Thought Leadership

    Three (fifteen) Fundamental Questions Can Help Marketers Hit Their Mark

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    Do you find yourself bouncing from tactic to tactic, hoping to find the right approach in your marketing efforts? The world is moving quickly and communication professionals are running themselves ragged trying to keep up. With technology disrupting every facet of our lives, marketing success can be incredibly elusive. So what should you do?

    Let’s begin with what you shouldn’t do. You shouldn’t retreat. If the goal is reaching your market in the new communications landscape, retreating to old tactics and hoping they will still be impactful is probably not the best way to advance your career. While old methods may offer some personal comfort, eventually they will stop being effective and your sales pipeline will dry up.

    You also shouldn’t merely convert traditional tactics into new media. If you believe converting a printed newsletter into a digital newsletter will bring credibility with your audience in the digital age, you are missing the mark. The same can be said for all digital and physical marketing assets.

    What you should do to ensure marketing success is joomla_4elop a strategy. Your strategy must be established before you deploy any tactics.

    Today’s communications landscape has brought more than just a change in how we deliver information. It has changed the balance of power in the world of business transactions. Today, customers hold the power. They are informed, connected and looking for true partners who know their needs and are prepared to provide custom solutions that maximize their investments. Customers also demand authenticity. To successfully reach your customers you must have a deep understanding of who they are, what their needs are and how your product or service can help them succeed. Only tactics that are informed by an accurate understanding of your customers will hit the mark. Before you deploy any tactics, you need to ask yourself some fundamental (and traditional!) questions to help joomla_4elop your strategy:

    Who is our audience?
    1. Who are they?
    2. How do they communicate?
    3. How do they decide?
    4. How do they perceive you?

    Who are we?
    1. What makes us unique?
    2. Who are we today?
    3. What do we aspire to be?
    4. Where are the gaps?

    What is our market?
    1. What is the opportunity?
    2. Who is the competition?
    3. What has changed?
    4. Where do we fit in?

    By taking the time to understand your customers and research your market opportunities, you can joomla_4elop a comprehensive plan and strategic approach that will connect to an audience of real people who live in a real world and want real community. That’s the key to long-term, sustainable success.

     

    Do You Advertise Your Business? It Could Cost You More to Advertise in the Future

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    Earlier this year, Rep. Dave Camp (R-Mich.), introduced a comprehensive tax reform proposal in the U.S. House of Representatives that aims to simplify the U.S. tax code and lower current tax rates for individuals and businesses. Currently, U.S. corporate tax rates are among the highest in the civilized world. While many people, regardless of political affiliation, would welcome a less complex tax code and reduced rates, there is one “reform” in the proposal that should make anyone involved in the marketing and advertising industry blanch. For that matter, the “reform” might make any business owner who advertises their product or service gasp.

    As a way to help offset the revenue lost through Camp’s proposed tax rate reductions, his reform plan removes or adjusts many current tax deductions. One such adjustment is that the deduction for business advertising expenses would be amortized over time instead of being claimed for the year the expense occurred. Currently, for every $1 a business spends on advertising, it can deduct $1 as a business expense in that tax year. Camp’s proposal would allow for 50% of the advertising expense to be deducted in the first year with the remaining 50% to be amortized equally over a 10-year period. Putting aside the impact this would have on the bottom line of any business that advertises, the “reform” would open a Pandora’s Box of issues that could be endless.

    The rationale for this “reform” is that it takes time to fully recoup any expenditure of advertising dollars through new sales. Therefore, the full amount spent should not be immediately deducted. Most likely, inexperienced staffers who were tasked with finding additional revenue by eliminating or reducing current business deductions inserted this provision in the plan. These staffers have little actual business experience and do not realize how broad advertising expenditures might be.

