Tag: Direct Mail

With the ease and popularity of electronic marketing on the rise, there has never been a better time to take a new look at direct marketing. But to cut through the overload of promotional material, catalogues, brochures and free samples that we are bombarded with everyday, you need to get a little creative, so here are five steps to keep you on track...

After reading Matthew De Silva's post yesteday on last month’s Media 2010 conference, I spent the evening thinking about the challenges facing old media. As I pondered, I was struck by a radical (yet logical) series of thoughts, leading to the following question. Could small business owners soon become the new media barons? Let me explain.

On 2 February, Anthill Magazine and Mumbrella co-hosted "Online Marketing by Design", a panel event held at the Shelbourne Hotel in Sydney. An extension of the successful event held in Melbourne late last year, the Sydney event sold out quickly and the room was brimming with both people and ideas about marketing in the rapidly evolving digital age.

The complex and expensive world of professional marketing is an outsourced expertise that is mostly out of bounds to startups and SMEs. While many resources are available to the small business owner, it can also often come down to having the time to research and follow up on new ideas. This is where a novel product from Australian-based marketing company ChildsPlay Marketing can come in handy.

I am bombarded daily by email, direct mail and print advertisements that are all promising to reveal the secrets of… well just about everything. ‘Zero budget marketing secrets’; ‘Free media exposure secrets’; ‘Sales secrets for those that hate cold calling’: the list goes on. They’re dragging us all down.

As a bootstrapping entrepreneur, I have very little patience for marketing campaigns that can't give me a definable and measurable result, which is why, I thought it might be helpful to write a post about how we, at Anthill, and I have personally used Twitter over the past 12-months for business related purposes. Let me start with a confession.

As a bootstrapping entrepreneur, I have very little patience for marketing campaigns that can't give me a definable and measurable result, which is why, I thought it might be helpful to write a post about how we, at Anthill, and I have personally used Twitter over the past 12-months for business related purposes. Let me start with a confession.

Clearly, iSnack 2.0 and Westpac's banana smoothies left a strange taste in your mouth, while Mars and the Liberal Party delivered a wrong'un with their spin. Readers who don't take the world too seriously agreed with our pre-emptive request (to not take the report too seriously), while Virgin's black email generated enough annoyance to equal the sinking of Storm. Jackson Jive shimmied in to score your number eight vote, while the social media attempts of the big brands to attract your clicks failed to inspire you (once again). The Myer float scored the least votes at number 10 (perhaps due to the number of people who now own their own special parcel of this prestigious accolade).

Clearly, iSnack 2.0 and Westpac's banana smoothies left a strange taste in your mouth, while Mars and the Liberal Party delivered a wrong'un with their spin. Readers who don't take the world too seriously agreed with our pre-emptive request (to not take the report too seriously), while Virgin's black email generated enough annoyance to equal the sinking of Storm. Jackson Jive shimmied in to score your number eight vote, while the social media attempts of the big brands to attract your clicks failed to inspire you (once again). The Myer float scored the least votes at number 10 (perhaps due to the number of people who now own their own special parcel of this prestigious accolade).

If you are serious about growing your business through online marketing, Anthill is pleased to announce that it has extended the run of its...

If you are serious about growing your business through online marketing, Anthill is pleased to announce that it has extended the run of its...

If you are serious about growing your business through online marketing, Anthill is pleased to announce that it has extended the run of its sell-out event series, Online Marketing by Design, to include Sydney. This event is a must for any growing business with a desire to improve the performance of its web marketing and gain a firm understanding of social media tools for business.

Two weeks ago, we asked our readers to help us assemble our annual Dumb Report, a selection of Australian goofs, gaffs and groaners from...

Two weeks ago, we asked our readers to help us assemble our annual Dumb Report, a selection of Australian goofs, gaffs and groaners from...

We all now realise that it's not what you say about your product or company that matters. It's what your customers say. Marketers and business owners can no longer control their message by sheer volume of advertising. We also now understand that a quality idea, concept, tool, product or service can receive unprecedented exposure, at little or no marketing cost, if its owners understand the value of making it possible for others to share it.

We all now realise that it's not what you say about your product or company that matters. It's what your customers say. Marketers and business owners can no longer control their message by sheer volume of advertising. We also now understand that a quality idea, concept, tool, product or service can receive unprecedented exposure, at little or no marketing cost, if its owners understand the value of making it possible for others to share it.

Effective marketing design requires more than just technical knowledge and an eye for what is beautiful or attractive. How a design can effectively engage the mind and influence human behaviour is far more important than simple aesthetics.

When handed lemons, this is one organisation that clearly knows how to make lemonade (perhaps with a dash of rum, a sprinkling of mint and a Virgin branded miniature umbrella). This does make me wonder, as veterans of email direct marketing, could Virgin have known about this possible outcome? To make such a big faux pas on Friday the 13th was an awfully convenient.Could Virgin be pioneering a new technique - the strategic marketing mistake?

Email marketing can be tough. Your strategy and execution doesn't have to be that bad for it to shut down communication with customers. Here's how...

I offered to provide updates on what has ‘worked’ (and what hasn’t) in terms of technology, marketing fundamentals and, most importantly, the campaign's viral effectiveness (i.e. it's ability to self-perpetuate). So, what viral benefits has this item of social media marketing achieved so far? Hmmm... well... without beating around the bush... the simple answer is... Almost none.