beginning to end. Plus it's a cartoon, and who doesn't love that?

If you want to know more about how cross-media can work for your business, give us a call at 800-264-5934.

Lunch & Learn Series a Big Hit

Sat, 13 Aug 2011 04:00:00 GMT

This past Tuesday was a big day for us here at PULP. Twelve guests from a variety of companies joined us for our very first Lunch & Learn. During lunch we got a chance to talk and learn more about each other, but it was after lunch that the real learning started. We shared a presentation that outlined the basic steps for creating an effective marketing strategy. Not only did we discuss how to create a marketing strategy, we talked about why every one needs one. In the last few years, marketing has changed immensely, so there's something for everyone to learn, even the seasoned pro. Plus, these ideas apply to anyone, from a small business to a large company.

Everyone who came gained new insight - a little for some and a lot for others. "Excellent presentation," "Very informative," and "These are great ideas that we can use," were just some of the comments from our attendees. It's so exciting for us to share our ideas and capabilities with others in the marketing community. We had such a great time that we can't wait to do it again next month.

We will be hosting a Lunch & Learn on the second Tuesday of every month. We are already booked for September, but October still has five spots left. RSVP now to secure your spot. You'll walk away with a full belly, a box of special goodies, and a head full of new marketing knowledge. Don't miss out!

Using Facebook for Marketing - There's a Better Way

Sat, 06 Aug 2011 04:00:00 GMT

When most people use Facebook for their marketing, they use it just like they do their personal page. They post status updates and pictures. They use it to get lots of "likes," just like they do friends. They wait for people to post on their wall so they can start a conversation with them. Adding a Facebook "Like" button to their website is the closest most get to integrating Facebook with their marketing efforts. But there's another way to use Facebook. It's a powerful tool that lets you do more with Facebook than you ever imagined, and PULP has it.

PURL Portfolio allows you to effectively integrate Facebook into any marketing outreach. It turns your campaign microsite into a Facebook app. The app allows you to access not only each user's information, but demographic data on them as well as all their friends. Considering the average Facebook user has 130 friends, that's a lot of data collected.

PURL Portfolio can be used as a PURL (personalized URL) on a direct mail piece, in an email, or on any other personalized outreach. In GURL form (general URL), the possibilities are endless. You could put a link on a brochure, a catalog, a billboard, or any other mass marketing outreach. Of course, all of these links could be incorporated into a QR code that directs each person right to your microsite.

Like most microsites, you can easily send those who respond to a survey form. Often, this is where you lose many respondents. Usually it's because the reward at the end is not worth the trouble of answering a few questions. With PURL Portfolio, you can customize the offer to make each person more likely to respond. As soon as someone logs in, you have access to all of their information, including their like, interests, and demographic data. You can have a number of different offers, and the smart survey will pick the one that best fits each user. Say someone lists a number of movies in their interests, it could offer them two movie tickets. Or maybe some includes several books or has reading listed as an interest, a Barnes & Noble gift card would be a more appropriate reward. Survey questions can also be tailored based on each user's information. Now that's real personalization.

Once someone has filled out the survey, they have the ability to share your marketing campaign on their wall, or even on friend's walls. That allows you to increase the reach of your campaign exponentially. You can also include event invitations, which would be great for something like a college open house or a special webinar or lunch and learn.

The best part comes after they are finished. You immediately receive detailed charts and graphs that outline demographic data on all their friends. You can even set the campaign up to search for keywords among their friend's interests, so you can easily find leads for future marketing campaigns.

The possibilities with PURL Portfolio are incredible. It really takes social media marketing to a whole new level. If you want to see it in action, visit http://bit.ly/q3N5g0 for a live demo. This will only show a little snippet of what's possible with this awesome technology. There is also a video demo available. If you don't have time for the whole thing, make sure you check out the final minute for a real campaign example.

If you're interested in adding this powerful tool to your next marketing campaign, give us a call at 800-264-5934.

Want to Make Your Job Easier?

Sat, 30 Jul 2011 04:00:00 GMT

Do you buy a lot of marketing materials for your company, like booklets, brochures, business cards, product information, or even promotional items? Getting a bid every time you need one of those items is a pain, isn't it? Even if you stick with the same supplier, you still have to call or email them every time you need to place an order, and sometimes they can be slow to get back with you. There's a much easier way, and it's called a web-to-print marketing portal.

Marketing portals allow you to place all your marketing materials online in an easy to use web store front that's open 24 hours a day. The portal can support all kinds of marketing materials, from basic static items to variable items with custom templates. All portals are custom branded to your business and can include whatever items you want. This one-stop shop guarantees brand consistency throughout all of your marketing materials.

You can also control who's ordering, giving you complete rein over the purchasing process. For many people today, an office doesn't always mean a building with four walls and work isn't just 8 to 5. With a marketing portal, that's no sweat. Approved users can order whenever they want, where ever they want, without ever talking to a sales person. A marketing portal will automate the ordering process, making your job easier, all while keeping costs down and speeding deliveries.

We have created marketing portals for several businesses over the last few years, and they've all been a huge hit.

Johnson City Honda, a local auto dealership, just recently launched theirs to control branded materials for their large sales staff. Already they're saying, "This is the easiest way ever to order, I love it!"

Chiltern, a division of an international clinical research company, has had theirs for three years, and they too love the ease of use more than anything. "The ease of use is incredible. We love the ability to have pre-populated templates for our marketing materials. It makes it so easy to order the products we need and use every day."

Eastman Chemical Company, Tennessee's third largest company, has used a web-to-print portal for their marketing department for the last four years and order very frequently. Mark Boggs, creative services production specialist, works odd hours so being able to order whenever he wants is a big plus. "I love being able to go online any time of day or night. I don't have to call anyone or get any bids. I can simply order what I need. I also love that I can spec custom jobs and see an immediate price. It's just very user-friendly."

If you're tired of the busy work that comes with purchasing and interested in simplifying your ordering process for marketing materials, contact us at 800-264-5934 today. We'll be happy to build a custom marketing portal that meets all your needs. We're ready to help make your life easier.

Is Your Website Working for You?

Sat, 16 Jul 2011 04:00:00 GMT

When you're looking for a product or service, what's the first thing you do? Probably go online. It's the easiest, most commitment-free way to find exactly what you're looking for. Once you're there, which company do you choose? The one with just a list of services and a phone number? Or the one that's full of interesting, helpful content?

If your website is little more than an online brochure, most customers won't bother to look any deeper. Creating a bad first impression with your website is almost as bad as not having a web presence at all. Your website needs to grab the customer's attention with great design and then hold it with valuable content. Your website needs to be a trusted source for information, not just a source for your company 800 number.

PULP can help you with your web development needs. Our expert team brings together creative design, content engineering, and web programming to build you a stellar website, created completely in-house. But we don't stop with just the website. We connect your site to a variety of social media platforms to give your website more life and your message greater reach. We work with you to fill your site with content that is engaging, compelling, and customer-focused.

Bristol Dermatology had a website that was a prime example of the online brochure. The main pages had some static content, but relatively little considering all that they offered. The site navigation was confusing, and many of the links led to nowhere. The design was unappealing and often made things awkward to read. They needed a major change, so they came to us for a completely redesigned website.

We built Bristol Dermatology a website that showcases their numerous capabilities in a format that's easy to navigate and read. They wanted a site that they could easily update themselves, so we developed it with easy editing and publishing. Everything is tied to their existing social sites for easy social sharing. We also decided to add e-commerce integration, so they can now sell services and products from their skincare and make up lines right from their website. Now, their website is attractive, informative, and very functional, making it a great resource for their customers.

Take a look at Bristol Dermatology's website: www.BristolDermatology.com

Dale Strother came to us recently with nothing more than an idea. He is an avid motorcyclist, hobby writer, and life-long travel enthusiast. He even has a name for himself, the RiderWriter. But he was ready to turn that passion into more than just a hobby. He wanted to find a way to take it public. So he came to us.

After brainstorming with our team, we settled on an idea. We would create a website that brings together people with his similar passions. But he wouldn't be the only one creating the content. Others with an interest in writing could submit articles to the site. We created a RiderWriter presence on several social sites to connect the website to others who might be interested. Plus, with that integration, Dale can easily send updates and pictures right from his phone while he's on the road. The site has only been active for a week, but he's already getting great response.

We would love to help you create or redesign your website. Whatever your needs, we can design a website to suit them. We take guidance from your team and bring our own ideas to the table. We'll make sure you walk away happy. But don't take our word for it, take Dale's:

"I came to PULP with an idea. I had no previous experience with web sites except as a user. On the one hand, I was intimidated by the process of setting up a site. On the other hand, I wondered, "Why use PULP? Why not just hire some college kid for a third the money? One afternoon with Robert, Torey and their team answered all my questions. Their detailed approach made me better understand both what I wanted, and the web's capabilities to fulfill those goals. In the end, my site is much more, and much better, than I had imagined. I strongly encourage you to use PULP for your website development and web hosting needs."