    Details of this provision, which is now commonly being referred to as an “ad tax,” do not specify what constitutes advertising. This has the potential to significantly increase the number of expenses that could qualify as an advertising expense while taking away the full deduction for them. Considering the ever-changing marketing and advertising landscape, and all of the media channels and communication tools that businesses now use, “advertising expenses” could become infinite. Will social media activities need to be amortized? Are salaries related to advertising campaigns fully deductible as an expense? What about a sales lunch? Do content marketing efforts constitute an advertising expenditure?  

    The questions left open by the proposal’s vagueness, combined with the complexity of the current “advertising” environment, certainly would cause many businesses to change how they allocate advertising expenditures. Not good news for professionals in the advertising and marketing industry.

    Hope for those opposed to such a “reform” to current business deductions lies in the fact that with the coming Congressional elections there is little chance that Camp’s proposal will advance during the current Congressional session. Split-party control of the Senate and the House makes advancement of the plan unlikely as well.

    However, because of how the Congressional budget process works, Camp’s proposal will stick around, with aspects of it likely being used in future efforts to reform the tax code or balance the federal budget. Camp has said the estimated “savings” that would result from the amortization of business advertising expenditures is $169 billion over a 10-year period. That is a significant amount; it is just a matter of time before another Congressional staffer latches on to this provision during a future budget negotiation as a way to “add” revenue to the federal coffers.

    Because any change in how advertising expenditures are allocated would have significant ramifications on the advertising and marketing industry, we must be vigilant in ensuring this “ad tax” is not enacted. Business groups representing the advertising industry have already started the process of educating congressional representatives on the true cost of removing this deduction; we must be sure to educate our colleagues in the industry as well.

    Additional Resources:

    Follow the conversation on Twitter: #adtax #taxreform #adage

    For a full transcript of Camp’s proposal click here: http://waysandmeans.house.gov/uploadedfiles/statutory_text_tax_reform_act_of_2014_discussion_draft__022614.pdf

    For other pieces summarizing the issue, see:

    http://www.forbes.com/sites/anthonynitti/2014/02/26/analysis-of-chairman-camps-proposal-for-tax-reform-part-1-individual-tax-reform/

    http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/limit-ad-tax-deduction-rep-camps-tax-reform-package-155978

    Joint Committee on Taxation, “Estimate Revenue Effects of the Tax Reform Act of 2014”- https://www.jct.gov/publications.html?func=startdown&id=4562

     

    “Patent Trolls” Scaring Companies that Use Technology as a Bridge to Better Business

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    I recently attended “Print’s Voice ’14,” the annual “Capitol Hill Fly-In” event co-sponsored by the Printing Industries of America. This annual visit to Washington, D.C., is held to give those connected to the graphic arts and printing industry the opportunity to meet directly with members of Congress and their aides. For two days I made my way back and forth between the House and Senate offices of the U.S. Capitol to discuss needed reforms to the U.S. Postal Service, tax policy, free trade and patent law. During the course of the briefings I attended, I became aware of an issue within current patent law that should be of interest not only to those connected with the graphics arts and communications industry, but to anyone who uses technology in the course of conducting their business.

    This may seem like an overly broad warning. A close inspection of the details of this issue, however, makes its importance clear to everyone in the business community.

    Patent law within the United States was established to protect the rights of those who create original works. Patent assertion entities (PAEs) are organizations that actively work to ensure intellectual property laws are enforced.1 These PAEs can conduct their business in the legitimate pursuit of fair play. Sometimes, though, they work solely for financial or business gain. An example of this is the strategy employed by Apple and Microsoft during the last several years.

    Both Apple and Microsoft have spent billions of dollars purchasing the patent portfolios of other tech companies.2 This has given the two technology giants ammunition to use in their frequent court battles with other tech companies over smartphone technology. By owning the patents to technology they did not originally invent or create, Apple and Microsoft can be awarded royalties and license fees for its use, or they can force competitors to remove functions or features that use the technology from their products.

    While original inventors and patent applicants can form PAEs to protect their invention, PAEs are more frequently being formed by investment groups looking to purchase intellectual property for the purpose of holding and enforcing a patent. Overly broad patents have given birth to these types of PAEs, which are also known by the moniker “patent trolls.” Patent trolls buy patents and then enforce them against companies who have inadvertently or perhaps unknowingly incorporated the patented technology into their business or product.

