DUKKY - Our target is 100% redemption.

Neuromarketing Study Supports the Effectiveness of Direct Mail

Dukky — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 01:48:31 +0000

Editor’s note: Today’s post was written by Sharon Markovsky and was originally posted on her blog, Practical Discussions of Marketing. It is reprinted here with permission.

I was reading an article summarizing the findings of a new neuromarketing study conducted by Royal Mail through Millward Brown, employing the University of Bangor’s psychology department and fMRI (functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging), which sheds some light on how the marketing medium used can be just as important as the message when it comes to building an emotional connection with consumers.

And, I have to say I am pretty excited with the findings. They support the case I made in a prior blog, Direct Mail Is a Viable Option for Small Business, that direct mail can be an effective part of a company’s marketing mix—thus, direct mail is not dead!

While the research conducted was qualitative in nature, only 20 subjects studied, the results are nonetheless very important. Without getting into my “research geek” mode, which I am apt to do, here’s the crux of what they found:

Physical media—direct mail based material—generated more activity in the parietal cortex, an area closely associated with the integration of visual and spatial information; suggesting that print-based material is more ‘concrete’ for the brain, and can act as a cue for memory. The print marketing methods were “seen” as more “real” by the brain because of the multisensory nature of the materials.
Direct mail-based material was also associated with responses which suggest greater ‘internal’ thinking – suggesting that this material is processed more in relation to subjects’ own feelings and memories.
Online materials on the other hand elicited responses associated with greater difficulty in maintaining attention on the task. Researchers noted that online materials proved harder to focus on; and engaged areas of the brain associated with greater filtering of irrelevant information in order to attend to the task, such as the temporo-parietal junction.

So what?

As a marketer, you need to choose wisely when it comes to the media you use for customer and, more importantly, prospect communications.

Print media may be more effective for complicated or detailed messages; online seems better suited for short, easy to read and less comprehensive messages.
Print media may be more effective for the first or introductory communication from a brand campaign, an online message appears better suited as brand awareness/consideration reinforcement tool.

Thanks to Royal Mail, Millward Brown and the University of Bangor’s psychology department for putting together such a great and useful neuromarketing study!

Editor’s note: With Dukky’s integrated platform and shareable PURLS, you get the best of both worlds- the deeper engagement of direct mail and the viral reach of digital.

5 Reasons Your Marketing Strategy Needs Social Media

Dukky — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 04:00:35 +0000

In the past couple of months, the need for marketers to integrate social media with email and other direct response marketing campaigns has become increasingly apparent. Has your marketing strategy changed yet? Here are 5 reasons why it needs to:

Social Media is Becoming a National Obsession

A study commissioned by Retrevo shows just how much of a priority social media is becoming. 48% of respondents report checking social networking sites after they go to bed at night or first thing when they wake up in the morning. 56% check Facebook at least once a day; 12% check Facebook every couple of hours.

Facebook is More Popular than Google

Not too long ago, claiming that a social media site could ever unseat Google would likely have been greeted with an reaction similar to the one that greeted John Lennon when he claimed that the Beatles were “bigger than Jesus.”

But now, Hitwise is reporting that for the week ending March 13, 2010, Facebook was the most-visited website in the country. Facebook. Not Google.

Facebook and Twitter Drive Purchasing Decisions

Facebook and Twitter aren’t just places where people hang out and socialize in a virtual world. They also drive purchasing behavior, as shown in this study by Chadwick Martin Bailey.

In the study, 60% of Facebook fans and 79% of Twitter followers said that they were more likely to recommend brands that they follow on Facebook or Twitter. 51% of Facebook fans and 67% of Twitter followers were more likely to buy products from brands they follow on social networking sites.

Email Drives Social Media Sharing

However, other studies show that it would be utter folly to disregard traditional direct response marketing via channels like email. For example, this study, by Merkle, found that people still spend a lot of time in their inboxes. 71% of respondents spend 20 minutes or more each week on personal email use-a figure that’s unchanged from last year.

