September 25, 2009

Have a pleasent day

Ever feel like you're getting a new present when you're really just enjoying something you already owned? That's what it feels like when I pick up my shirts from my dry cleaners.

My whole life I was used to getting my clean clothing back on a hanger. A hanger! Can you believe it? How passé.

Now my shirt comes nicely folded, buttoned, wrapped and I even get those cardboard inserts to make everything stay put. But most importantly, I get a personal greeting from the dry cleaning management:

"Have a pleasent day."

Yes, you read it right the first time. Pleasent. Not pleasant.

We've all seen some funny misspelled words. This probably isn't very high on my list of "all time bests". But it's more annoying than most precisely because it's such a small, silly mistake that could have been solved by 10 seconds of investigative research.

The funny signs we see are the result of sheer stupidity and ignorance. But this misspelled word comes from an otherwise smart company. They offer a great service, have good prices, are centrally located, and get me my clothes back quickly and squeaky clean. And that's why it's so frustrating to see this blunder.

They should have known better than to print a million of these things without running spell check first.

Normally something small like this is enough to deter me from going back to a store. Any slight whiff of a lack of professionalism and I'm gone. I'm crazy like that.

But despite being annoyed, I still bring my clothes here. Turns out that bad/stupid/silly marketing material doesn't always affect consumer decision. Sometimes companies have enough good things going for them that we can overlook the mistakes. This is one of those cases.

What do you think?

September 23, 2009

Biblical Marketing

How good is the Bible at marketing? What can this holy book teach us about the art of selling? Well, judging from the book sales it has certainly done a pretty good job of marketing itself. But what about its ability to sell other products?

Here's a product I came across last night at a local supermarket. Ezekiel 4:9 Organic Sprouted 100% Whole Grain Flour-less Almond Cereal, made by Food For Life Baking Company. Got all that?
Now I haven't actually tried the product. But I'm still curious: is this a good marketing effort from Food For Life?

I think so.

Here was the reaction of the person I was with upon seeing this: "Just because of the name I wouldn't buy this." Is this how you would react? I disagreed. I personally think the name is interesting, enticing, out of the ordinary and a pretty good selling point. It also plays to the subconscious of a Bible following individual. Irrational as it may be, there is a feeling that one is doing what the Lord wants by eating this cereal.

And for the many people out there looking to live in line with the Bible in a more literal manner, this may be another avenue for their self-expression. But if we're gonna be literal, let's just read the rest of the verse. You know what it says? It tells you how long Ezekiel had to eat this stuff for. No not one...not 10...but 390 days! Chew on that!

What do you think? Good marketing or bad?

(By the way, the New York Times Magazine rated this product 4 out of 4 in their cereal taste test.)

September 17, 2009

Please interact with me

Most promotional or marketing emails bore me. Maybe it's just me. Mabe it's because all it takes is a click to get it out of my face. Or because I'm old-fashioned and want something physical in my hands.

Think about this word: interaction. How often do you get emails that really connect to you? That stimulate you? For me, the answer is 'rarely'. Even the well-designed fundraising appeals with really emotional graphics and killer copy usually don't do it for me. That same appeal in snail mail form might work. But in email, it loses its edge.

So here's a breath of fresh air for you marketers out there. I got this email from MASA the other day, and quite frankly, I really like it. If you haven't heard of them, MASA is known as "The Gateway to Long Term Israel Programs," as they call themselves.

The email starts with their logo and catch phrase at the top. Clear and catchy. Then it asks us a question: "In this new year, what are you hoping for? A Challenge? Adventure? Romance?" Great so far. They've captured my interest. I want to know more.

But it gets better. Now they offer me a chance to interact with them: "Take the Rosh Hashana Quiz below to find your perfect match!" Amazing. I can interact with the email itself without having to click on a link first! It's only after I've already done this that I need to click on a link. It also doesn't hurt that the content of the quiz is witty and original. And then they follow it all up by capturing my contact information, and again, all in the original email.

I'm loving it. PLUS, there is the prominent Happy New Years wish (with cool logo), the succint 3 sentence description of who MASA is, 'send the quiz to a friend' button, 'connect on facebook' icon, and 'follow us on twitter' link. Talk about interaction!

Thank you MASA for renewing my faith in the potential of email marketing. Everybody else, take notes.

September 14, 2009

Friendship marketing

I spent most of yesterday at the 2nd international Jewish Bloggers Convention here in Jerusalem. Overall it was pretty good. Informative, entertaining and good networking opportunities. And the onion quiche at the dinner buffet was just fabulous. One of the workshops I went to dealt with blog content - what to write about and what to avoid in order to interest readers.

In his own words, the main point was, "Don't write about what you ate for breakfast."

Generally, I would agree. But with one small caveat:

Lunch is a whole different story. Breakfast can be boring, generic and often non-existent. Lunch is totally where it's at.

So with no further ado, this is what I eat for lunch most days.
A sandwich with hummus (the best), avocado, sprouts, spinach and peppers on a foccacia roll from Teller Bakery (74 Agripas Street, Jerusalem). It has the perfect consistency, the right blend of flavors, and it's pretty darn healthy - aside from the potential salmonella threat of the sprouts. But that's a risk I have to take.

Now. The question you are all asking yourselves: Why should I care what Oren Kaufman eats for lunch?

It all boils down to what I'll call 'friendship marketing'.