    To illustrate how broad these patent assertions are, a group of printers in California recently received a patent infringement letter from a law firm that indicated they were violating a patent that supposedly covers “a system having a digital copier/scanner/multifunction joomla_4ice with an interface to office equipment (or to the Web) for scanning and transmitting images electronically to a destination such as email applications, or local files.” The law firm wanted $1,000 per employee for past infringement and future licensing. What company is not using the technology described by this infringement letter?

    Another egregious example of patent trolls asserting their claims are lawsuits that have been filed against small coffee shops that provide Wi-Fi for public use. Yes, someone has claimed to have a patent on this. Pertaining specifically to the graphic arts industry, claims have been made against companies using the Internet to sell print and against those who use computer-to-plate technology.

    While the broad assertions of owning these seemingly general and commonly used technologies is a significant and concerning issue for all businesses, the more immediate dilemma for companies that receive an enforcement letter is the way they are crafted. Companies that have received letters say there is often very little specific information regarding which patent has been violated. In addition, the letters offer a quick settlement of the issue, through a payment anywhere from $2,500 to $80,000. If the recipient agrees to the payment within a specific time frame the PAE agrees to not proceed with the lawsuit. The dilemma for these companies is that hiring an attorney to research and defend such broad accusations can easily exceed the potential settlement amount. This essentially amounts to legalized extortion under our current patent law.

    It will be difficult to find a balance between allowing for the protection against valid patent infringement and discouraging the abuse of patent litigation. An encouraging sign, however, is that the Obama administration and both Republicans and Democrats in Congress agree that something needs to be done. There is consensus that patent trolls represent a real threat to our economy. This agreement between political bodies that rarely agree on anything provides hope that a solution can be found before the coming Congressional elections in November.

    Additional Resources:

    http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/30/business/economy/tech-lawsuits-endanger-innovation.html

    http://www.american.com/archive/2013/august/the-paradox-of-patent-assertion-entities

    The Real Toll of Patent Trolls – http://www.inc.com/magazine/201202/kris-frieswick/patent-troll-toll-on-businesses.html

     

    Bridging the Engagement Gap – Using Print to Reach Age-Specific Audiences

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    There’s no arguing that we now exist in what many have called a social and digital economy and that it is here to stay.[i] From tablets to mobile joomla_4ices just about every product and service is connected in some way to the digital world with each aspect of our lives experiencing the impact of technology. Because of this, most companies have either established a strong foothold in this space, or they are continually experimenting to find the right way to connect with customers. However, many still struggle to align continual innovation and consistent product Development around consumer adoption of new technologies (think of the app that allows us to close the garage door from a remote location). As sexy as technology is, the answer may lie in a more tried approach.

    While social (and digital) adoption rates continue to increase (see: How Digital Behavior Differs Among Millennials, Gen Xers and Boomers), many companies and organizations are still left with the daunting task of bridging the gap between their drive to innovate and stay in front of a younger, more intuitive consumer base, without leaving existing customers who did not grow up with cell phones, microwaves, cable television or even computers.  Enter print.

    According to Raphael Heaggans of Niagara University, the challenge is often associated with learning styles. “Older adults have special learning needs that differ from younger adults when it comes to technology. Younger adults have not lived life without technology whereas older adults were introduced to it and are challenged to learn it.” There’s also the challenge of how technology (and techno-drive products) or introduced to consumers – sometimes via the television or the web, which assumes targeted consumers have level of comfort with technology. “Technology is not necessarily presented as a form of experiential learning that is based on the older adults’ experience thus making learning technology less embraceable.”[ii]

    So what can a company, university or any entity do about it conquering the engagement divide? One way to bridge this gap is to produce simple and accessible instructions in a way that many adults are accustomed to learning and digesting information…in print. By using simple graphics and step-by-step instructions, organizations can provide a safe approach for consumers and members of their communities that may not necessarily be as digitally intuitive as other segments of their markets. While it does involve additional creative, and in some cases a baseline understanding of how to present instructional material, it can often mean the difference between positive customer experience and frustration and abandonment.