People that use social networks extensively are also more likely to use email frequently, and they are twice as likely as non-social networking users to access email through their mobile phones.

Even more important for marketers, 20% of social networking users have shared items from their email inbox on social networking sites. For your customers, email use now goes hand-in-hand with social networking, and your marketing efforts need to reflect that.

Everybody’s Doing it

That last statistic indicates how important it is to design integrated email campaigns. Your customer’s email inbox is, in many cases, the key to reaching their social networking accounts. With integrated campaigns and compelling, shareable offers (basically, what we specialize in here at Dukky), you’re not just emailing your customers, you’re emailing all of their Facebook friends, and their friends, and the people that follow them on Twitter…

According to e-Marketer, more and more marketers are attempting to tap into the potential of social sharing with their email marketing campaigns. The “Email Marketing Industry Census 2010” from Econsultancy and Adestra, found that 37% of respondents are already using social sharing as part of their email campaigns and 31% plan to start doing so in the next year. Don’t get left behind!

Dukky makes it easy to integrate social sharing into email or direct mail marketing campaigns. With our PURLS, your customers can share offers via email or on Facebook and Twitter-wherever they feel comfortable sharing.

Dukky makes it easy to raise awareness of your company on Facebook and Twitter by turning your customers into advocates. Plus, you get real-time analytics that let you measure response rates in real time!

5 More Amazing Social Media Videos

Dukky — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 22:15:10 +0000

I recently posted a list of social media infographics and videos, only to find even more awesome social media videos shortly thereafter. Naturally, I felt compelled, once again, to share. Hope you enjoy these!

The State of the Internet, by JESS3

JESS3 / The State of The Internet from JESS3 on Vimeo.

This video was originally put together by creative agency JESS3 for their presentation at the AIGA Baltimore in February. “The State of the Internet” offers up some amazing statistics on the worldwide growth of email, Internet connectivity and social networking sites, especially Facebook and Twitter.

What the Hell is Social Media?

In about 2 minutes worth of electric guitars and engaging visuals, this little video gives 10 key reasons why companies and marketers should care about social media, supported by impressive statistics from a variety of sources.

Social Media ROI, by Socialnomics

Packed full of interesting quotes and statistics from companies and brands that have had success with social media, the sequel to the super-popular Socialnomics video examines the ever-present question “How do you calculate an ROI for social media marketing? Should we even try?”

2009 in Social Media, by Rob Cunningham of Social Signal

2009 in Social Media from Rob Cottingham on Vimeo.

This one doesn’t hit you over the head with mind-boggling statistics, but I recommend watching it anyway, because you know what? It’s freaking hilarious! A smart, funny look back at what happened in the world of social media in 2009.

Trendsspotting- 2010 Social Media Predictions

TRENDSSPOTTING – Social Media from connectme360 on Vimeo.

And now, on to 2010. This video hits you over the head with commentary, statistics and 2010 social media predictions from the experts. There’s a lot of good stuff here, but it goes by FAST, so you may have to hit pause repeatedly to catch it all.

What are your favorite social media-related videos? Share them in the comments!

Restaurants, Food-Oriented Businesses Find Social Media Quite Tasty For Driving Sales

Dukky — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 20:14:53 +0000

Editor’s Note: Today’s post was written by best-selling author Rick Matheison, author of Branding Unbound, and was originally published on his blog, Genwow. It is reprinted here with permission. Check out his new book, The On-Demand Brand, in stores on April 28.

Who says only big brands get in on all the soc-net fun?

As it happens, social media seems to be especially tasty to food-based small businesses.

Clikz, for instance, has a piece on how a 10-month-old ice cream sandwich start up called Coolhouse, which uses funky, architecturally inspired ice cream trucks to sell its confections, quickly discovered that sending offers for, say, trivia questions about architecture to Twitter and Facebook followers in its local area, boosted sales appreciably.

And countless pizza shops offer weekly specials on soc-nets to get people into their stores. One shop, called GoldenKnights Pizza, has discovered 40% of its business can come from these efforts.

