Going half the distance

I'm surprised when I get an email for an event from a retailer that announces some new store opening, a new product, or even an open house that contains a casual email, lots of images attached, and sent from an aol account. I'm surprised because it's so half way. The business realizes they can connect with a larger audience by sending out this announcement, but they don't have a website, a blog, an online store, or anything else that would support their marketing. And worse, an aol account that comes from a personal email, not the business itself. For those that don't want to engage in all that the internet has to offer, I say, to bad. That's a missed opportunity. But if you're going to go that route, why not send out something more traditional? There are so many incredible paper and invitation companies out there. From custom invitations to those that you can by at a store like Paper Source, think about the impact you may make with a direct mail piece. With any luck they may just keep that invite instead of getting annoyed by the large files you sent and putting it all in the trash.

First you're a business.

I recently was on an about section of a website. They titled it ABOUT THE BRAND. Wow. They're calling themselves a brand. The thing is, you're a company first. You're people. A brand is made up of so many things. It's a feeling. An experience. And to call yourself a brand on your own website is a disservice. It speaks that you're marketing first. Putting the experience second. In the age of being hit from every direction with some sort of marketing, I think we need to give our clients more credit.