You're Invited

Fri, 08 Jul 2011 04:00:00 GMT

Ever since we became PULP in 2007, we've been adding new and exciting technologies and capabilities to our repertoire. We offer far more than just printing. In fact, we have the ability to execute any full-scale marketing campaign from initial strategy all the way to execution. We have everything available to suit the marketing needs of any company, but many people are simply unaware of what we can do. We needed to get the word out. So, starting August 9th, we will be hosting a series of Lunch and Learns on the second Tuesday of every month. The best part? You're invited to join.

During lunch, we'll be discussing the use of multiple channels, like websites, blogs, social, mobile, email, and direct mail, to increase response rates. We'll be talking in depth about social media and mobile. Creating social communities with trusted content and the right kind of integration is something every business should be taking advantage of. Mobile is another new frontier that is rapidly growing, and one that wise marketers should learn how to harness.

There are a number of other aspects of marketing we'll focus on as well, like web development, content creation, brand development, creative strategy and more. But we can't tell you everything here, you'll have to come for lunch to find out more. We promise you'll walk away more informed and more excited than ever about the future of your marketing.

Several of the dates have already begun filling up, but there's still room for you if you hurry. Join us for lunch, and learn what great marketing opportunities exist for your company. Visit Website.LunchOnPULP.com now to pick your lunch and save your spot.

Early Campaign Success

Sat, 25 Jun 2011 04:00:00 GMT

Some campaigns prove to be a success as soon as they are launched. Tony Tarpey, marketing manager for SmartSoft agrees that the lead generation campaign launched just last week to drive leads for their PressWise product is just that. "We have never generated this many well qualified leads this fast, with any other media," said Tarpey in a phone conversation early this morning from his UK home.

We agree the potential customer can be very difficult to reach these days, and this market niche is no different. As ironic as it is, the print service providers in this niche habitually ignore the printed marketing pieces they receive. Although we already had a good working knowledge of this niche, we didn't want our preconceived ideas to prevent us from finding the best way to reach them.

Because the knowledge we already had might be tainted by our years in and connected to the print industry, we elected to conduct a Market Research study to find the best messaging strategy. We wanted to make sure we could capture their attention and hold it.

We interviewed current Presswise customers to discover what prompted them to purchase Presswise. During our research we found a number of common problems among the printers. We learned what they struggled with before their Presswise purchase. This research was critical to finding the best way to communicate the individual value propositions to the prospect in a way that compelled him to respond.

Armed now with a messaging strategy, we created an outreach that asked a question that was seemingly impossible to answer positively, but concealed a positive response behind the mail panel. This response was made incredibly effective through the use of a testimonial from an existing software user.

The conversation was continued online, where information was gathered on the respondent that would assist in closing a sale. Emails were triggered to the sales staff of our customer and the respondent to coincide with the landing page visit. The responses were collected and measured in real-time, then presented to the client through a reporting dashboard.

In the first four days alone, before most of the pieces have even been delivered, the campaign has already had a more than 1% response rate. Of the 69 people who visited the PURL, 28 of them filled out the survey and provided their contact information. All but 4 of them requested a Presswise demo. Their initial list of 5000 cold leads has become a pool of hot prospects. Based on the lifetime value of a customer, a single sale covers the entire cost of the campaign many times over.

If you like what you see on the direct mail piece, please visit the landing page for the full experience. Want to learn more about how these campaigns work? Give us a call at 423-652-6129.

Have Lunch On Us

Fri, 17 Jun 2011 04:00:00 GMT

You're invited to join us for lunch to learn about new marketing opportunities for your company. We will discuss:

• The use of multiple marketing channels to increase response

• Creating communities of brand followers with social media

• Using emerging mobile channels to reach new and existing audiences

• Differentiating yourself from the competitor in a commodity driven world

Every attendee will receive a gift box worth $125.

Visit www.LunchOnPULP.com to pick your date and meal choice. Space is limited, so act now to reserve your spot. Don't miss out on this great opportunity to learn more about the possibilities available to you.

Quick Response Expected to Mobile Barcode Promotion

Thu, 02 Jun 2011 04:00:00 GMT

By: United States Postal Service

Marketers get 3 percent off and more effective mail.

The Postal Service wants to show marketers how mobile barcodes can increase the value of mail, so they're offering an upfront 3 percent discount this summer for integrating the technology into direct mail campaigns.

“Two-dimensional barcodes, which can be scanned or read by mobile smart phones, can increase response rates, improve campaign tracking and attract younger consumers,” said Tom Foti, manager, Marketing Mail. “They also demonstrate how integration of both offline and online marketing efforts blur the lines between the two channels.”

Customers who receive the special mailpieces can use mobile devices to scan the barcodes for more information about the product or service the mailing is promoting.

The Mobile Barcode Promotion runs July 1, 2011, through Aug. 31, 2011, and is applicable on Standard Mail and First-Class Mail letters and flats.

“We recognize that the online world will continue to grow and thrive,” said Foti. “So we want to make customers aware that mail can be an integral part of that communication and that online campaigns that use direct mail are more effective.”

Check out the official release for more information.

From Concept to Customer...

Fri, 27 May 2011 04:00:00 GMT

PULP's own Crackerjack named as headline speaker in a webinar presented by Target Marketing Magazine. Learn more and sign up to attend:

From Concept to Customer...

Leveraging Cross Media Communications

Thursday, June 9th, 2011

2:00 p.m. ET/11:00 a.m. PT

Cross media campaign management is a systematic solution for effectively managing customer communications across multiple channels. Marketers are exploring techniques to effectively automate communications across customer segments. This webinar is designed to share how marketers and solutions partners are utilizing technology to cultivate prospects. It will explore all aspects from the creation of the concept to lead nurturing to effective results measurement.

Key questions that will be answered include:

How are marketers telling their story across multiple channels including social to create communities of brand followers and word of mouth evangelists?
What creative concepts work to effectively engage customers and prospects in a dialogue?
What techniques work for lead nurturing once the prospect is engaged?
How should marketers effectively benchmark and measure results?

Come to this session armed with your questions. You'll be able to submit questions directly to our panelist for a live Q&A session during the hour.

Sponsored by HP

For more information, and to register, click here.

Can't make it on June 9th? No problem! Target Marketing Group webinars are archived for 90 days after the live event. Click here to register and get access to this webinar on-demand.

SPEAKERS

Robert Carrier VP of Marketing PULP

Tony Tarpey VP of Marketing SmartSoft

MODERATOR

Barb Pellow Group Director InfoTrends

A Mobile Site Should Focus On User Experience

Fri, 20 May 2011 04:00:00 GMT

It's no secret that mobile phone usage is exploding all over the world. In fact, there are more mobile phone users than there are toothbrush users! (AACD) With that many mobile users accessing the web everyday, it's important that they can access your website. And not only access, but be able to use it with ease. It's a scary fact that 61% of users are unlikely to return to a website that they had trouble accessing or navigating from their mobile phone (Google). You can't afford to lose those prospects because of a bad user experience.

The average mobile user is hard to reach anyway. They are not a captive audience like someone who is seated at a desktop computer. You have to compete for their attention with a number of other distractions - the friend siting across from them, the sidewalk in front of them, the music coming from their headphones, and even the texts popping up as they're viewing your site. If your content is not easy to use, you will lose to those distractions every time.

According to Josh Clark, author of Tapworthy, the mindset of the mobile user usually falls into one of three categories each time they access their phone. One is microtasking, using their phone for short bursts of activity, often while they're doing something else. Another is local searching which they use for finding out what's around them, like a restaurant or a movie showtime. The other is boredom. Almost everyone has picked up their phone for no other reason than to aimlessly pass the time.

So, if a user does happen to make it to your site, despite all the distractions and their short attention span, you better make sure you have a mobile website that will keep them there. If you really want to capture the mobile user's attention, create a mobile site optimized for the best user experience on any mobile device.

A mobile site is not just a miniature version of your current website. It is its very own entity, designed for optimal use on a mobile device. It's usually a stripped down version of your regular site that only contains the most important information. When you're creating a mobile site, always think about the user experience first. A frustrated user probably won't consider your company.

A Few Things To Remember

Keep the Design Simple - A mobile phone is designed for people, not mice. Make sure the tap space is adequate for thumbs. If a user has to constantly zoom in and out to avoid hitting the wrong button, they won't stay long.

Make Sure It's Readable - Mobile sites should always be readable at an arms length. Squinting and straining are never pleasant. With mobile usage growing among the older demographic, readability is more important than ever.

Prioritize Your Content - Remember that short attention span? If you have a lot of content to sift through or the important stuff is hidden under numerous layers, you're wasting valuable time that you could be using to share relevant information. Before adding any features or more content, ask yourself, "Will this add value to my mobile users?"

Be Consistent - Navigation on your mobile site shouldn't resemble a treasure hunt. Keep all menus and navigation consistent. The easier your site is to use, the more likely a user will take the time to find what they need.

Don't Get Too Big - Mobile phones are more powerful than ever, but they are still much smaller and slower than a computer. Keep page sizes small and content streamlined so your mobile site loads quickly and is within the memory limitation of most mobile phones.