Yet another restaurant, Axels’ Food and Ice Cream has found great success by posting special offers through Facebook and Twitter.

According to a recent Rice University study, Facebook fans of one Houston-based café chain visited 20% more often, and spent 33% more, than non-fans.

“Social media is not like direct mail or local print advertising,” founder Kristen Costa tells Clickz. “Those marketing mediums don’t make much difference with our customers. On the other hand, our Facebook fans and our Twitter followers want information from us.”

Actually, it’s exactly like direct mail or local print advertising, only done electronically among people who are expressing interest in your brand by following it on soc-nets.

The real difference is summed up by Jenny Cheifetz, whose confections company started using social media last year: “[Social media] is viral, and it’s free….I’m a new business. I don’t have the money to spend on a large advertising campaign.”

In my new book, THE ON-DEMAND BRAND (out April 21 from AMACOM Books), I look at some of the most powerful ways to make use of social media to drive business. Among them: Limited time offers, which enable brands to get out promotional messages quickly to people just primed to take advantage of them. A growing number of food-based businesses are discovering that, but so are big players in several fields. Dell, for instance, makes millions off limited time, Twitter-only offers.

How is your company using social media to get people in the door and spending money? We’d love to hear from you.

In the meantime, read the Clickz piece, here.

And read more about THE ON-DEMAND BRAND, here.

The Future of Marketing (Sooner Than We Think) Could Have Us Waiting for the Customer

Dukky — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 21:20:32 +0000

Editor’s note: Today’s post was written by Nancy Scott, and was originally published on her blog, Marketing Brillo. It is reprinted here with her permission. Enjoy!

On January 6, I attended a talk by Stan Rapp, who co-founded Rapp Collins Worldwide and is now chairman of Engauge, the Atlanta-based full-service marketing agency with expertise in digital and interactive marketing. (Disclosure: I’m awed — and probably swayed — by the fact that Stan, courageously and with pleas from Morris Dees, managed the George McGovern presidential campaign).

Be that as it may, Stan’s informal dinner presentation on Thursday made a strong case that, going forward, the merger of direct marketing and digital lies at the core of what marketing will be. Stan calls that intersection “iDirect.”

In his view (and that of many visionary industry observers), traditional, Mad Men advertising — which, unlike direct marketing, is a) non-measurable and b) has been dominated by what Stan calls the Media/Agency/Nielsen Complex — has wasted some $2 trillion in the 20th century. In short, with no engagement, no brand-building, and no Internet connection, Stan describes 60 percent of print media advertising as “garbage.” At the presentation, he invited the professors in attendance to take last week’s edition of Newsweek and challenge their students to figure out how – by any measure (because there is none) – the ad dollars aren’t “wasted.” Pepsi’s defection from Super Bowl ads to online is cited by many as further confirmation of the trend away from traditional advertising.

Stan noted that “iDirect is the future of marketing. It is the growth engine at the confluence of Digital and Direct that enables customer engagement to drive a better ROI than ever before.”

Stan acknowledges that, while iDirect is the future, nobody is precisely sure what it will look like, but the perfect storm would appear to involve merging marketing across all channels, from online to offline, together in multi-variate, measurable touch points: mail, email, web, mobile, social, CRM, etc. This isn’t your Dad’s “integrated marketing,” though. That’s old news.

If a January 8 post by Samuel Axon on Mashable is correct, the billion dollar gate from Avatar is probably a solid example of the social side of iDirect at work. Now how do we take this outreach to the remainder of marketing?
Stan no doubt tackles this conundrum in his new book, Reinventing Interactive and Direct Marketing. I haven’t read the book (yet), but answers I’ll be looking for include:

1. Are we talking about behemoth iDirect agencies, bigger than the Department of Defense, trying to do every single marketing thing that a company needs – and then, in real time, running the results, measuring, reacting, reframing? I mean that hasn’t worked out too well for DOD, has it?