    The image above is an example of how a step-by-step approach to presenting information in a familiar format aims to assist a segment of the organization’s population that can benefit from a new app. The myPennMedicine app allows users to access online medical records from Android and iPhone joomla_4ices. While it does assume some knowledge of its user-base, the card and content are simple, accessible and clearly written. There’s also a phone number which would require (dare we say it!) a phone call.

    In the age of technological explosion, it is important not to overlook simple yet important factors facing engagement. This includes learning style, age-of-audience and preferred method of communication. In some cases, printed instructions that walk users through new digital offerings is a great way for customers and prospects alike to feel engaged.

     

     


    [i] http://www.mckinsey.com/insights/high_tech_telecoms_internet/the_social_economy

    [ii] http://apbrwww5.apsu.edu/SRATE/JournalEditions/212/Heaggans.pdf

    Photo credit: http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/local-news/boroughs-old-people-overtake-young-2013694

    Lessons in Transforming an Organization

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    The Backdrop

    During my first 20 years at the helm of Perfect Printing, the solution to running a successful business was relatively simple; provide a quality product, in a timely manner, with great customer service. Little self-promotion was required. For a 50-year period, beginning with the coming to age of television, there were four primary ways for businesses to reach their audience. Word of Mouth, Broadcast Media (TV, Radio), Print Advertising (Newspapers, Magazines), and Direct Mail. The latter two methods involved putting ink on paper. By following the business formula outlined above, success through referrals was obtainable for most every printing company.

    With the growth of electronic media, it became apparent to me early on that how organizations communicated to and with their audience was going to change. While I anticipated some change within my industry, there were two factors that changed the industry at a pace that few could have predicted. One was how quickly the change occurred in electronic media, the second was the Great Recession of 2008, and how this downturn would further disrupt an unsettled marketing and communications industry.

    The transformation of Perfect has certainly provided us with some challenges that are unique to the print industry. There are few industries that have had to cope with pace of technological change coupled with a significant change in how their product was utilized. Staffing requirements, establishing credibility in a new market and using financial resources in the most effective way, while maintaining our core values, are just some of the challenges faced. These solutions have been used by many organizations, both large and small, to change the direction of their companies as well.

    Setting the Pace

    One characteristic of successfully transformed companies is how they handle disruptive technology. Rather than stay put, successful organizations take risk in making change. In 2012, Netflix decided it was at a crossroads with their business model of providing DVD and CD’s to clients on a rental basis. Realizing that this business model was doomed because of the rapid growth of cloud content from competitors such as HBO Go and Hulu, Netflix made a decision to separate their DVD and streaming customers. Additionally, Netflix felt that they would have to gain greater control “upstream” of what their customers wanted. This led to the decision to launch exclusive content with the production of shows like Arrested Development. After having lost 800,000 subscribers just prior to separating the DVD and CD business, Netflix has added back 610,000 subscribers as of January 2013 and increased revenue by 47%.

    Another characteristic that is common among companies that have transformed themselves is their ability to invest in joomla_4eloping new capabilities in order to jump to the next capabilities curve. The leaders of these organizations realize that distinctiveness in capabilities is fleeting. There was a period when investment in technology gave Perfect a huge advantage over our competitors in regards to the ability to turn a job quickly. This advantage has significantly narrowed over time as others have invested in the same technology. To minimize this loss of advantage, I focused our investments on widening our array of services to create a new advantage against our competition.