In short, a mobile site is all about the user. It caters to a unique audience with different needs than those who use your regular website. Designing a mobile site takes a completely different mindset. No only do you have to provide a site that's easy to use, but it has to hold the user's attention and it has to offer value.

If you're not familiar with creating mobile sites, you need a partner who is. A bad mobile site will not only fail at bringing you business, but it will actually hurt you by damaging your brand in the eyes of your potential customers. A skilled partner will design a mobile site that provides value to your users, builds your brand, and generates interest and revenue for your company.

Use Content Marketing to Beat Lazy Website Syndrome

Sat, 14 May 2011 04:00:00 GMT

Visit the websites of a few businesses, and I guarantee you'll find some of these symptoms. "Upcoming Events" happened almost six months ago. There hasn't been any "News" in a year, if ever. The "Blog" has three posts, none of them even remotely recent. There's little content beyond the main page, and what is there hasn't changed since the site went live. Beyond contact information and a few small blurbs about product or service offerings, the website is a wasteland.

This is Lazy Website Syndrome, and it's almost an epidemic. There's no doubt that the websites of some of you reading this sound eerily similar to what was just described. If you suffer from Lazy Website Syndrome, don't worry, there is a cure. Content marketing can bring your site from the humdrum online brochure that it is now, to a living, active site that will engage your consumers.

Your website is part of your marketing strategy. It is one of the ways potential customers connect with your brand. If you want them to visit your site, beyond just the first time, you have to give them something new. Use your site as a marketing tool to share content that is fresh, relevant, and valuable with your target audience.

You don't have to redesign your website. Chances are, what you have is just fine. You just need to be consistently providing your customers with new and relevant content. Unfortunately for many businesses, finding the time to develop and publish that content is difficult, so it just doesn't get done.

If you don't have the time to devote to content marketing, hire a content engineer. They can develop content for you based on your specifications. Once it's written, they publish it on your website as well as to numerous other channels, like social media or email. A good content engineer even optimizes your content for search engines, so your business has a better chance of being found. When they remove the stress of marketing, you can relax and focus on selling.

Don't Let Budget Block Your Marketing Strategy

Wed, 04 May 2011 04:00:00 GMT

Marketing. It’s something every business needs to be successful. It’s also something most businesses are neglecting.

Falling sales and shrinking margins can put the squeeze on anybody’s budget. When you have to worry about daily operating costs, your marketing strategy is usually the first thing to go. Few businesses can afford a fully staffed marketing department, even in good times. Luckily, you don’t need your own marketing staff in order to have a powerful and effective marketing strategy.

My Marketing Team from PULP offers a world-class marketing department that can easily be your world-class marketing department. We’re not just a simple advertising agency, providing only a piece of your marketing strategy. We offer expertise in every area, from planning and strategy, to design, copy writing, and web development, even to in-house production services. And we never stop at traditional marketing; social, mobile, and customer centric marketing are our specialties. We even provide measurement for any marketing outreach so we can learn what’s working for you and what’s not.

When you bring on the My Marketing Team, you get a team who is interested in helping your business succeed with a personalized marketing strategy. We don’t just take your order. We sit down with you and learn about your business before we ever recommend the first thing.

We start by reviewing your business plan. What are the goals you’re hoping to achieve with this new marketing strategy? Then it’s time for a SWOT analysis. This helps us determine what your strengths and opportunities are so we know what areas to highlight with our strategy. Knowing what to target gets the most out of even the smallest budgets. Once we’ve done that, we look over the budget you have determined. We use this budget to tailor a marketing strategy that fits your needs and your means.

After we learn all these things, we truly understand your business. This knowledge of your business, your needs, and your goals will help us create the perfect marketing strategy for you.

Great Marketers Tell Stories

Fri, 22 Apr 2011 04:00:00 GMT

"I don't believe marketers"

A large percentage of consumers in the world believe that all marketers lie. If the marketer says it, the consumer refuses to believe it. If you brag about having the lowest prices, they don't believe you. If you claim to have the best service, they ignore you. Subtlety counts.

Make your story more subtle, more interesting, and people will listen. Once they begin to listen, you've got a chance. If you do have lowest prices around, your audience will have the tools required to spread your price story. And if you provide the best service, they're sure to recognize that theme throughout your many stories and learn to trust your claims.

Your stories, just like your brand, are not really something you get to create for yourself and expect people to believe just because you said so. Consumers are too smart for that. You can't insist that working with you is fun and expect people to show up in droves just to have fun. Even if you have proof that you are fun to work with, the fact that you even have proof makes it suspect. But, if the consumer figures out that you're fun to work with on their own, they are much more likely to believe it than something you would tell them.

This is where great marketers shine. Most of the time, traditional marketing methods are the wrong way to spread a message. Not because people won't notice–they probably will. The problem is, they won't believe. We present enough of a change that the consumer chooses to notice it. We tell them a story about your brand, products, and services that hints at the facts, and lets your customer discover them on their own. This process of discovery is more powerful than any number of fact sheets because the consumer owns what they discover.

One Story Per Community

Sat, 26 Mar 2011 04:00:00 GMT

So, we have defined the principles behind storytelling to build your brand, but what do you do when there are competing stories in your community?

Another fact for you: you'll never succeed by trying to tell the competition's story better than they can. If they are already seen as the low price leader, you'll never be able to yell the same story loud enough to be heard.

The problem is, once a consumer has bought into a story, even if the story is a lie, talking him into switching is the sames as talking him into admitting he made a mistake. People hate admitting they're wrong. Instead, we tell a different story and lead the community to believe that your story is more important that the story they believe. If the competition is faster, you're better. If they are cheaper, you have higher quality. But we don't just position your brand as an opposite, we tell an entirely different story than the one already being told.

Sometimes you'll be forced to compete in a community where someone else's story has taken deep roots. The powers that be will spend large sums of money going after a proven audience with the right perspective, thinking all you need to do is re-frame your story. This is an uphill battle. All though this community has proven it will respond to this type of story, they have solved their problem and no longer need a new story.

In this case, we work with you to find a different community, with a different perspective that wants to hear a different story. While we can't be certain that a new community will "own" your story, we are certain that addressing the community of a dominant competitor will fail. Sometimes it makes sense to split the community, by finding parts of it with a different perspective and framing the story for them.

Regardless of the tactics involved, we are experts in creating and telling authentic stories that solve a problem for a community of consumers. You can bet, we've got a story for you!

Tune To Their Channel

Fri, 18 Mar 2011 04:00:00 GMT

Mobile devices are in every hand. The lines between television and internet are getting blurrier every day. Online and offline channels are becoming two sides of the same coin. When taking inventory of all the channels available for consumer interaction today, the count easily exceeds 10 completely different avenues.

While many marketers take advantage of these multiple channels in parallel, it's quite another thing to fuse all those activities together in an intelligent way to maximize response and conversion rates. At PULP, we understand both the art and the science of multi-channel marketing.

These channels include the traditional brand advertising outlets, such as TV, radio, static print, and other non-addressable medias. These non-addressable messages are delivered to whoever might be listening or watching. One major drawback with these channels is how difficult it is to identify these recipients as individuals. In contrast, addressable channels, such as the ones depicted in the image above, speak to the individual in a relevant way. They have a clear call to action and direct the individual to a purchase or an inquiry and measure the response.

As these online and offline channels continue to converge, more and more of them are becoming addressable. We specialize in managing these addressable channels to tell your story and create a two-way dialog. As our knowledge of the individual grows through this dialog, we frame your story to fit their perspective.

In this customer-centric method of marketing, the focus is placed on the consumer, not necessarily the product or marketing campaign. These types of campaigns place a premium on developing a deep understanding of the consumer and the channel he listens too most. Only with this understanding can we begin to speak the language of the individual, increase conversions and build communities of loyal customers.

Collateral Fulfillment - Right Place, Right Time

Fri, 18 Mar 2011 04:00:00 GMT

Gone are the days of one size fits all collateral. The cost and the waste involved with producing a single piece of marketing collateral to describe your entire product line is difficult to swallow in today's economy.

Luckily, with the ever increasing quality and speed of today's digital presses, you have a better option.

We prepare collateral targeted to the perspective of a single audience, including only the items from your product line that would hold an interest for them. We produce your collateral just-in-time, allowing for last minute changes that might be critical to obtaining new business. We print just what you need for the specific trade show or event.

We fulfill your collateral, along with physical items we inventory for you. These physical items might be printed or promotional items. We provide tracking and inventory reports that keep you up to date. We send alerts when physical inventories reach critical levels.

We also fulfill virtual items on demand, via email or dropbox invitation. We provide real-time tracking that proves receipt and verifies download.

We work with you to demonstrate the value of this service. We outline the true cost of your collateral fulfillment, and how it exceeds the unit costs, once items such as freight, storage, spoilage, obsolescence, and lost sales are factored in.

At the end of the day, your overall cost of acquiring new business is reduced through programs like collateral fullfilment from PULP.

