Direct Marketing - what’s the point of the creative work?
John GriffithsPlanning Above and Beyond
Bucharest Sept 8th
The application of behavioural economics to DM
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creativity and strategy
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Why?
Recession – double dip? Pressure on prices - budgets Low barriers to bad practice – Focus on channels and message
delivery NOT content, effective engagement
SO Response suffers
What is creativity for?
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Creativity is not the primary driver of response
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Direct Marketing is NOT an Ad in an envelope!
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Which gives you better response?
Send great creative to the wrong target group
OR
Send terrible creative to the right target group
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Contribution to response
Targeting40%
Offer25%
Creative20%
Tactical15%
Source: Direct Marketing Association
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Intrigue
Black envelope Heavier paper, Official crest
Actually an invitation to spend moneyAnnual conference £400Dinner £3000 per table
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This invitation is going to cost me money!
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What is the creative strategy?
Makes me curious Make me think this invitation is
Unusual Exclusive Limited
Confuses my price perceptions Engages me so I think about attending
even if I am a regular attender non attender lapsed attender
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Les Binet – how advertising works
Review of IPA effectiveness winners since 1980
Which are more effective: emotional or rational campaigns?
16%
26%
31%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
Emotional Combined Rational
Campaign strategy
V l
arg
e p
rofi
t g
ain
s (
% r
ep
ort
ing
)
Effective ads work via emotions, not messages.
Source: Les Binet 2009
39%
28%26%
16%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
Fame Emotionalinvolvement
Combined emotional& rational
Any rational
Communications strategy
Ve
ry l
arg
e p
rofi
t g
ain
s (
% r
ep
ort
ing
)Rational messages are LESS powerful
Effective ads create ripples of influence throughout society.
Source: Les Binet 2009
The most profitable advertisingmakes me less price sensitive
20%21%
26%
37%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
Price sensitivity Share growth Share defence Sales growth
Campaign objective
V l
arg
e p
rofi
t g
ain
s (
% r
ep
ort
ing
)
Effective ads “tilt the demand curve”.
Source: Les Binet 2009
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The way the Marketing Societyevent creative works is..
NOT to get me to respond
NOT to sell the benefitsof the conference
To make me feel it isA privilege to go
The price is irrelevant!
Targeting task I am already a
Marketing Societymember
Creative task Make me feel
differentlyabout attending
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How marketing thinking is changing
Neuroscience Emotion
MemoryDecisionmaking
Herd theory
Behaviouraleconomics
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Sometimes.. We want people to think
We want people to think – for example brand switching
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Sometimes .. We don’t
Sometimes we don’t want them to think – for example renewal
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We DO want them to gothrough a process
The creative strategy designs that decision process
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Where creativity can make a difference
Reposition the brandRestructure the decisionPrevent change
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Neuroscience
focus on brain activity NOT unproven models of how we make decisions
Do you have evidence that the mental models you use actually work?
Human
Mammal
Reptile
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Emotion
Driven mostly by the mammal brain The essential component for decision
making
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Memory
Is always a copy of the decision not a unique, permanent original record
Changes every time memory is used –dynamic
If customers have bad experiences – we can modify the memory
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Herd theory: what everyone else is doing
We are influenced by other people 9 out of 10 owners say their cats
prefer.. We imitate gestures We like the idea of sharing taste
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Behavioural economics we’re not rational We don’t have the time to
consider all the alternatives We post rationalise our
decision – so give a different reason
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Heuristics
Heuristics are quick general rules not logic which help people to make choices Decoys Anchoring Mandated choice
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The decoy: how to assist choice
If you put a similar offer close to the offer you want to push – and make that offer unattractive – you massively increase the response
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3 way offer
Source Don Ariely
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2 way offer
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3 way offer
Source Don Ariely
16
84
0
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2 way offer
68
32
Source Don Ariely
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Anchoring
The brain relies too heavily, or "anchors," on one trait or piece of information when making decisions.
When making the decision the mind can’t discount the anchor
Put in a higher priced product thatno one buys – allows you to pricethe medium product higher – thisincreases sales to the medium price
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Irish post office
RMG TargetDublin
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Irish post office: Heuristics in action
Letter with a penny Scratch to find a unique URL Enter URL On website greeted by name by mind
reader who gets you to empty your pockets and does mind reading project
ERGO – direct marketing works – look what you just did!
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Mandated choice
The way you preset the answers affects the response
Default is YES! Example Readers Digest Nudge – how to influence the context
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Priming
Pre-condition response Intelligent word exercise helps quiz
takers give more intelligent answers, 10 commandments more honest answers
Give your recipients something memorable to do to increase their involvement
Example mailing to persuade sales reps to sell Windows more aggressively
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Windows
Y&R Auckland
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Loss aversion
People strongly prefer avoiding losses to acquiring gains
If you remind them of the risks of losing they will actively avoid them
Even if the losses are very small Tell respondents what they lose if they
don’t buy Example IBM – the risks of buying the
wrong IT system
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Ogilvy Beijing
IBM Shark
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The power of FREE
Variation of loss aversion Zero risk always the preferred option The Free offer always attracts buyers Even if you have to pay more to get it!
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Herd thinking
Who you identify with Who you want to imitate
Aspiration Mimicing
Works with anti role models .. Selling fine whisky.. In South Africa – to trade and media reps
Works with youth video bloggers to raise money for lifeboats
Works with Chevrolet media opinion formers – who become the hero
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Brandhouse whiskey – anti hero
JupiterDrawing RoomSouth Africa
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Proximity London
DMA Grand Prix
RNLI: role models for youth
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Arc WorldwideKuala Lumpur
Chevrolet makes it all about YOU!
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whose job is this anyway?
Account management? Constructing the offer?
Data planning? Is this a targeting issue?
Account Planning? Should it assist with creative strategy?
Should the client choose the mechanic?
If creative doesn’t own this area then do you need more than an art director to make the pack look good and brand?
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Beware of channel thinking
Does the crisis force us to find the cheapest way to market?
Is the lowest allowable cost always the best solution? Particularly if it leads to lower sales?
Should creatives have an point of view about the medium?
Or should the client prescribe the cheapest channel?
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In summary
Creativity is for a commercial purpose – focus – we’re not entertaining people to make it easier to sell to them
Or to win creative awards!
We’re using creative ideas to reshape the offer and to connect them with it
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The books of the film..
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The best DMcreative resource I know..
And its editorPatrick Collister
The Directory
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Thank you foryour attention!
What are you going to take with you?
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