    Amazon is a company that also recognized that they would constantly need to joomla_4elop new capabilities in order for it to thrive. Amazon initially started out with the goal of being the world’s biggest store of printed books. Founder Jeff Bezos felt that the ability to offer a wider selection would set his store apart from their brick and mortar counterparts. While achieving success in this area, Bezos realized the need to diversify and grow further. Amazon did this by expanding as distributor of products far beyond books. Most recently, when Amazon realized that the massive computer power it maintained to run its sites was underutilized, it began selling cloud services to other businesses.

    Adopting the Mentality

    Lest anyone thinks that the transformation of a business model can only be utilized by medium to large businesses the principles can be applied to small businesses as well. After 9/11, an individual named Mitchell York was laid off from his job. He decided to go out on his own. Initially he purchased a Maui Wowi Hawaiian Coffees franchise . His initial business model of a mobile franchise where he would visit different events had him working long hours and dealing with the hassle of hiring a part-time untrained workforce. This created more headaches that he was not prepared for. Deciding he needed to do something different, he reinvented the company to cater to private college and corporate events. His secret to innovating his company? Always looking for new ways to be of service and value to his clients.

    Successful leaders recognize that change and transformation in any company, while at times challenging and difficult, represent opportunities to grow and become a better, more profitable organization. For those willing to embrace disruptive technologies, look for new products and services of value to their clients, and continually improve the level of service in delivering their product, the organization should increase profitability and thrive in any market.

    To learn more about NetFlix and Maui Wowi see below:

    http://www.success.com/article/comeback-companies
    http://www.success.com/article/reinventing-a-business

     

    Photo credit: www.netflix.com
     

    Joe Olivo Shares His Thoughts On the Perfect Name Change

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    Perfect Printing has been in the printing business for 35 years. What prompted you to make the change to become a full-service communications and marketing provider?

    For the last 30 years our business has grown through a combination of outside sales and referrals. However, as the role of digital communications has changed, so has the role of print. Since print is now one of several communication channels our clients use we needed to find a way to interact with our clients differently. In the early days we focused on a direct sales model that was transactional in nature. I realized that we really needed to be constantly interacting with both prospects and clients so we can connect with them on a deeper level. After some analysis, I began to see that many of our clients had the same need—to effectively reach their customers to help meet their business objectives. I understood that our clients could benefit from the same communication strategies we were using to drive our own business.

    How is what Perfect is doing different from other printers who say they are marketing service providers?

    What differentiates Perfect from other printers positioning themselves as “marketing service providers” is our focus on strategy. We want to help clients joomla_4elop the strategy that needs to be behind any good communications effort. Most printers focus solely on tools they can provide. For example, many printers say they can create personalized urls or QR codes. It is great to be able to do that, but without a comprehensive strategy uniting the tools and approaches, the effectiveness of any campaign will be limited. Just using various tools without a well-crafted strategy will not increase ROI.

    Have you added employees to provide the additional services you are offering?

    Yes, we have added new employees and expanded the responsibilities of some of our existing employees who had expertise in the marketing arena.

    Our most prominent new hire was Brian Riggs, our Vice President of Creative Strategies. Brian’s understanding of how companies can build a community around their brand is vital to the process we have created. He is really driving a lot of the strategic interaction we are having with our clients.

    Sue Rowe, our Director of Marketing, and Chris Buoni, our Vice President of Account Development, are two existing employees who are blending their knowledge of the Perfect culture with their knowledge of marketing to bring special value to our clients. Sue is bringing her background in marketing to the plans and campaigns we are joomla_4eloping. Chris is bringing his unique print experience and respect for good design to the strategic discussions we’re having with clients.   

    We anticipate adding personnel such as market analysts, researchers, content joomla_4elopers and graphic designers as we grow.

     

    Why did you decide to change the name of the company?

    The decision to change the company name was made only after significant consideration. Having the word “Printing” in our name doesn’t allow our brand to communicate all that we can do for our clients now. There is so much goodwill and brand recognition associated with “Perfect” though that I felt it was important to keep it. During the early stages of planning this new endeavor we discussed branding the communications and marketing effort as a separate entity, like an agency, with a different name. But because the principles and culture we’ve joomla_4eloped during the past 30 years would be applied to this new aspect of our business, and because our community is connected to our name, I felt that Perfect was the “perfect” fit to move forward.