Diagnose and Prescribe

Thu, 17 Mar 2011 02:31:00 GMT

PULP provides unique and effective marketing solutions through our proven method of creating stories about specific products or services that fit the perspective of your ideal customer. We develop strategies that work alongside your existing marketing campaigns and complements them for optimum effect. We're not talking about cookie-cutter solutions here. We create fluid strategies with fresh ideas and constant analysis that allow us to make tweaks along the way to improve your results and your ROI. We are more listeners than consultants, and we start by listening to the stories you're already telling. Some you know about, others will surprise to you. We listen to the stories your customers are telling about you, about the things you provide, and about your competition. Speaking of your competition, we listen to their stories too. Once we have everybody's story, we are ready to provide you with advice and direction on ways to improve your stories, making them more consistant and more authentic. We provide the strategy required to take your stories to the street, across multiple channels on a variety of media, to where your customers live.

Email Data Is Your Friend

Wed, 16 Mar 2011 03:54:00 GMT

4 Deliverability Measures To Increase Revenue

by Stephanie Miller, Email Insider, mediapost.com

They say every recession has opportunity, and I believe there is good here for email marketers. Due to its high ROI, executives are actually paying attention to email marketing. It's up to us to rise to this occasion, and dissuade everyone else from thinking of email as a cheap alternative. Email has proven its ability to sell, engage and build loyalty. We just don't always use it that way. Now more than ever, we must present relevant messaging, provide compelling offers and stay connected with customers and prospects, even when sales cycles elongate and budgets shrink. The batch-and-blast mentality of the past 10 years is no longer adequate for breaking through inbox clutter and earning a sale, engagement or conversion. Time to change -- both our approach and our attitude. Email marketers do have an arsenal of ammunition at the ready -- it's sitting in our data. Beyond the typical open, click, bounce/delivered and unsubscribe metrics, start to take a look at other data sources: Web analytics, inbox delivery rates, ISP feedback loops and time delays on response, profile data, demographics, social media traffic and the topics covered by citizen media and bloggers. The real power of this data is not at the campaign level, but at the subscriber level. This is the only way to move from batch and blast to a lifecycle email marketing approach -- and earn the highest revenue from the channel. Our first challenge as email marketers is reaching the inbox. If we can't get there, we can't get anywhere. There are a few key deliverability measures that help us make good decisions about content and contact strategy. Complaint Analysis. Complaint stream analysis is a rich source of feedback. Most North American ISPs like Yahoo, MSN/Hotmail, Comcast and USA.Net make complaint data available to commercial senders. Review this data to understand what profile of subscriber is most likely to complain, from which sources, and at what vintage (length of time they've been on the file) as well as which subject lines or content types. Deliverability Path Analysis. If 10%, 30% or (God forbid!) 100% of your messages to Yahoo or another ISP don't arrive in the inbox for a 30-day period (the length of time many deliverability failures take to correct), what does that do to your revenue? Ouch. Now is the time to track inbox deliverability at the campaign and ISP level. Do domain analysis on your file and know which ISPs are most important to you. Keep complaints low by only sending well-timed, relevant messages. Resist the urge to overmail. Instead, segment the file and send more email when subscribers are in market, and less when they are not. List Churn Replacement Value. Every time we send out a campaign that is irrelevant or more frequent than promised, our subscribers respond. Some of them will complain, unsubscribe or become so fatigued that we lose them forever. (This last group is what we call the "emotional unsubscribes." They don't bother to actually unsubscribe, but they ignore every message we send.) Every one of those subscribers has to be replaced with a new subscriber if we want to keep our file efficacy and opportunity intact. Even if you spend less than a dollar to acquire new customers, the math adds up fast. Use this sum to help educate internal audiences who want to abuse the email file with additional, irrelevant messages. Every time we do that, we cost the business both short-term and long-term sales. Sender Reputation. Reaching the inbox is based on the sum of all your practices -- over the long term. Be sure to know and manage your sender reputation, as this is the same data that ISPs are using to make decisions about which messages get in and which go missing.

First Impressions Start The Story

Tue, 15 Mar 2011 02:27:00 GMT

Fact: Most important buying decisions are made in an instant. These split-second decisions affect everything we do, and we will vigorously defend them later if challenged. This doesn't give you much time to tell a story. People need stories. Storing every fact presented to them is an impossible task. Instead, people fill in the gaps between the facts they remember and the ones they don't by creating a theory about what they just heard. They work hard to refine that theory. The fascinating thing is just how fast these stories are created. People make judgements about a business or a salesperson or a movie poster in a matter of seconds. This can be a devastating process when it comes to evaluating your brand. Take a look at the image above. Though you may not own an iPod and you may have never set foot in an Apple store, just a hint and you begin to build a story in your mind that might include one or more of the items produced by Apple. Instantly your judgement about the brand comes into play. Regardless of your experience with the brand, you're still willing to forge an opinion based on snap judgement and very little data. This is how consumers deal with the ever-increasing number of choices they are presented with day after day. They look at the packaging, the pricing, the location, and any number of environmental elements and instantly come to a conclusion. Even in the face of contradictory data, the data is ignored in favor of that conclusion. As the wise saying goes, you never get a second chance to make a first impression. There is only one problem with this statement: Most of the time, that first impression makes no impression at all. Most of the people that interact with your brand will walk away with little or no recollection of what just happened. While first impressions are critical to building your brand, we have no idea when they will happen, We're not talking about first contact here, we're talking about first impressions. This is why storytelling is important. If we tell a good story, framed to fit the consumer's perspective, whether it is factual or not, he will tell himself the story and be willing to defend it as true. At PULP, we create authentic stories about your brand that consumers take as fact and repeat to their friends. Tailored to fit the individual reader's perspective, we tell this story consistently. We tell it across multiple channels, to audiences large and small, because we never know when or where that first impression will occur.

Why ‘Conversion’ Is Not The Most Important Metric

Fri, 11 Mar 2011 11:33:00 GMT

by Gavin Finn, Email Insider, mediapost.com

Don't be discouraged by a failure. It can be a positive experience. Failure is, in a sense, the highway to success, inasmuch as every discovery of what is false leads us to seek earnestly after what is true, and every fresh experience points out some form of error, which we shall afterwards carefully avoid.--John Keats (1795 - 1821) In almost every marketing campaign or event, managers always want to know what the conversion ratio was. Whether the objective was a sale, a registration, a white paper download, or any other marketing goal, the primary metric is typically a measure of the number of people who did what we wanted them to do. What is easy for marketers to overlook are some of the key metrics along the way that help to understand why our prospective customers did what they did, regardless of whether they "converted." Important measures of customer behavior can lead to an understanding of what to expect when we present customers with choices, programs, selections, or offers. Ultimately, we need to be able to predict behavior, and the very best way to become better at prediction over time is to measure every customer action (and non-action) and then to analyze all of these measurements carefully. Precise measurement can be useful, of course, but only when there's an understanding as to why you're analyzing the data, and which actions can result from this analysis. Rather than looking at whether enough data exist, ask "What's the point of collecting it?" After all, it's the why that will help you to understand what actions to take. Collecting all the data in the world does not make for success. There's much more to it than just the data. In fact, in any business setting, to make use of measurements, several dimensions need to be considered:

Data - the raw numeric or alphanumeric values associated with specific measured events;
Information - data collected into tables/organized areas so that they can be used in a meaningful way;
Analytics - information that has been sorted through, using a range of algorithms and programs, so that aggregated trends and/or results are obtained and made visible;
Insights - key leanings from the analytics are identified in terms of meaningful business conclusions that can be drawn;
Actions - based on insights, business actions are taken to correct or exploit the results of all of the work done in the data/information/analytics/insights value chain.

While there is a story in the data somewhere, without a well-understood process of uncovering the relationships between the data and the context in which they were collected, the story will most likely remain hidden. The very first step is to identify what the intended use of the information may be. For example, in retail settings one might look to better respond to consumer demand; improve operational efficiency; or fight competitive pressures such as price deflation and eroding gross margins. Only once the objective has been identified can you look at what's possible to measure, and in turn, this can lead to actions. So what data could be captured (in both an online and offline environment) that would lead to information, facilitate analytics, and drive insights around pre-purchase customer behavior? Information such as:

Which products a customer looked at before purchasing the selected model;
Which product features were important to them in their selection (for example, do customers who care more about ease-of-use choose product "A" over product "B"?);
How many products a customer looked at before purchasing their selection;
How long they spent making their decision;
Whether they had researched in a different channel prior to purchasing in this channel.

Analysis on these data might show trends (for example, customers who purchase high-end digital camcorders tend to focus more on user features and product capabilities, whereas customers who purchased lower-end models focused more on size/weight). Insights and actions that would follow could include merchandising products based on price category; demonstrating key feature differentiation at the high end; and focusing on in-store marketing that highlights size/weight benefits/differences at the lower end. In some cases, merchants might decide to reduce or increase the product variety at one or another end of the price spectrum to be able to drive purchase behavior based on insights obtained in this process. While measuring this kind of raw pre-purchase data is easy online, with today's cutting-edge technology it can also be accomplished in an offline environment. For example, innovations in interactive touch-appliances create compelling customer experiences, and importantly capture key customer pre-purchase behavior data. If decisions are to be made on the basis of insights, ensure that the data collected, and the analyses performed, lead to the conclusions that will allow for meaningful business insights. Find ways to accurately measure pre-purchase customer behavior in a multi-channel environment, and then apply a process to transform the data into actions that enhance the customer experience and improve your bottom line.

