You've perhaps seen this French flower promotion on Acres Online or on Facebook, “Hello madame, which is your preferred flower?”  It worked getting my attention! Yet that is so rare in today's advertising climate. 

Everywhere we go, everywhere we look, we are inundated with messages.  Advertisements telling us what to wear, what to eat, even what to drive.  But with today's savvy consumers, being bombarded with ads is annoying, and in fact often drowns brand loyalty. 

According to a poll from the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Council and InfoPrint Solutions Company, 41% of consumers say they would consider ending a brand relationship due to irrelevant promotions, and another 22% say they would definitely defect from the brand for that reason.

Consumers have gotten ridiculously good at filtering things out. Think about it, how many ads do you stop and read in any given magazine or newspaper? How many pieces of direct mail do you read or respond to? Advertisers are resort to drastic measures to get people's attention again in print media.  But, does it work?

Nearly three quarters of consumers have received promotions for products they have previously purchased from the company. Only 6% of consumers said the loyalty program mail they received was well targeted and 46% of those surveyed said they unsubscribe to e-mail promotions because they are not relevant to their needs.

Perception of promotional mail is high, with more than 64% of consumers reporting that they receive e-mail promotions and “junk mail” more frequently than any other type of mail. Forty-one percent said they open promotional e-mail, while 23% said they open junk mail.

Direct mail was preferred slightly over e-mail according to the survey. Fifty-one percent of consumers said that they prefer traditional mail while 44% prefer e-mail.

A few tips to create an effective campaign:

• Approach every advertising and marketing campaign with the question, "How will I know if this works?" so you can measure when your expenditure is worth your while.

• Another question to ask yourself is, "What's the point of this?" 

• Make sure your marketing is lovable. The last thing you should be doing is grinding someone's gears.

How much do you still rely on print media? Let us know. Looking to increase your business using social media, download our whitepaper here: