Up Market |
- Thou Shalt Not Fall In Love With Thy Brochure
- When You (Should) Chase Shiny Objects
- Top 10: Upmarket Articles for June 2012
| Thou Shalt Not Fall In Love With Thy Brochure Posted: 03 Jul 2012 08:00 AM PDT This is a short story of what happens when you fall in love with your own marketing materials, and forget your audience in the process. Don't let it happen to you! Last weekend I was having lunch with a friend on the South Bank in London. There are always events and markets happening there and on this particular Saturday there was a stage with people break dancing. The stage, surrounding banners and people handing out brochures were to there to promote the city of Lyon in France. After lunch we wandered by and were offered a brochure. It was heavy and quite bulky for our handbags, so initially we refused. However, I really enjoyed David Ogilvy's work on transforming tourism for countries, and was curious to see how marketing companies are doing it today. (I also had an hour train ride and figured it would be good to read.) First impressionsThis brochure was beautiful. Matte black finish on the front enveloping glossy letters that jumped out of the front page, which read "LOVELY" — the "LY" in red to emphasise Lyon, no doubt. Below in smaller writing was written "Only Lyon," which is the campaign launched this year to promote the city. Ooh — I was ready to sink my teeth into this sleek bad boy! When production love turns into consumer frustrationFirst, let me summarize the concept of this brochure. There are 33 double page spreads of glossy photos, featuring in total 103 people. Each photo is supposed to be taken at a different time throughout a weekend to show what a "weekend in Lyon" might look like. "103 people, 33 moments, 3 days…" I like the idea, but the execution doesn't work. Instead, it's 33 random shots of people you don't know doing obscure things without an explanation. The most frustrating thing is how flippin' gorgeous it is! This brochure was not cheap. The design is immaculate, and I don't doubt that a lot of people worked hard and had a lot of fun putting it together. If I close my eyes, cock my head and hold a conch to my ear I can almost hear the oohs, ahs and excited gasps as the first one rolled out, still warm from the printer. Unfortunately, it tells me bugger all about Lyon. Don't assume your customer loves what you doA lot of love and care has gone into producing this brochure, but it misses the mark because it assumes that the audience feels the same way as the creators do. If that was the case, there'd be no need for the brochure. The campaign to promote Lyon will be an educational one. It's trying to attract new tourists, businesses and students who may never have considered the city before. One of the biggest mistakes this brochure did was to feature a whole heap of famous and renowned Lyon personalities… without telling the reader who they were. It wasn't until I studied the brochure to write about it that I realised the people in the brochure were famous and renowned. The pictures are no doubt related to the areas of expertise of the famous people, but without knowing who they are, the collection of photos just seems like a random showcase of a photographer's portfolio. There is no hook for me, as someone new to Lyon, to be interested. Minimal copy, zero storyMy biggest frustration was the lack of copy. I can already hear: “No, we want it minimal, the photos will tell a story, people don't read long copy, it has to be eye-catching, not boring text…” As a result, there is a huge amount of wasted space that could have been better spent on telling a compelling story about Lyon and why people should visit, study and invest there. Once you've flicked through 10-15 pages of apparent random photography (with another 15 or so pages to go), you lose interest. And I was stuck on the train for 60 minutes — where the marketers could have really captured my attention. Even though the creators wanted to show a narrative of what could happen in Lyon over a weekend, there's no continuity of the narrative between photos. Sticking a chronological time and day to order the photos isn't enough. On a side note, within the brochure — and I only found this because I was studying it for this post — I did find a 2 page insert which told me more about the benefits of visiting Lyon than I’d seen in the entire brochure. It wasn't brilliant, but it did include benefits, calls to action and an actual explanation of what the heck it was all about. So what could they have done? Capture my attention and tell me all about LyonI liked how the brochure’s photography was playful, and this could have been an excellent complement to longer copy which told an engaging story. The creators could have focused on 10 or so famous people, sights and events — rather than an overwhelming 33 — and covered them in more depth so that I really felt I was getting to know this city. Let me know how Lyon developed a reputation as the capital of gastronomy in France, give me some ideas of restaurants I must visit. Have they been featured in any papers, film or TV that I'd know about? Tell me what it's like to walk through a bustling high street, or to visit the vineyards of Beaujolais as the sun sets. What happens at the water's edge of the River's Rhone and Saone? Are there events, attractions, monuments? Tell me about the festival of lights in December and what I can expect from being part of the excited crowds, if I choose to visit at that time. Tell me how to get there! The friend I was lunching with didn't even know it was in France… Ultimately, don't assume I know anything about Lyon — least of all why I should go there. Show me, convince, me, pull me in, get me engaged, and give me the proof I need to want to be a tourist in Lyon, study in Lyon or take my business there. What you can doRemember: When you're writing a brochure or marketing your business, you can grow to love it too much. I feel that this brochure was created in an insulated environment, without objective feedback that said "I don't get it…" or "who are these people?" Lyon can probably afford to spend a lot of money on a brochure that doesn't sell the benefits, but as a business owner, you don't have that luxury. If in doubt, find someone who would be your ideal customer and show them your content. If they want to find out more or buy from you, you're on the right track. If they don't get it? You've got some work to do.  |
| When You (Should) Chase Shiny Objects Posted: 03 Jul 2012 05:00 AM PDT We're all prone to chase shiny objects. It's natural for many of us to constantly shift and pivot to the next thing. So is it healthy? Should it be encouraged? Most would say no. The downfall of incessantly chasing shiny objects is that we never make something really great because we don't spend long enough developing it. This can and does happen often. On the flip side, chasing shiny objects can benefit your business if done with extreme focus and intention — against a bigger picture. Case In PointBusiness Development: The world around us changes too often for us to ignore shiny objects altogether — especially ones that might accelerate our business. This doesn't mean that every prospect is hunted down and basic needs are ignored. But it does mean that you should take off your blinders, and pay close attention to trends and coordinates that will provide a competitive advantage for what you do. Customer Engagement: Listen, learn and activate. The shiny object here is to continuously evolve with your customers. Don't build and sit back. Chances are, it won't take long before someone else with more engaging customer service techniques will steal your customer. Constantly explore how you can connect more creatively. Obsessing About Product Iterations: Chasing shiny objects in product-speak can actually improve performance – and help you scale more thoughtfully. Failing to chase the next big thing might actually put your product efforts in stall-mode, quickly categorizing your business (externally) as not being innovative. Let's be honest: Would there be tablet devices, Siri, or Google Glasses if someone weren't chasing shiny objects? Get your chase on. Photo Credit: Bad Idea T-Shirts  |
| Top 10: Upmarket Articles for June 2012 Posted: 03 Jul 2012 02:00 AM PDT It’s that time again — we’ve collected our most-viewed articles from all of June. This list is a great mix of branding, social media, professional motivation, coping with criticism, leadership, marketing, problem-solving — and a few great productivity app reviews, for good measure! Take a look, and tell us what you think…
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