Start A Conversation

Fri, 11 Mar 2011 05:26:00 GMT

The typical marketing conversation model has three components, represented in white in this image. The sender (your company) starts with a message (an ad, postcard, brochure, etc.) and sends it to the receiver (your target audience). What we fail to recognize with this model is that, to communicate, you must have a dialog. I speak to you and you say something back to me. In this typical model, you might respond by saying something to yourself after seeing an ad in a magazine. You could also respond by buying what is advertised, or by mentally storing the info for future use. You might just turn the page without giving the ad a second thought. This standard model is outdated. It's no longer cost effective to spray an address on a mail piece, then pray it makes a marked impression on the recipient. Effective marketing requires feedback. When we ask for feedback, we learn something new about the recipient. With every cycle of the feedback loop, our story becomes more focused. We learn that one group of our community likes A and totally dislikes B. With a feedback loop we learn quickly about the likes and dislikes of our customers. We are able to define the fundamental split in our community down personality lines. PULP is one of the few marketing companies to actually embrace today's latest marketing technologies. We include this feedback loop in every possible communication cycle. We use the feedback collected to frame your story to fit the perspective of the individual.

Extending Email Trust to Social & Mobile Channels

Thu, 10 Mar 2011 11:32:00 GMT

3 Tips to Inspire Confidence

by Wendy Roth, Email Insider, mediapost.com

Multichannel marketing communications have multiple benefits, including a broader audience reach, multiple touch points to reach customers and greater amplification of your message. But the dangerous duo of spam and viruses that have eroded consumer trust in email marketing have now spread to mobile and social channels, as hackers and spammers become smarter about launching attacks on these channels. As a result, online marketers now face the challenge of wary customers who are skeptical of the messages they receive, regardless of medium. Companies must set themselves apart from fraudsters in order to build a relationship of customer trust across all channels -- as we would all hate to lose a valued customer over a bad search experience or misdirected mobile message, for example. The good news is, the traditional rules for building trust via email campaigns apply to social channels as well; the key is to ensure your messages are aligned across channels. Here we share three strategies to ensure your online marketing campaign tells a trustworthy story. 1. Email marketing is the foundation of trust-building. Email marketing campaigns are deemed trustworthy when a subscriber views them as something they are receiving by choice. Enter the transparent opt-in process. This means no prechecked box on the opt-in form, clear statements about content, format, and frequency -- and plain-language terms of service and privacy policy, among other key features. Email design and functionality are also important to recipients trying to determine whether your communications are spam. To ensure your emails get instant inbox recognition, include the brand, company, or newsletter name in the "from" field (never a person's name or email address) or the subject line, or both. Emails should also include relevant content that displays clearly, with or without images, in the email and the preview pane. Finally, emails should be free of blocked images, bad code and broken links. 2. Extending trust to mobile devices. Another way to build customer trust is to allow subscribers to choose the method in which they want to be contacted -- for example, email or SMS. Use the credibility you've earned with email to achieve results via mobile. Similar best practices apply, such as:

Post your opt-in mobile SMS text on your landing pagesto grow your mobile prospects.
Use short, targeted SMS texts to reach wider audiences and those on the go.
Use personalized short codes for SMS text replies.
Keep messages highly relevant and concise.
Update content regularly based on response rates.

3. Use social networks to build credibility. By all accounts, social networking has reached critical mass. These channels provide marketers the opportunity to forge relationships and extend customer-service efforts. They can also be used to gain the trust of your prospective customers via the following activities:

Establish official pages on major social networking sites, using company logos and other design elements to distinguish them from individual fan pages.
Post contact information, such as your Twitter account name and URLs, to your social network pages, your Web site and your email messages.
Update pages frequently with content that reflects your current email campaigns (offers, links to online version of articles, etc.).
Use search programs to monitor conversations involving your company on social media.
Respond immediately to public and private comments, questions, or criticisms that indicate a trust problem.

It takes time to build trust, but it is well worth the effort. The time invested to shore up your credibility and demonstrate that you deserve your customers' trust will pay for itself many times over. Trust me on this!

Strategy: Go Where They're Not

Thu, 10 Mar 2011 05:25:00 GMT

All the time spent on strategy is wasted if you can't execute effectively. Your particular strategy may look good on paper, but without proper execution, it will fail to get traction when taken to the street. Take a look at your favorite magazine. What ads, if any, will you actually remember tomorrow? In most cases, strategy won't be your problem. The problem lies in the execution. The execution, and when we say execution we mean the creative and the story, is the most difficult part of the brand building process. A bit of magic is required to create a consistent and authentic story that ignites passion in customers. While magic, or creativity, may give you pause because it requires the use of something new and untried, remember that the logical argument is seldom won. It almost never convinces anyone of anything important. While we're in agreement that strategy will only get us so far, let's get a grip on another truth; you can never be a leader by following. Although our natural inclination is to go with the group, creating an original brand with an authentic story requires an unnatural act. It doesn't require reinventing the wheel, just simply thinking in fresh ways. Without fresh thinking, you'll always be in lock-step with the competition. We can help you go where your competition doesn't. It means taking your brand into uncharted territory. We'll know we're on the right road when it scares the hell out of you.

Empower The Simple Email Signature

Wed, 09 Mar 2011 11:21:00 GMT

by Len Stein mediapost.com

How many emails do you send each day? And your staff? Even a small business typically sends more than 100 email messages daily and many thousands annually. But few companies make effective use of this powerful, low-cost, and versatile marketing tool. Most business people give little thought to their email signatures, including only the most basic contact information -- often just their name, if they use a formatted email signature at all. What a shame when an email signature can be the least expensive yet one of the most effective tools in one's online marketing kit.

Consider Sig Power

It's high time to consider the power of your "sig line," which enables you to effortlessly promote yourself and your business without paid advertising. Sig information, which is automatically added at the end of each outgoing email (set in email preferences), tells the recipient who/what/where you are, as well as why you are the one. But its flexibility goes well beyond emails. Consider creating several email signatures for various purposes or audiences, and do the same for your smartphone. I often include links to my columns or to articles featuring my clients to expose them to a broader audience. Here are a few places to employ your email sig. On every email you send to business associates, to new business prospects, to friends, family, colleagues, etc. In emails in response to postings on discussion lists In every posting to online forums or blogs. In every email broadcast to your lists of prospects, clients, etc.

Creating Your Sig

To create an effective email signature, follow the KISS rule, and be sure that everyone in your organization follows the same layout format.

Keep it short. Limit yourself to no more than six lines, and 65 characters wide. Discussion lists or online forum moderators generally limit signatures to five lines so keep the most essential information upfront. This is one reason to create several email signature files for different uses.
Include only essential contact info: name, title, company tag line, phone number, Web site url, email address, and/or Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn pages, or perhaps a small logo or graphic file.
List only the preferred contact methods. Stick to one or two phone numbers. Forget fax and street address, state, etc.
Offer something free. Whether is a newsletter, a special report or reprint, an eBook, audio or video clip, give people a reason to visit your Web site.
Auto sendout. Make sure that feature is turned on in your email program so you don't miss any valuable marketing opportunities.
Plain text or HTML? Plain text is best for day-to-day email correspondence, but company fonts or colors can add extra punch. Since many online discussion forums don't accept images or HTML, you should familiarize yourself with your audiences before formatting.
Live links. Because you don't know what email program your recipient uses, type in the extra characters needed to create a live link in the email address and Web site URL. For a Web site, include http://. Add mail to: at the beginning of your email address.
Borders. A simple border line should separate your signature from the content to eliminate confusion.

A consistent email signature delivers a potent marketing message, over time, reinforcing your brand image and identity, drives traffic to your Web site, increases pass-along, flags company recipients, and, best of all, costs you nothing but a minimal investment in time. It's time you signed on.

Continuous Innovation

Wed, 09 Mar 2011 07:20:00 GMT

In a world where business growth means killing the competition—and a few customers along the way—we've created assembly lines and products that are intentionally void of morality, emotion, and human aspirations. We spent the entire last century filling factories on a quest for greater efficiency. Past differentiators like service, quality, and price have become a given, and, because of this, companies have begun to look the same. It's not enough anymore to just get better at what we're doing. We have to be different. It's still not enough to just be different, we have to be radically different. In fact, thanks to an unprecedented amount of clutter in the marketplace, differentiation is becoming the most powerful strategy in business and the primary beneficiary of innovation. There's a lot of talk about innovation today. Even the Street Level project was born of an innovative idea to take a process that wasn't working and design a whole new process that works practically every time. You'll notice that the real action word in this sentence is design. The fact is, if you want to innovate, you have to design. That's where PULP comes in. Once we've created your authentic story, we design supporting materials that take your story to the street. We speak the language of your community and make sure we're telling it in the right place at the right time. While your competition believes the customer relationship ends when the sales is final, we design programs to encourage and support the use of your product after the sale. We design a program that is powerful and innovative, yet agile enough to change when the market demands it. We continuously look for new ways to improve your business processes through innovation.