2. Or are we talking about simply applying the lessons of direct marketing – namely, if you can’t measure it, don’t do it – to every imaginable digital effort like email, web, social media, and those yet conceived?

3. (My Choice!) Or are we talking about some evolving form of digital application that can bring the message to one place in the customers’ hands. I think that’s the one.

Case in Point One: My friend’s love affair with his new Palm Pre. I haven’t gotten beyond my Blackberry (which, frankly, I hate), so I’m no expert in smart-phoning. But my friend is and he’s literally spent weeks fixing this gadget to the point where he can now carry his office — even his life — in his pocket. He checks email, of course.. but also retreives soccer scores, listens to podcasts, figures out where the restaurant is, reads movie reivews, follows blogs and Twitter, and gets whatever he wants on uStream. Last night, he announced with incredible excitement that the Pre has an app for his new Google Voice! This allows him – in some magical twist of technology – to talk for free, leaving Sprint pretty much out of the equation (extra points for screwing Sprint). The point is that maybe this is what we’re talking about when we keep saying that customers will drive the bus. This is not about what marketers will do, say, or contrive: This will be about what customers will choose to do. We won’t be able to reach them unless they somehow allow that. Bottomline: Likely the contemporary marketer’s job is to realize this difference and — somehow — respond. Very tricky.

Case in Point Two Makes the Case: In an energetic Q&A following Stan’s remarks, one participant observed that, to the upcoming generation of iDirect users, “i” had an even more centric meaning — as in “ego-centric.” The commentator said, “To my 17-year old son, “the ‘i’ stands for ‘I’ — as in, I get to chose the tunes I listen to, the video I watch, who I talk to, who my friends are.” Me.

So, yeah… looks like our new job is going to be finding out where the customer is hanging out, nailing (not guessing) who might be interested in what, giving the customer a way to get back to us, measuring the reaction, re-evaluating (in real time, if possible), and then starting all over again. Technology can do it, but we have to dream it.

Editor’s note: Dukky’s platform makes it easy to integrate traditional direct marketing with social media and mobile. Our shareable promotions encourage your customers (and their friends, and friends’ friends, and so on) to become advocates for your brand and spread your message via social media and text messaging. Plus, real-time analytics make it easy to measure your campaign’s performance.

Email, Social Media and Mobile Marketing: How They Work Together

Dukky — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 02:57:03 +0000

We’ve been hearing a lot lately about how social media and email are beginning to come together for both consumers and marketers. But aren’t we leaving something out when we just talk about integrating email and social? What about mobile marketing?

According to this fact sheet from CTIA, as of June of last year 89% of the United States’ total population has a cell phone-and they aren’t just using them for talking anymore, either.

Consumers with smart phones are increasingly doing much of their social networking on their phones-newly released statistics show that both Twitter and Facebook have experienced triple-digit growth in the number of mobile web users (via MediaPost). Facebook has about 25.1 million mobile users, while Twitter has 4.7 million.

Even consumers without smartphones are texting, frequently- in America about 135.2 billion text messages are sent on average each month, and about 1.36 trillion each year.

These statistics show why creating an effective mobile marketing strategy is so important. You need to be able to reach your customers where are-which is increasingly on their mobile devices. In an article on DM News, Stephan Dietrich, the President of Neolane, suggests that to be effective, mobile marketing should be integrated with the rest of your marketing efforts:

To maximize effectiveness, mobile messaging and offers must be tightly coordinated across all communications channels, including direct mail, e-mail and social media.

People already use their mobile phones to share pictures, text messages and more with their friends. Wouldn’t it be great if they were using their mobile phones to spread the word about your company, too?

That’s why Dukky offers an integrated print, email, social media and mobile marketing platform. Encourage your customers to share your offer via email, social networks and text messaging, and watch your promotions go viral with our real-time analytics!

5 Amazing Social Media Marketing Videos and Infographics

Dukky — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 19:07:38 +0000

Sometimes, a picture (or a video) really is worth a thousand words-especially when it comes to understanding how the rise of social media is changing the marketing landscape. Whether you need to convince someone else of the importance of investing in social media marketing or you need a little convincing yourself, these pictures and videos make the case better than a top-notch lawyer could.

