Hello, I'm Jay Wilkinson and this is Good Bad and Ugly tv where we share street-smart marketing stories.
In today's episode, we're going to take a quick look at some examples submitted by the user community that have risen to the top of the good and bad categories, including our three makeover candidates for next month.
On the Good side, we have a foldout brochure for Upper Case Design Group in San Antonio, Texas, submitted by WakaFlocka. Okay, we know what you're thinking. They're a design team... of course they would have great-looking marketing!
Sure, being proficient in design helps. But that doesn't stop even top ad agencies from over-thinking their own marketing and branding. Many of them design in order to impress their peers or win awards rather than focusing on what will truly resonate with the audience. In this case, Upper Case kept things simple and delivered a piece that's both visually pleasing and easy to digest. Not only does the theme stay consistent throughout, but it ties in nicely with their website, too. Kudos to the team at Upper Case Design Group for a job well done.
Next are three pieces vying for this month's makeover prize.
The first is a direct mail piece for 1001 Franchises, submitted by Burr vs. Hamilton. The headline reads, "Break free from traditional franchise portal advertising with FREE Advertising for a Year!" While anything free is a compelling offer, we're not sure what "traditional franchise portal advertising" is and what makes it so restrictive that someone would need to break free from it. In all honesty, something as specific and relatively modern-sounding as "franchise portal advertising" doesn't seem like it would be bound by any traditions.
Beyond that, the stock photography visual of one person "breaking free" from a pack of guys with boxes on their heads doesn't add much to the message. We're sure the experience of non-traditional franchise portal advertising is quite liberating, but really, the guy without the box on his head is only a few yards ahead of his competitors. And he's still in an orange box. Is that supposed to be thinking outside the box, while still in a box, but without a box on your head?
Our next candidate is a poster for Pop Luck Club in Los Angeles, submitted by DougEfresh. Their website bills them as "an organization of gay dads, prospective dads, and their families." While we can certainly appreciate their message and what they're trying to accomplish, their execution leaves a lot to be desired. The colors are painfully bright and the headline offers a not-so-clever double meaning when paired with the visual of two men literally "raising" a child. Strangely, they have a website that actually looks respectable. Not sure if this poster predates their current site or if it was just a poor adaptation of their brand. Either way, their marketing needs some serious guidance.
Lastly, we have a seminar invite mailer for CareerTrack in Mission, Kansas, submitted by Pixel Pete, who remarks, "While persistence is generally admirable and repetition should be the goal for any marketer, they take the carpet bombing approach, literally sending hundreds of their bland seminar invites to our employees each month. So in addition to being woefully inefficient, they're also eco-terrorists. For shame."
The blitzkrieg approach must work for them or they wouldn't keep doing it, but their seminar pieces could certainly use an update. Just looking at this one invite, I have to wonder who would want to read page after page of gray, descriptive copy with no images of any kind to break it up. After receiving something like this over and over, anyone would need a lesson in communicating with tact and professionalism.
Well there you have it... three makeover candidates that could desperately use a new image. When you have a free minute, I encourage you to log on to Good Bad and Ugly tv, take a look at these examples, comment on them yourself and vote for your favorite.
Thank you for watching today's episode. Tune in here at Good Bad and Ugly tv on the first and third Friday of every month where we share examples of good and bad marketing from around the country... and on the first Friday... reveal the ugliest marketing we could find in America and share with you the results of the previous month's makeover.
Please don't forget to log into our website and submit your examples of good and bad marketing. For Good Bad and Ugly tv, I'm Jay Wilkinson. Until next time, may all your marketing be good.
Special thanks to Audible.com and to our makeover sponsor, Firespring.
Follow us on Twitter: @gbutv and on Facebook: http://www.goodbadandugly.tv/facebook
Visit www.goodbadandugly.tv to submit marketing examples and cast your vote.
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