When you communicate with donors, you are trying to develop a personal connection with them. Something that tells them, "Hey, I'm real. I'm not a stranger. I know you. We're friends. Friends help each other. We're in a tough spot right now and we need your help. Can you lend a hand?"
In order to do that, you can't sound like a coorporation. You have to sound human. When you write a direct mail letter, use less "we" and more "you". Because that's what people do. They relate to others, they're curious about others. People don't want to be friends with self-centered jerks. And nothing says self-centered jerk like the word "we".

Posting about my lunch habits is a good way for people to get to know a little something about who I am. It makes me real. There is a man behind the blog. A pen behind the ink.

It's a good way to illustrate the necessity of keeping it personal.

September 10, 2009

"Inspire me" marketing

Football season is right around the corner. And you know what that means: It's almost Rosh Hashana! And of course, my yahoo inbox is seeing a good share of Rosh Hashana greetings. Amidst the well-wishes, two emails that I got seemed eerily similar to one another - yet significantly different.

On Tuesday, I got an inspirational video greeting from Aish HaTorah and then another one from my alma mater on Wednesday. Here are the links:



Which was more engaging and inspirational for you?
Normally I wouldn't compare these two videos. One is from THE Jewish outreach organization, the other from THE Jewish University. Presumably they are reaching out to different audiences and trying to acheive different goals. What's to compare?

Plenty. Firstly because they arrived in my mailbox one after the other on subsequent days. In my mind, the second email felt like a response to the first (no conspiracy theory here, but I have my suspicions). But more importantly, I'll compare them because the structure was the exact same for both of them. As was some of the content. That tells me that on some level, both organizations are trying to acheive the same thing here.

They both have the generic but inspirational New Age / Contemporary / Jim Brickman-esque piano music thing going on. That's a must. And they both have the obligatory-inspirational-sentence-fragments (OISF for short). Plus the uplifting pictures in the background. The 3 amigos (music/words/pictures) of the genre.

But in my mind, one of them does a far better job of engaging the viewer. It provokes us to think about the big issues by asking us questions that we know are important but rarely stop to ponder. It provides us with a picture of a potentially better future - along with concrete steps to acheive that goal. There is a call to action. Something to do with the inspiration after the video is over.

The other one throws random OISF's at us and hopes we will somehow be inspired (to do what exactly?). There is no structure. No cohesiveness. No prodding our curiosity.

I still think they are both effective on some level. But one of them had a far greater impact on me than the other. Can you figure out which one yet? If you haven't, watch them both and decide for yourself. Am I totally wrong?

September 7, 2009

Non profit never tasted this good

Last night I ate at a great restaurant in Tel Aviv. Lilit is the name. I had Atlantic Cod with portobello mushrooms in a pumpkin sauce as my starter, and the grilled entrecote steak for the main course. Both were phenomenal. In fact, Lilit has a reputation as one of the better
restaurants in Israel, and certainly as one of the best kosher restaurants out there.
I know what you're thinking. This sounds like the start of a very unsophisticated restaurant review. One which concludes like this: good food, I'd eat there again. Which is true, I would. But this is a blog about marketing, not succulent cuts of meat.

And Lilit, after all, is much more than just a restaurant. Non profits take note: Lilit is an example of social entrepreneurship at it's best. Here's their story:

Partnering with 'Elem', the Israeli organization for Youth In Distress in Israel, Lilit offers vocational training to at-risk youth in a therapeutic, supportive environment.
The teens undergo training, with the objective of later integrating them into the restaurant industry. They receive both theoretical and hands-on instruction in cooking, baking, waiting tables and bartendering. Fifty-four teens have succesfully completed this program.

On its own, Elem is a wonderful organization. They do good work, and help children that others ignore or assume will never amount to anything. But the merger with Lilit takes them to another level. It's ingenious in many ways.

1) Great publicity for Lilit. It doesn't hurt that the food is amazing. But this partnership makes Lilit unique. They were the first restaurant in all of Israel to do this. Many people now have heard of them simply beacuse of the good work they do. And a good number of socially conscious people will go out of their way to eat there to support their work.

2) Great publicity for Elem. On the flip side of things, the excellent food has an attraction in and of itself. People come for the food, but then hear about Elem. When I sat down at the table, there was an elegant card next to the place setting explaining the Lilit/Elem partnership. BAM! That's one more potential donor to Elem.

Ok, so it's a good publicity stunt, yes. But it's more than just that.
3) "Give a man a fish, he eats for a day. Teach a man to fish, he eats for a lifetime." Lilit is the perfect expression of the ultimate level of charitable work. Helping people help themselves as opposed to furthering people's dependencies (though often times necessary).

4) It's a unique example of a successful merger between the non profit world and the business sector. And neither side has to compromise on their principles. Lilit runs a successful business (judging from the full house last night) with professional employees and Elem gets to train youth in a serious, hard-working environment.

Normally the words "non profit" and "business sector" do nothing but stir up a little bit of cognitive dissonance in our minds.

But why should they? Why should we seperate these two worlds from each other? They're just two sides of life that we usually don't see operating in tandem. Bringing them together can unify a needlessly conflicting universe.

Lilit and Elem show us the mutually beneficial results that are possible from a merger between these two worlds. And beyond the particulars of this type of merger, they have taught us the power of teamwork, the wonders of creativity, and the limitless potential of human nature.

All it took was a little imagination and some pumpkin sauce.