Sholz and Friends: A Dramatic Shift in Marketing Reality

Scholz & Friends: “Dramatic shift in marketing reality” – aka “A short history of marketing” … from Michael Reissinger on Vimeo.

This short video illustrates how marketing has changed over the years, becoming more challenging and complex as marketers strive to make themselves heard above the noise and the Internet makes it easy for customers to share their opinion of a brand with many people at the same time in a just a few clicks.

Social Media Revolution (from the Socialnomics blog)

This video is definitely one of the best presentations out there today that discusses the incredible impact of social media. Eric Qualman of Socialnomics uses a series of striking statistics to make the case that social media is not a fad-instead, it is the most significant cultural shift since the Industrial Revolution.

Word of Mouth Visualized (via the Melodies in Marketing blog)

How much impact can one customer’s experience have on your brand? The infographic above gives you an idea, and remember, with social media, this can all happen in the blink of an eye.

Of course, while customer anger and frustration can spread like a wildfire over the Internet, so can promotions, offers and positive experiences. Marketing campaigns that include social media are a powerful way to sow the seeds of brand awareness and attract exponential numbers of new customers.

Chain Reaction and Social Network Ripple Effect (via laurelpapworth.com)

A nice illustration of the “ripple effect” produced as your message spreads throughout different social networks via social media.

A Day In The Life Of the Internet (via OnlineEducation.net)

Created by Online Education

This infographic does a marvelous job of showing just how much information is distributed on the web each and every day.

Do you have a favorite infographic or video that deals with social media or viral marketing? Share it in the comments!

Companies Spending More On Social Media, But ROI Still Hard to Pin Down

Dukky — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 23:55:27 +0000

A new survey released by Econsultancy shows that marketers are planning to spend more on social media this year, even though they are still unsure how to measure the success of their efforts.

According to a press release describing the results of the study, 81% of respondents expected to increase spending on social media in 2010, while only 18% expected to see no change in social media budgets or spending.

However, at the moment, most organizations don’t seem to know what tangible benefits, if any, they are actually getting from this increased spending. According to the Econsultancy press release, 61% described their organizations as “poor” or “very poor” at measuring the return on investment for their social media efforts.

The results of the survey should surprise no one-in fact, they closely mirror the results of a survey released last month by Alterian. Marketers know that they need to be involved in social media. However, without an effective way to measure ROI, throwing money at social media is kind of like throwing coins into a wishing well and hoping you get your wish.

According to social media guru Brian Solis, 2010 is the year that this will change, the year that “we enter into a new era of social media marketing, one based on information, rationalization, and resolve.”

He notes that CMO’s want, more than anything, to get measurable results from social media, not warm fuzzy talk about “engagement” and “connection.” Engagement and connection are great, but the not-so-warm-and-fuzzy truth is that they are really just means to a concrete, measurable end, such as obtaining new customers or retaining old customers.

To better manage social media ROI, Solis suggests first “defining the “R” in ROI.” That is, first determine what results you are trying to achieve, whether it be increased revenue or something else, and then set goals and measure accordingly. If you have time, read the whole article (and the lively debate in the comments) for more insight.

One of the great things about Dukky is that our platform allows marketers to integrate social media with direct marketing campaigns in a way that makes it incredibly easy to measure and analyze the impact of social media on the results. Our real-time analytics can show you who’s sharing your offer, which social networks they are using, the social influence of each customer and more.

Other aspects of your company’s social media strategy may be more difficult to measure, but when it comes to integrating direct marketing, mobile and social, we’ve got you covered.

C’mon, check out our demo. You know you want to.

5 Ways to Use Data to Create Compelling Direct Mail

Dukky — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 22:34:15 +0000

Editor’s Note: Today’s post was written by Jean M. Gianfagna, the President of Gianfagna Strategic Marketing, and originally appeared on her blog, Smart Marketing Strategy. It is reprinted here with permission.

