By Hillary Kelbick
Running a promotion in today’s super-saturated media environment can be a tough challenge. It’s like trying to have a conversation in the middle of a big, loud party:
The room is packed. The action has spilled out onto the street (or onto the web). And noise is deafening.
Which means you’ve got to amp up your volume accordingly, or you’ll never get your message across! Here are a few suggestions that can help you get noticed in our distracted world.
- Use quick-hit headlines.
When it comes to headlines, big and impactful is better than long and thoughtful. Consider using language in unexpected or provocative ways, like the promotion Burke & Herbert Bank recently ran.
Keep your copy brief and tantalizing, then provide a link or direct readers to a dedicated webpage that gives customers everything they need to know.
- Choose a hero-worthy offer.
If you’re going to make an offer the “hero,” make it good enough to stop people in their tracks. For example, create a sweepstakes that gives away something unusual and memorable as a grand prize, then build your promotion imagery around it. Or if you prefer a cash incentive, choose a larger sum (and a correspondingly larger commitment from prospects) rather than a small cash reward that lots of people could qualify for. $250 gets everybody’s attention. $25 doesn’t.
- Use every microphone you’ve got.
From advertising and statement inserts to branch signage and social media, you’ve got to make sure everybody’s singing the same song. Figure out ways to be more intrusive as well, with handouts and giveaways in branches and outreach into your neighborhoods.
- Add direct mail to the mix.
Despite predictions of its impending demise, direct mail has much greater impact than emails or banner ads in today’s mile-a-minute world. Just make sure your offer really stands out in the mailbox.
- Use envelopes in unconventional sizes.
- Keep the colors bright and the images arresting.
- Above all, control your message flow with a clear headline hierarchy and a sidebar or other device to convey key points.
Assume you’ve got no more than five seconds to catch a prospect’s interest before your direct mail hits the trash bin—will your offer survive the 5-second rule? If so, you may have a winner.
Of course, we recognize that our readers are in the banking industry, and bank brands tend to be a little more restrained than the Go-Daddies of the world. But you still have plenty of ways to get your promotions noticed.
Hillary Kelbick is president and CEO of MKP communications inc., a New York based agency specializing in financial services marketing and merger communications. Email: [email protected].
