Outrageous Marketing is not so Outrageous

Posted by WY on August 14, 2008

Do you know you are bombarded with an average 3700 advertising message very hour?

Baloney?

Surely you don’t think head of GE thought the refrigerator door looks too plain and thought to jazz it up with the awe-inspiring GE logo and hey isn’t it a coincidence that the logo is perfectly viewable at eye-level?

And do you know Pentene is created specifically to help remove buildup while leaving hair with shine. Yes, it is true because it says right there while I am taking a shower this morning.

But the point is, with so many advertising messages, people are bored, overwhelmed, and just generally want to be amused. Which brings me to the next message…

Outrageous is not so Outrageous if customer gets the message.

Couple of months back, Jan Drake, an insurance agent from Bethpage, NY sent a direct mail to her customers stuffed in a baby bottle.

It cost her $176 dollars to mail the bottles to 46 leads and it gained a whopping $24,000 of ROI (Return on Investment).

Of course, what she wrote in her direct mail plays a big part in getting the sale. But she wouldn’t have gotten the sale if her customers weren’t intrigued by the baby bottle found in their mail box and actually spend the time reading what she wrote.

I mean, let’s be honest, how many times have we thrown away junk mail without bothering to open it.

And Jan, brilliant woman that she is, thought of an exceptionally great idea to blow away her competition.

And from what I learn, Operation Baby Bottle was just a small piece of her overall marketing campaign. We could all learn from her.

Disclaimer: I have never spoken to Jan but nor gain any financial rewards for mentioning her.