How Email Marketing Will Evolve In 2011

Tue, 08 Mar 2011 10:13:00 GMT

by Chad White mediapost.com

Email marketing is constantly evolving, with social media, mobile and ISPs driving most of the change right now. Here are five predictions of how things will change in 2011: 1. The plain text part of your multipart email will become more important thanks to Facebook Messages, which displays the plain text part by default. There's a link to display the HTML part which it does very well -- but that link is easily overlooked, which means that it will likely see little use. Keep an eye on the percentage of your list that's @facebook.com addresses. Once it's more than a couple of percentage points, it's probably time to give some extra attention to the design and copywriting of your plain text part. 2. Email design will start to be more heavily influenced by iPhones, Android-powered smartphones and iPads. The distinction between emails and mobile emails is disappearing. That will have several effects on email design: (1) Email widths need to narrow. We recommend a width of around 600 pixels. (2) Font sizes need to increase so they're more legible on small screens. And (3) the space between links and the size of buttons need to increase to allow fat fingers to hit links accurately. That will also mean navigation bars with fewer links in them. 3. Share-with-your-network (SWYN) links will be used by a majority of marketers. SWYN links allow subscribers to share email content with their friends and family members on Facebook, Twitter and other social networks, increasing the reach of your messages. As of August, 26% of top online retailers used SWYN in their promotional emails, up from 12% in July 2009. By the end of 2011, the adoption of SWYN links should break the 50% mark. 4. Reactivation campaigns will become more important, thanks to ISPs giving weight to engagement metrics when determining whether to deliver to the inbox or junk folder or to block email. Most marketers still have no plan whatsoever in place to address inactives -- the subscribers on their list who haven't opened or clicked on email in a long time. In some cases, inactives make up 50% or more of a marketer's list, representing a significant threat to deliverability and a big distraction from focusing on active subscribers. Marketers must start by defining what "inactive" is for them, then progress to segmentation tactics to message inactives differently, and culminate with reactivation campaigns that give subscribers a chance to reaffirm their interest or be dropped from the list. 5. The email marketing industry will continue to be divided on permission. The tension between the old school opt-out email marketing industry aligned with direct mail and the new-school permission email marketing industry aligned with mobile and social will continue to grow. But from my perspective, all signs point to the new school winning out. From Gmail's Priority Inbox and Facebook Messages to ISPs' ongoing battle against unwanted email, it's becoming increasingly critical to be anticipated and wanted in consumers' inboxes-particularly if you want to be in the part of the inbox that consumers have designated for important, must-read emails. Staying out of the junk folder is yesterday's battle.

Communities Build Brands

Tue, 08 Mar 2011 04:14:00 GMT

Building your brand is not a task left to a single entity. It takes a team that includes your marketing department, your traditional advertising agency, our staff, and your community of customers. It requires teams of specialists sharing ideas and coordinating efforts across the entire team. This turns ownership into partnership and individual tasks into collaboration. There are really three models for "brand collaboration": outsourcing to a full service agency, outsourcing to a brand agency, or stewarding the brand internally with an integrated team of marketing specialists. While all three are positive responses to the problem, we recommend the third. The first model might be more efficient, and include the ability to unify your message across multiple media, these one-stop shops usually lack best-of-breed in any area. In effect, you give up stewardship of your brand to this one-stop shop. The second model affords you best-of-breed and a unified message, but still places brand stewardship in the hands of an outside agency. In the third model, the company is the de facto brand steward, selecting best-of-breed specialty firms, like PULP, to work along side the internal marketing staff. This model also allows you to have a unified message across multiple channels and the freedom to work with the best in a particular specialty. Internal stewardship of your brand is important because it allows brand knowledge to accrue in the company, rather that disappear with the last agency that worked on it.

A Different Story Gets Noticed

Sat, 05 Mar 2011 10:12:00 GMT

Providing every fact about a product or service, instantly, to every person you want reach is an impossible task. So we tell stories. Sometimes we tell them with packaging, other times we use advertising. Sometimes we just use our words, or a sign in front of our building. No matter how well intentioned we are at communicating the facts, when another person confronts the idea, he will make the story his own—he will lie to himself, making a judgement call without all the facts. The best marketing techniques then are the simple stories that are most likely to break through, be understood and spread. So if you're trying to find the magic bullet that will make your idea into a winner, forget about logic. Whatever is being sold, is being purchased because it creates and emotional want, not because it fills a need. At PULP, before we start to tell your story, we first learn about the brain that's going to hear that story. Regardless of your idea, product or service, you win when it spreads from person to person. When everyone who should know about your business does, you win big! So how do we break through all the information processed by the brain every day to be the idea that spreads? When we encounter something for the first time, we compare it to the status quo. If it's not new, we ignore it. If it's new, our brain decides to pay attention to it, and goes to work trying to figure out what happened. It creates a rule about how this thing came to occur. Once the rule is in place, the brain begins to make predictions about what will happen next. If our prediction is right, then the external surprises end and our brain begins to happily ignore things again. Once we've made up our minds about what caused this new thing, and we've created new rules and made predictions that have proven true, we stick with them. We ignore any evidence to the contrary for as long as we can, and focus on what our brains have already decided to agree with. So our minds are constantly scanning our environment for something that is different. When we find something different, we look for explanations where there are none because our brains are too restless to live with the randomness. In the face of random behavior, people start to make predictions about what will happen next. They get what they expect because what they get is just a story in their mind. Knowing this, we could easily trick people into believing that something is new and different when, in fact, it isn't. We could also crash and burn in the process very easily.

A Plan To Meet Your Goals? Who Needs a Plan?

Sat, 05 Mar 2011 06:24:00 GMT

by Kara Trivunovic mediapost.com

We all need a plan -- not always exciting or fun, but necessary to accomplish your goals and objectives. Not only will it help you determine what factors are going to drive a program's success, it will also help you avoid best practice mistakes and errors. Let's face it, there aren't too many email marketers who actually execute against a real annual or quarterly communication plan -- so if you do, you are in the minority. But kudos. Honestly though, most email marketers' days are probably spent either fielding last-minute requests to send an email to support an existing program that is under-performing, or as an after-thought. Whatever your situation, I am sure that at one point or another you have leveraged my favorite mantra: "A lack of planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part." Quarterly or annual planning is almost unheard of in the email space, while common in other areas of marketing. If you have a solid plan, accommodating those last-minute requests becomes a whole lot easier, and measuring your program success becomes more transparent because you have the time to really think through how to attribute that success and to honestly define what success means. In creating a quarterly plan, you need to truly understand the who, what, when, where and why of your email program. Who is getting the email? Understanding how your database breaks up based on how you communicate is integral to your programs' success. If an overwhelming number of customers are unengaged, then your communication strategy should vary from what you'd use for a database of highly engaged subscribers. Getting familiar with that breakdown will set the groundwork for your entire plan. What is the content of the email? Are there specific offers, editorial content or seasonal direction that you can plan on including in the message? What resources do you need to generate that content? Spending time articulating what you want to say and then aligning it with your audience can help you identify mismatches in content to segments -- or further identify voids in content to address specific segment expectations. When should the message be deployed? Considering the timing of your message distribution in conjunction with offers that have specific time sensitivities or significant volumes can help you avoid missing the expectations of your recipients. This tactic also helps you to eliminate multiple messages coming to customers within hours or days of each other, depending on your specific contact strategy. Where do you need additional support or resources? If you are going to need custom data pulls or new creative -- landing pages or additional production support, say -- knowing in advance and planning accordingly for all groups and departments involved makes everything flow so much more smoothly. Why are you sending the email? The quintessential question: What are your goals for this deployment? What behavior do you expect to drive, how will you measure that behavior, and how will you define success? Answering these questions at the front end of the process can help to validate that all the necessary steps are being taken to make it happen.