    What services will Perfect offer?

    Perfect will offer clients a comprehensive solution to solve their business challenges through better communication. We are a true communications solution, with all of the necessary tools and talent available through one provider. Yes, we are providing graphic and web design, direct mail, social media, content curation and other services you’d expect from a communications partner. But what we are priding ourselves on is our ability to deliver strategic planning to implement these tools in a way that will achieve the best ROI for our clients. Our focus is on the process we have in place to help our clients create a roadmap to implement and execute their strategy. 

    As a manufacturer, what makes you believe you have the expertise to offer these additional services?

    One of my mottos is “we walk the walk.” In many ways, much of what we are offering our clients now is the same as we have been doing at Perfect, for Perfect. Our goal is to apply everything we have learned as we’ve implemented a comprehensive marketing plan for our own company to the work we are doing for our clients. 

    How long do you see this transition taking?

    I think of our evolution as perpetual. I don’t think anyone knows for sure what the marketing arena will look like five years from now. When you are transitioning your brand within an environment that is in constant transition itself, you should be prepared to embrace change on an ongoing basis. Our goal is to continue to evolve as our clients and the market dictate.

    How, if at all, will this change impact your current operations, including staff?

    This change will not impact the way we’ve been providing print services to our clients. That will continue as our customers have come to rely on and expect. I believe this transition will be a positive one for all of our employees though. As an owner, one of my goals is to provide my employees as much opportunity for professional growth as possible. Many of our employees will be exposed to new things that can enhance their professional skills and experience as we move forward. Becoming a comprehensive solution for our clients makes us a more valuable and attractive partner, and that is good for all of us at Perfect long term.  

    What are you most excited about?

    I am most excited about offering our clients a solution that I have tested and witnessed myself. What we’ve done so far has worked for Perfect. I believe it will really work for our clients too. It will help them better their organizations. One thing that drives me as an entrepreneur is finding a solution to a problem. Our strategic communication process does just that. I can’t wait to see more of our clients take advantage of it.

    How do you see this helping local and regional companies?

    While I think the communication processes and strategies we have put in place can benefit any organization, I think some of the best value we can provide is to local companies. Our leadership team has local roots, Perfect has been a successful part of the regional business environment for years, and we understand the challenges local companies face because of our similarity to them. We can help bring a local perspective to any campaign focused in the Greater Philadelphia and mid-Atlantic region.

    It’s no joke, Perfect Printing has a new name!

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    Effective April 1, Moorestown-based Perfect Printing is changing its name to Perfect to reflect the company’s new focus on providing clients comprehensive strategic communication solutions. A successful regional printing company for the past 30 years, Perfect has expanded its services to meet the demands of the changing communications landscape. Working under its tagline, We Create Communication, Perfect is now a full-service communications company with capabilities across all media—print, digital, social and broadcast.

    Perfect will provide its integrated communications services from its Moorestown headquarters, where it continues to house the high-quality printing operations its clients have come to rely on. Perfect is offering strategy Development, creative services, web Development, content management, social media campaigns, branding and other marketing capabilities. The company has added key staff and redeployed existing staff to position itself to deliver complete communication solutions.

    “In 1979, my parents Charlie and Ann installed a small printing press in the garage of our home as a way to supplement our family’s income,” said Joe Olivo, President of family-owned Perfect. “Over the last 35 years, my parents’ modest venture has turned into something far bigger. Recognizing that businesses today communicate through multiple media channels, our new mission is to help clients reach their business goals through thoughtful and well-crafted strategic communications, no matter the channel.”

    Perfect is providing its comprehensive communication services to regional businesses. Having local roots, Perfect’s leadership is intimately familiar with the challenges Philadelphia-area companies face in growing their business. “We will offer clients a comprehensive solution to solve their business challenges through better communication,” Olivo said. “We are a true communications company now, with all of the necessary tools and talent available under one roof.”
     

