11/05/2012

Who Am I? 1 of 3 possible voters at my address



The Pennsylvania Voter ID law requires voters to show proof of identification in order to obtain their right to vote on Election Day. Implementation of the law was postponed until next year, but I thought I would use this Election Day to share some mail I received at home.

A few weeks ago -- before implementation of the law was postponed -- my mailbox included three postcards, all the same. Each one was addressed to a different person with my street address. This means the state of Pennsylvania has three records on file for this address, even though only one person lives here. Perhaps that is why they want to make sure each voter positively represents him or herself.

The three postcards below do not quite merit a Fail for List, because the state is striving to reinforce the new law, but it certainly is interesting. No lesson today, just friendly a reminder to vote.
Not me
Not me




The real me






9/09/2012

Health Magazine: Wandered in a bit late


This advertisement for Wanderlust Yoga in the City was included in the September 14 issue of Entertainment Weekly.  It includes a contest that ended August 29 for an event that starts September 7, the same day the issue hit homes.  Easy fail for Timing and a waste of Health Magazine advertising dollars.
Lesson: When running a promotion, time your communications appropriately.

8/13/2012

Drake Harper: Vindictive Spammer

Today, I received a spam email from Drake Harper, LLC, an Accounts Receivable firm (AKA collection agency).  I made the mistake of clicking on their Unsubscribe link and completing their unsubscribe form.  Approximately an hour later, I received this reply:

You have successfully added your email to our list 5 more times.


Many thanks,

Drake Harper, LLC
[address & ph # redacted]
This is a Fail for List -- sending spam -- and Creative -- writing rude messages to people who are not interested your services and never opted-in for your emails.

Lesson: Do not send spam and don't be rude to prospective cusotmers, or they might just write a blog post about you.

7/22/2012

Celeb Boutique: Look before you tweet


Twitter is a popular way to connect with customers. Trends can be followed and shared with customers, sometimes automatically. This post on consumerist.com is an example of being too aggressive. An offshore social media agency for celebboutique.com had misinterpreted a trend -- no doubt because they were not following U.S. news media.

Lessons:
1) Don't rely on a company located physically and culturally far from your target audience to develop and execute your marketing communications. 
2) Don't leave your marketing communications on autopilot. You own it, not your agency.

7/10/2012

7-Eleven: Inconvenient Timing, Quick Recovery



National Slurpee Day is tomorrow, July 11. 7-Eleven sent an email to their loyal Slurpee enthusiasts reminding them to get their free Slurpee "today". However, it was sent two days early. Perhaps some eager junior person hit the Send button too quickly, or 7/11 11:00 am was incorrectly programmed as 7/9 9:00 am. Regardless, this is an easy Fail for Timing.

  


Three and a half hours later, 7-Eleven emailed a correction. While it is a late recovery from a Fail, at least the email keeps the mood positive. I look forward to my free half-Coke half-Cherry Slurpee tomorrow!

7/08/2012

Chase: Double the Mail, Double the Fail

Two, two packages in one
I recently received not one but two solicitations for the Chase United MileagePlusExplorer card. The pieces were addressed exactly the same to me. The lack of removing duplicate names is a classic Fail for List.

Is this a side effect of the Continental / United merger?











The inside flap of the self-mailer shows my mileage balance -- a prudent and creative method of demonstrating the potential of the credit card by showing how many miles I can get for acquiring the credit card. However, in this case, the difference between the two mailers also suggests why I received two of them. One reflects my miles balance on my legacy Continental OnePass account while the other reflects my balance on a legacy United MileagePlus account. 

The man holding the credit card on the mailer I received appears to be African-American while the man holding the credit card on the landing page, billboards, and TV ads look like a young Jeff Goldblum. Why the difference? Did Chase attempt to appeal to a presumed heritage based on the fact that my last name is Davis? If so, that would be a Fail for List & Creative because I don’t fit the racial profile.
Chase Bank appeals to an incorrect racial profile -- twice.

Lessons: 
  1. Dedupe your solicitation mailing list by name and address. 
  2. Carefully consider when and how to use race-based visuals.

6/03/2012

Updating your address list is not always sensible

I can't stop pay-to-play in Houston if I don't live there anymore.
I moved away from Houston more than two years ago. When I registered to vote in my new home county, I formally dropped my Houston voter registration. That is why this recent mailer related to a primary merits a Fail for List. It is a waste of money to reach someone who can't even vote.

Let's say, for the sake of discussion, that I continued to vote in Houston even though I moved away. It would still not be worth the cost to mail to me because Standard Rate mailers like this arrive too late to send an absentee ballot.

Political organizations aren't the only ones allowing their mail to follow me even though I live over a thousand miles away. The YMCA in my old Houston neighborhood would like me to become a member again so I can exercise at the local facilities. That would be going a bit out of the way for a workout.




Leisure Learning Unlimited of Houston continues to send me a schedule for local classes on boating, cooking, and stained glass making. I don't think I'll make the trip to learn to windsurf in the Gulf of Mexico when I can do that in the Atlantic Ocean.
What typically happens is that mass mailers run their mailing list through the USPS National Change of Address database. When the USPS informs the mailer that the recipient has moved, the address is updated and the mail goes to the new address.

That does not make sense for Leisure Learning, YMCA, or the Houston Realty Business Association, but it does make sense for appliance manufacturer Whirlpool, which sent me this package offering a warranty extension. But if they are updating their mailing list to reflect my new address and assume I still have the refrigerator I purchased in Houston, why bother addressing the forwarded correspondence to "Marc Davis or current resident"?

Lesson: There are times when address updates are useful, and times when they are not.  Consider removing people from your business's mailing list if they no longer live in your metropolitan area.