Forecast: Direct Mail Far From Dead

Fri, 04 Mar 2011 12:51:00 GMT

Personalized URLs Play an Even More Prominent Role

by Ethan Boldt, editor-in-chief, Inside Direct Mail

Direct mail is very visible and is a part of the daily life of most Americans. For those two reasons alone, companies have traditionally relied on direct mail to get out their marketing messages. Other advertising avenues, such as billboards, TV commercials, radio spots, and emails, also compete for prospects' attention and loyalty, but only direct mail physically gets into people's hands in their own home. For that reason, direct mail is also a frequent target of name calling ("junk mail!") and worse, legislation ("Do Not Mail" that stand very little chance at passage) in many States. And lately, amid the economic downturn, it's also become the victim of lower response rates. However, because of those reasons cited in paragraph one, direct mail is not going anywhere. In fact, with the powerful addition of Personalized URLs to the arsenal, direct mail may even be positioning itself for a comeback. "I think the channel’s forever altered, but not forever gone," says Nancy Harhut, executive creative director at Harhut for Hire and former executive creative director at Hill Holiday. "People still trust the mail, like to touch their mail, and sometimes prefer the privacy, security and record of mail." Here's how it shakes down, according to some well known direct marketers:

1. Direct Marketing's New Holy Trinity?

While social media and mobile marketing is becoming more popular, they both remain small potatoes compared to what Harhut calls marketing's "Holy Trinity": direct mail, email and Personalized URLs. "Direct will still lead acquisition efforts and then be used to punctuate customer deepening campaigns. There’s been some evidence that all the email we’re sending is hurting its efficacy, while at the same time, direct mail has been 'rested' long enough so that now it’s working even better than before — what’s old appears new again," she describes. Meanwhile, she believes that SoMe and mobile will find their rightful place in the communications mix, but will always be minor players. Instead, she's adamant that the DM-EM-PURL approach will grow more prominent. "Smarter targeting, more data-driven communications and increased personalization will become necessities," says Harhut, who mentions that the historic problem has always been data quality but that most companies have access to clean, robust data today.

2. Personalized URLs Help Create a Channel-less Future

Most companies have siloed their marketing efforts, but Harhut thinks that self-interest will begin to trump channel. "If the target sees something of value, then that will be more important than where he or she sees it," she explains. "The humble closed-faced, teaser-less, 'hand addressed' #10 or 'greeting card' will continue to pull. Mail that carries an 'ignore at your peril' air about it will continue to get opened." In other words, creative mail that skillfully employs the usage of Personalized URLs will only enhance the chance a prospect will respond. Because Personalized URLs are so eminently trackable, then the credit of a conversion will then be given to both the direct mail piece as well as the landing page. Indeed, with this channel-less future, direct mail may change its role for many campaigns. "It will be a still be a driver to action, but will have a dramatic shift toward use as a follow-up tool," predicts Grant Johnson, CEO of direct marketing agency Johnson Direct. "It's much more effective than email from a prospecting aspect and some of those companies who abandon mail will come back and use it to begin the dialogue. As the web grows more and more, mail will play a key part in driving new visitors. Email as a retention tool is very powerful, but too much email, spam blockers, and overuse will make it less effective and some firms will go back to mail."

3. New Testing Group: the Landing Page

Just as testing remains a key to successful direct mail, the same is true with pURL campaigns. "Don't forget that testing here should still apply, yet is woefully missing," states Johnson. For example, a test that shows that conversion rates were much lower than anticipated usually point out the landing page wasn't synced properly with the direct mail piece, and that could extend to the data, the personalization, the creative or the offer. "Not syncing the landing page with the direct mail piece that brought the prospect there is the #1 destroyer of conversion rates," affirms Bob Bly, copywriter.

As Batman Needed Robin

Fri, 04 Mar 2011 09:50:00 GMT

Social Media Needs E-mail—Or Is The Other Way Around?

by Anna Russell, email Insider, mediapost.com

History is littered with partnerships that transformed their genre. Would Fred Astaire have made such an impact upon the world of dance without Ginger? Would Apple be where it is without the camaraderie of Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak? And would Jack Bauer in "24" have been able to pull off what he did sans Chloe O'Brian? E-mail is a major driver of social media activity; in fact it is the major driver. According to Forrester's 2010 E-mail Marketing Survey, marketers' No. 1 reason for integrating e-mail with social media is to drive recipients to marketers' Facebook, Twitter and social media sites. This is not surprising when one appreciates that 82% of consumers connect with fewer than 10 brands in the social media space. In fact, 71% of business executives claim they use e-mail to promote their social media presence. While Carrie's and Samantha's great "one-liners" in "Sex and the City" hit the big time, Liz Tuccillo, the mastermind behind many of them, remains in relative obscurity; and while a great social media program may make the headlines, more often than not, behind it lies the powerhouse of e-mail (often a marketer's best kept secret). Needless to say, Sarah Jessica Parker has been wildly successful; however, Tuccillo has done pretty well herself, with a film -- "He's Just Not That Into You" -- and a book -- "How to be Single" -- under her belt. Before we get out our hankies and sob in sympathy for the hardworking, less celebrated e-mail campaign, we need to appreciate that the relationship works both ways. For instance, 53% of consumer respondents in e-Dialog's "Global Perspectives" survey saw e-mail as being the primary driver of their social marketing activity. And roughly half of these respondents were also willing to act as brand advocates and to share e-mail marketing messages via social media, fueling a major boost to the exposure of the e-mail message. If e-mail provides the vital shot of information to the inbox, then social media is the flow that spreads the message wider. So the trick is to understand this dynamic and master it. Here's how: • First, understand what your audience wants and expects from each medium. According to research from ExactTarget, the primary reasons people give their e-mail addresses to companies are for "discounts & promotions," "to get a freebie," "to receive updates on forthcoming sales" and "to get updates on future products." This fortuitously aligns pretty closely with the motivations for joining a social site such as a Facebook fan page, which are to "let my friends know what products I support," "to receive coupons and discounts" and "to stay current on available new products." • Second, once you've mastered your messaging platform, ensure you make the connection between social media and e-mail as seamless as possible. Keep the message succinct; it's easier to share a bite-sized message than "War and Peace," after all. • Thirdly, and most important, always, always include social media links in your e-mails. It will not only help spread your message, but it will also increase your click-through rate (CTR). GetResponse research notes that including social network links in your promotional e-mails can generate a 30% higher CTR. Not a bad return for simply adding some links. Talking of dynamic partnerships, there are few partnerships as tenacious as that of Batman and Robin. Despite the ever-changing challenges and the ever-expanding range of competitors and characters, the skill, intelligence and teamwork of Batman and Robin pulled them through. While we might not be able to fight off the Penguin just yet, what we know for sure is that social media and e-mail work better when working together. All that remains to be said is stay tuned for next month's e-mail installment... same bat-time, same bat-channel (sorry; couldn't resist!).

Three Little Questions

Fri, 04 Mar 2011 04:48:00 GMT

Building your brand starts simply enough with three little questions. We ask them of you, and we put ourselves in your sales cycle to form our own answers. We ask these questions to your customers, and whenever possible, to those that had the chance but didn't buy. We use this data to bridge the gap between your brand and your potential customers. In many cases, these 3 questions will bring a high-level marketing meeting to a screeching halt. They seem simple enough, but the answers cannot be ambiguous:

Who are you?
What do you do?
Why does it matter?

Question one is the easiest, but it involves more than the name of your company The second question seems easy enough, but is this a list of the widgets you produce or the effect these widgets have on your customers? Maybe it's both? The third question is much more difficult. Be careful with your answer, you may have to prove it. Unless you have compelling answers to these questions, and your customers find you irresistible, you don't have a strong brand. The fact is, most companies have trouble answering these questions, especially the third. Together, these questions provide insights into what makes you unique in your customer's eyes. From their perspective, you are the only company that provides this product or service. We focus on this uniqueness, on what makes you different in your community, and we begin to build a story around it.

City Campaign Gives New Meaning To Mobile Advertising

Thu, 03 Mar 2011 16:47:00 GMT

by Mark Walsh mediapost.com

QR codes, those little crossword-puzzle-like bar codes, have popped up in a lot of different places—movie posters, bus stops, magazines and Web sites among them. But not usually the side of 25-ton New York City Sanitation trucks. That's where the city is putting QR codes as part of a broader campaign on TV and online to boost awareness about recycling. Scanning the QR codes placed on the sides of 2,200 sanitation trucks will give users access to a how-to-recycle video from NYC Media's show "The Green Apple: Recycling." In upcoming weeks, it will then link to a how-to video on recycling from content partner Howcast. This isn't the first time New York City has used QR codes in a promotional campaign. It put up giant ones on buildings around Times Square during Internet Week, allowing mobile users to get more information about various city services. "New Yorkers have already been coming to our channels and our website for who, where, when and why -- now they can add 'how,'" said NYC Media Chief Operating Officer Todd Asher in a statement. "We are also enthusiastic about continuing to use QR code technology and other innovative technology to help get the City's message out." But it looks as if the brain trust at City Hall has jumped the shark by slapping the codes on its fleet of garbage trucks. Putting the QR codes on moving -- albeit slow-moving -- vehicles, raises the possibility of onlookers getting flattened in the course of trying to learn more about recycling. (The technology requires city denizens get within 12 to 16 feet to scan the codes.) The city has clearly embraced the push for mobile innovation too literally. Then there's the stench factor. Who wants to sidle up to a garbage truck in the middle of a steamy New York City summer unless it's your job to haul refuse? And isn't it possible you could get in the way of the people trying to do that job as you position yourself and focus your mobile camera to snap a photo of the QR code? Who knows, it could lead to a garbage strike over hazardous working conditions. Then the city would really have an odor problem. The city is doing a PR push around the recycling education effort, but how many people associate sanitation trucks with advertising? Buses, taxis, pedicabs, yes, but not garbage trucks. It may only be hardcore mobile geeks (or recycling enthusiasts) who even notice the QR codes are there. Someone tell Mayor Bloomberg it's time to go back to the billboard.