    List Hygiene and Direct Mail

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    There are several ways to maintain accurate lists:

    CASS Certification
    This is a process that enables the USPS to evaluate the accuracy of an address with address matching and correction software. Your mail house should have this software and run your lists through the CASS certified software. This not only improves accuracy but also qualifies the mailer for postal discounts.

    Delete Duplicates
    Duplicate records can be removed from a mail list to help bring down postage costs. Dupes can be removed at the address level (one mail piece to a single address), the individual level (one mail piece to each individual at an address), or variations of the two (one mail piece to each person with a different last name at an address, for example).

    NCOA
    The NCOA process updates a mail list with the most current address change information available to the USPS. When an individual or business moves to a new location and files a form with the USPS, that information is stored in a database which mail lists are then matched against. If a match is found the new address information is replaced with the old. It is possible also that a move has been filed but no forwarding address is available. In this case the USPS requires that record be removed from the mailing. All matches can be stored to a separate file and sent to the customer to update their database for future mailings.

    Return Service Requested

    Return Service Requested can be printed on the envelope. This marking on a mail envelope that indicates to the postal service how to handle the mail piece if it is undeliverable as addressed. The mail piece is returned to the sender with the new address or the reason for non-delivery and their database can be updated.

    Invite customers to update their information
    Customers can be encouraged to provide updates by including an option on reply joomla_4ices for change of address.

    Questions on mailing or mail lists? Please contact Joe Monchek at jmonchek@perfectprinting.com.
     

    Direct Marketing Best Practices Revisited – Part 2

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    The great thing about the rule is that it has withstood the test of time. The rule however is facing its greatest challenge since being created by Mayer in the 1960’s. The emergence of the social economy has changed the way we receive and process information. We are literally assaulted with tens of thousands of messages daily. Without powerful creative, will your message have a chance of being noticed, regardless of your data? And if your message isn't noticed, how will your offer being received?

    I asked two industry veterans for their response to the question “do you think the rule of 40-40-20 still applies today or has creative grown in importance?” Their answers were interesting:

    Brian Courtney, Freelance Copywriter:
    “I think that creative has grown in importance because attention spans are shorter and there are more messages competing for that reduced attention time. We no longer have the luxury of a "gestational period" where the recipient will read the direct mail, then mull the concept until they have that light bulb "ah ha!" moment of understanding. If the creative is too abstract or obtuse, it will be immediately passed over. Today's concepts must yield instant recognition and message delivery – and yet still be creative. That's hard to do and it's the reason why so many otherwise good offers fail.”

    Allan Espiritu, Designer:
    “30-30-40 is more like it! As consumers, we are bombarded with a constant flow of information and media. The aesthetic design and execution, speaks loudly in a sea of flashing visuals and messages. More than ever, design plays an important role in getting your message to your audience. But only good design does that. You need creative work that thinks outside the box—design the re-contextualizes and reimages how to use traditional and foundational design elements. Consumers are smarter and are always constant motion, so only visuals that impress, challenge, or even slow them down will get their attention.”

    From my viewpoint as a marketer, while the platforms available to target customers have grown dramatically over the last decade, these advancements have simply changed the way we target, the way we make offers and the way we design our creative. We still must go after a clearly defined target with a compelling offer that is presented in a precise, accurate and timely manner. I know some of my peers would disagree and argue that the 40/40/20 rule was created when direct marketing was a primary means of reaching customers and there was not all this other “noise” competing for consumer’s attention. While this is true, I would challenge them that even with today’s integrated campaigns, data (list) can make or break a campaign and messaging (offer) must be compelling. The creative component is the piece that takes on more weight in order to cut through the clutter. But it’s not a question of either/or. The percentages may vary from the original intent of the rule but all three all important to be successful.

    The topic will continue to be debated as technologies and platforms continue to evolve and emerge. What is your perspective?  Email me at srowe@perfectprinting.com.