by Guest Blogger Michele Pariza Wacek (Michele PW)
To start, what exactly am I talking about when I say Top of Mind?
It’s an advertising campaign you’ve probably seen all over the place. Typically they’re shown on national television by big corporations (MacDonald’s, Nike, Starbucks, Target). In those instances, the businesses are building a brand that will cause you think of that business first when you’re interested in purchasing their products. For instance, when you’re hungry, you think MacDonald’s. You need new athletic shoes, you think Nike. You’re dying for that cup of joe, so you think Starbucks, etc.
While there’s nothing wrong with top-of-mind campaigns, they are tougher to track than what I call direct response campaigns. One of the hallmarks of a direct response campaign is it includes a specific call to action (Sale ends Saturday, call before Friday to receive your free gift, etc.)
They’re called direct response because you’re asking the customer to respond directly. Direct response campaigns can be tested, so you have a good idea what’s working and what’s not (and can tweak the campaign accordingly). And, if the campaign doesn’t require getting a salesperson involved (i.e. if the call to action is for the customer to whip out his wallet right there) the campaign will just run itself (and make money all by itself).
(One note: You do need to do more than add a call to action to have a strong direct response campaign, but that doesn’t negate the power a call to action can bring to your campaigns.)
The problem with top-of-mind campaigns is that they’re nearly impossible to test, track and tweak. They either appear to work or don’t appear to work. And if they don’t appear to work, it’s very difficult to start tweaking to improve the response rate.
But, what top-of-mind campaigns do VERY well is branding. And branding is still very, very important. As a business owner, you need a good brand and you need to communicate that brand effectively. And sometimes it makes sense to run a branding campaign.
My advice for most situations is to combine branding and direct response. Your brand is clearly communicated in your ads and promotional materials, but you also take advantage of some direct response techniques at the same time.
About the Author:
Michele PW (Michele Pariza Wacek) is your Ka-Ching! Marketing Strategist and considered one of the hottest copywriters and marketing strategists around. She helps entrepreneurs attract more clients, sell more products and services and boost their business. To find out how she can help you take your business to the next level, visit http://www.MichelePW.com.
About Michele PW