Keeping Pace For 2011 Growth

Thu, 03 Mar 2011 11:34:00 GMT

by David Baker mediapost.com

The frenzy of a good holiday season creates a whole new kind of stress for marketers and advertisers. 2010 holiday season jumped off to a great start in November, followed by comScore's report of the first billion-dollar day in our history on Cyber Monday. For reference, we have doubled Internet retail over the last five years. While we get really excited about Cyber Monday, it's not usually our busiest shopping day of the year for online (that is usually the second Monday in December, often called "Green Monday.") While shopping is up, so is the amount of email big brands are sending. We've seen a 40% increase in volume across the largest brands -- not just more email, but increased use of segmentation, creative testing, custom-date driven promotions and auto responder programs. In order to keep up with this pace in 2011, marketers and providers will be forced to: Simplify segmentation. That doesn't mean less segmentation, it means creating smarter uses of segmentation that identify predictable responses. Marketers will seek to model behavioral segmentation that is predictable to stages in the lifecycle and helps accelerate the conversion path -- smarter segmentation that identifies "share " and "response" value rather than purely transactional value. Plan targeting better (a business rule, not a reaction). While many consider email targeting and personalization to be static, technologies are advancing that will challenge the pace at which you can evolve business rules. Targeting will take on new meaning as you align email to the Web, the Web to mobile Web and the bridge from mobile apps. The personalized experience will transcend single channel to blended experience. Email marketers will generate more value in bridging this personalized experience. The "Active" views of the inbox being tested and rolled out with the major ISPs should help shift this experience , but connecting the personalized experience will the key to success and growth in 2011. Identify the real "social" customer. We talk a lot about the influencer, but I believe there are several ways our customer socially connects with us -- ways we will strive to identify more concretely in 2011. The connector has high reach and a regular cadence, yet that means very little to a brand alone. The advocate is the consumer who produces some content on various topics. Advocacy can be interpreted the same way "loyalty" can, for or against a brand or cause. Advocacy alone does not make you an influencer or valuable to a brand. Influencers are advocates WITH influence within their network and others. These are the highly coveted consumers who are early adopters, trend setters and have a high connective value. The last leg of the social hierarchy to me is the evangelist. This is an influencer with initiative. This segment will take your content and curate it, develop attitudes and opinions with great reach. These are the segments you build apps and experiences around with an open-ended mindset. All of these segments will be hard to "flag" in the social and traditional segmentation world. As our knowledge of engagement and social channels matures, it won't be that far of a stretch to shift this thinking from how we apply content, process, value and experiences. 2011 is going to be an amazing year on all fronts. The email experience will be different, the site experience will be connected, the app experience will be pervasive and the social consumer is going to be easier to connect with, yet harder to engage.

Every Brand Has A Story

Thu, 03 Mar 2011 02:37:00 GMT

In fact, most brands have several stories to tell. They are told by every person in the company and every person that comes in contact with the company. Customers tell your story to their friends and family. Your story might be told in blogs, over social media, or even in print. The same goes for your brand. People read their experiences with your brand, and retell the the story from their perspective to others. When their experiences matches their expectations, their loyalty increases. Your business is not just brick and mortar, it lives. And because it lives, you have to let it breathe, let it make mistakes. Instead of trying to present Teflon smooth surface, allow it to have a personality, inconsistencies and all. Your story can be inconsistant, as long as it always keeps in mind your core values. At PULP, we make your story the authentic story, the truth story, and we tell it loud and clear. Whenever possible, we work with your staff, to make sure the story they tell fits the company values. These stories don't have to be consistent, in fact it's better if they aren't. The secret of a living brand is not that it's rigid, but that it's flexible. It lives throughout your company, not just in your marketing department.

Framing Their Perspective

Thu, 03 Mar 2011 02:26:00 GMT

Everybody wants the same things. We want to be happy, healthy, loved and respected. We want to have enough money to buy the things we want. We all want friends and family and fun. In spite of the fact that we all want the same things, the paths we take to get there vary greatly. Some drive trucks while others drive cars. Some enjoy living in the city, and others prefer the suburbs. The fact is that all populations are quite different while still wanting the exact same things. One of the impossible challenges as marketers is explaining what makes these people different. As a result, marketers cannot predict in advance if any specific marketing campaign will be successful. The explanation for these differences lies in the perspective of the individual. Each person has a different set of values and assumptions about the world. Their perspectives have been influenced by their family, friends, and the experience they've had to date. Their perspective on the world is different from yours, or anyone else's. People can want the same things, but with their differing perspectives, they see the same data and make different decisions. To be successful, we must frame our stories to fit the perspective of our audience. When a car dealer hangs banners all around town to promote their model year clearance, they're not talking about cars. They are framing a story for people who need an excuse to get their cheap spouse out of the house to shop for a new car. While this frame works for some people, it doesn't work for everyone. Different perspectives require different frames. At PULP, we specializes in identifying a population with a certain perspective. We frame your story to fit their perspective and tell it where they live, whether it's online, in print, through mass media, or any other channel.

Words. Do They Matter?

Fri, 25 Feb 2011 12:26:00 GMT

The English language has changed enormously in the last several decades. The average vocabulary for a high schooler in 1945 was 45,000 words. Now, it's dropped to a measly 10,000, a shadow of its former glory. Anyone with a basic understanding of math would see that this is a serious problem. Some would argue that this development (or regression, really) is just the evolution of our language. Why would we bother with so many superfluous words when we can get by with so many less? It is a type of “survival of the fittest,” if you will. I can understand their logic to a degree; who needs to learn a dozen words when they can get by with one. Take “ok” for example. They could say something is adequate, admissible, all right, cool, decent, fair, hunky-dory, kosher, passable, peachy-keen, pleasing, respectable, right on, satisfactory, sufficient, swell, tolerable, unexceptional, unobjectionable, or up to snuff. But why do we need all those when a simple two-letter, text-friendly word will suffice? My friend Aaron is the perfect example of why limiting your vocabulary to fewer words doesn't work. He likes to create analogies to describe a wide variety of things. Unfortunately, he always compares them to the same thing. “This pizza is hot as shit.” “That movie was cool as shit.” “He's smarter than shit.” (I found that last one particularly entertaining; I would hope that statement applied to anyone.) I always follow up his comments with a question along the lines of, “Exactly how hot is shit, Aaron?” in the hope that he'll realize how ridiculous he sounds. But he's not the only one who does this. I can't count the number of times I've heard people make statements just like these. Aaron's example and the example of a little word like “ok” both illustrate the fundamental problem with restricting our language. When you assign that many different meanings to one word, the word starts to lose its clear meaning. Is shit good or bad? Hot or cool? Smart or dumb? Depending on the context, it's any of them. But which one? If the English language continues to be diluted in this way, we'll have a lot harder (and more confusing) time describing things and explaining ourselves. I think part of what is to blame for the decline of the english language is the decline in reading. With the advent of radio, television, dvd players, the internet, smart phones, and other technology, reading has taken a backseat as the entertainment of choice. People develop their vocabulary by being exposed to words. The easiest and best way to be exposed to words is through reading. I love reading. English class was my favorite because it meant I got to do what I loved and call it homework. The problem with so many students (the future adults) is that reading is only encouraged as a part of school assignments. For most kids, school is not fun. So, as it logically follows, books are not fun. Because of this aversion, the average American adult only reads 4 books a year. Most of those books were religious works, romance novels, or popular fiction, which suffer from the same vocabulary anemia as the rest of the country. According to the Washington Post, a fourth of the people surveyed did not read a single book all year. Unless we continue to stress the importance of reading, and more importantly the joy that reading holds, our nation's vocabulary will continue shrinking. We need to begin taking our language more seriously. If we don't take action, starting with ourselves, we risk losing our words, one “flosculation” at a time.

Building Brand Platforms

Mon, 14 Feb 2011 09:16:00 GMT

The statistics are staggering. In September of 2007, Facebook had some 18 million members. In 2010, they exceeded 500 million. In the same time frame, Twitter went from 533,000 users to 125 million. LinkedIn expanded from 4 million to 65 million members. This social media giants are expected to continue to grow exponentially for years to come. Besides the numbers, the other advantages to promoting your brand in these communities are numerous. They include cost savings, viral recommendations, long-term relationships, shorter sales cycles, community recruitment, and highly targeted advertising, to name a few. If you are marketing to teenagers and twenty-somethings, you know the difficulty involved in getting the attention of this Generation Y group. The members of this group have radically different media consumption habits than any group in history. The numbers don't lie. A staggering 79% of all adults over age 18 are online today, and large percentages of every generational group use social networking. See the chart below for real statistics on cross-media usage across multiple generational groups.

Why does this matter?

If you're not dedicated to using social media as a brand platform, you are ignoring growing numbers of potential customers. PULP understands social media and the work it takes to build a community of brand followers.