Savvy direct marketers are using data and digital printing technology to develop engaging creative approaches and compelling direct mail campaigns that are almost fully customized to the individual recipient. The result is more relevant direct mail and stronger customer relationships.

Chances are, you’re already capturing transaction data and contact information every time your customer makes a purchase. You may even have demographic and lifestyle data on your files.

Using that customer data can help you create high-impact mailings that generate better results.

When it’s time to produce your next direct mail campaign, ask yourself this key question: “What do I know about the people I’m mailing to and how can I use that knowledge to develop a more effective creative approach?”

Here are five ways to use data to develop great direct mail creative:

Idea #1: Use Data to Allocate Creative Resources

Conduct pre-campaign data analysis to determine each customer’s value or potential. This measurement should drive format selection for your direct mail pieces and the allocation of creative resources. Higher value customers – and high-potential prospects — should get a more elaborate and personalized mailing; less valuable customers and prospects should get a simpler, less expensive piece.

Idea #2: Use Data for Better Targeting & Personalization

Append demographic or lifestyle data to your customer files, then use this data to segment customers into smaller, more targeted groups of individuals with similar characteristics. Develop creative approaches and marketing messages that more accurately target the specific interests of these smaller groups.

Idea #3: Use Data to Get Attention and Engage

Grab attention on the direct mail carrier envelope and engage readers throughout the mailing with data-driven messages. Even simple geographic and demographic references in copy can have a big impact. Printing technology now enables you to customize almost every element of your mailing.

Idea #4: Use Data to Strengthen Relationships

Customers know their value to your organization and they expect YOU to know it. Use data from your customer database or CRM system (such as the length of time they’ve done business with you, the types of products they purchase, or information on their last transaction) to speak to customers more personally in your mailing about their relationship with you and its value.

Idea #5: Use Data to Facilitate a Response

To make it easier for prospects to say yes, pre-populate customer data on response forms and create personalized URLs (PURLS) with the customer’s name that link to pre-populated forms on your website.

Dukky makes it easy for you to use these strategies to create compelling, personalized direct mail campaigns, as well making it easy to track and collect additional data to make future campaigns even more compelling.

Social and Email: When Worlds Collide

Dukky — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 01:58:23 +0000

Over the past couple of weeks, 2 important stories have rocked the Internet: the launch of Google Buzz, and the news that Facebook intends to launch an email service of its own, called Project Titan.

Of course, Google’s product launch hasn’t gone off without a hitch-the company was a little bit too confident in its ability to automatically calculate which email contacts its customers would actually want to connect with socially, and privacy concerns and lawsuits have ensued.

Still, Google is fixing those issues, and it’s way too early to pronounce Buzz dead in the water. In fact, as MediaPost notes, Buzz is “the beginning of a hub that could eventually connect to forums, third-party PC and mobile applications, as well as other social sites.”

Facebook’s Project Titan is still being developed, but it is already hotly anticipated and expected to compete with Gmail.

On the Bronto blog, Kristen Gregory, Email Marketing Strategist for Bronto Software, called Project Titan “a move that takes us more toward a truly integrated channel – where search, email, social, etc. reside together and where the idea of a master preference center could ultimately live.”

Taken together, these two stories seem to signal a broader trend- the impending merger of email and social networking. Some people love the idea, some people hate the idea, but the same was once true of Twitter and Facebook. As the lines between the two begin to blur, how should brands and marketers react?

Email that’s integrated with social networking demands direct response campaigns that are integrated as well. Even today, our experience has shown that integrating social media and sharing capabilities into an email campaign improves response and conversion dramatically. As the email inbox turns into a social networking command center, users will be encouraged to engage in social sharing even more than they do now.

Dukky makes it easy to integrate social media and email campaigns. With our platform, recipients can share offers by email or on social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter. Even better, with our analytics, you can see who is responding, who is sharing your offers and how they are sharing them, and more, all in real time.