When you spend money on marketing activities, your goal is to gain someone’s attention. You want to share information about a new product or service. Whatever the tactic, you are communicating about the problem that you can solve. But how can you stand out from the crowd and get noticed?
Upon my return from vacation, I had three week’s worth of mail. Magazines, letters, bills and many marketing postcards from everyone selling windows, widgets or water delivery piled up on our kitchen table.
But one message stood out because it was simple, looked different and wasn’t created by a marketing agency.
A young neighbor created a flyer to promote her dog walking business. It wasn’t sophisticated, or graphically beautiful – but it caught my eye. It stood out among hundreds of companies trying to grab my attention. Now, I don’t have a dog, so her targeting was off, but she did get my attention and get noticed.
Seven Ways to Get Attention
Brands that market to consumers or businesses must get under the radar. If you want me to find you in a crowded market, how will you succeed?
- Be original. Don’t do what everyone else does in that channel. Think like a child marketing a dog walking service with a hand-written flyer. Don’t look or feel or sound like everyone else trying to gain attention or your message will be ignored.
- Fit your brand. Your marketing message may be well written, but if you don’t get my attention, I’ll never read it. Is there something about your brand or solution that could be leveraged to tell a story in a novel way? For example, I once created a pack of branded gum that looked like Nicotine gum and the message was to help you break your Excel® habit. The company sells Business Intelligence technology services, but our pack of gum was different but aligned with our key messaging. Our message wasn’t a brochure like everyone else’s but a novel format (gum package) to deliver our theme about breaking your habit.
- Form matters. This flyer stood out because it looked like (and was) created on children’s drawing paper, not firm and stiff cardboard. Now you couldn’t mail this flyer, it was hand-delivered into my mailbox, but the tactile message could still have come in an envelope if mass mailed. Think beyond the words, design, and what will it feel like when held and what message is told through touch?
- We notice broken patterns. Every preprinted piece of marketing mail looked similar. Nothing stood out except this dog walker flyer. She broke a pattern of expectation.
- Simple. The dog walking business wasn’t trying to build a lifestyle brand selling hats and t-shirts. It was a simple message about selling a service. There wasn’t any wasted communication. The message got right to the point and I could even conveniently text her to get more information.
- Fun sells. When I picked up the flyer, I smiled. It made me feel something. I was enjoying the fun that this child must have felt creating her business flyer. It made a connection with me on an emotional level that the other pieces failed to do.
- Keep challenging yourself. Go from the obvious – a postcard to the ridiculous, a handwritten note. When the world is zigging, it is time to zag. But zag with purpose and intention.
If you are planning to communicate with an audience, what is the ordinary route and approach? Think about it and then find a way that is novel and unexpected.
We notice things when patterns get ripped into pieces.
Need someone to walk your dog? I can hook you up with the right person. But if you need help with marketing challenges, you can set up a time to chat with me about your marketing challenges using my calendar.
Email me jeffslater@themarketingsage.com Call me. 919 720 0995. The conversation is free and we can explore if working together makes sense. Try my new chat feature on my site if you have a quick question.
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