Creative Branding with Envelopes

Whether it’s online newsletters, social media, SEO or PPC, most marketers use their budget online. But is this really the most effective way to use a budget for every industry? We don’t necessarily agree. There are ways to take a marketing campaign offline and still go viral. One recent campaign that successfully utilized mailings in its marketing campaigns comes from infamous: Second Son, an open world action-adventure video game. The game’s players beat one another by defeating each other’s “conduits” or “bioterrorists.”

Playstation Game inFamous: Second Chance Mailings go Viral

So what do conduits have to do with a marketing campaign? This is where the BioFrame Diagnostics comes in. The game created a fake company, BioFrame Diagnoistics, which tests gamers in a fun way to see if they have conduit powers, like the characters in the game. Those who registered for the game early actually received a mailing with an assortment of material to test their skills. The company went above and beyond by creating multiple websites to bring game scenarios to reality. This game did not only rely on the internet (reviews and mainstream marketing) but in early March 2014, a few weeks before the release of the game, inFamous released a toll free telephone number, 1-8444-HELP-DUP to hear a fun “easter egg” recording about the game. Then, many gamers started receiving packages in the mail that had interesting pamphlets with even more interesting, cool-looking envelopes. These aluminum envelopes were packed with three ocular simulation cards, three aroma swath cards, two CRL postcards, one get tested sticker, one BioFrame Diagnostic’s pamphlet, and instructions on how to conduct a test at: www.enjoyyourpower.com/test. The gaming community is paying attention and has started plugging the game everywhere, including on tons of gaming forums, reddit, and even news outlets. This company successfully matched traditional marketing with new marketing by bridging the gap between the two with an online game.

How to Successfully Pair Traditional Marketing with Online Marketing

This is a clear example of pairing traditional marketing techniques with today’s online marketing strategies. Through mailings, toll free telephone numbers and multiple websites, inFamous successfully paired traditional marketing with today’s online world. If you’re looking to do the same, we recommend combining your current marketing tactics with multiple mailings. To get your audience’s attention with mailings, always choose a clever, colored or customized envelope that will stand out. Then, make sure you use all social media outlets and your website (or create a new website) so your consumers are repeatedly reminded of your product, checking online websites and commenting on forums, YouTube, and more. By bridging the two types of marketing, your campaign will have a better chance of going viral and taking off on the Internet.

5 Principles of a Successful Viral Campaign

There’s more than one way to make your marketing campaign go viral. If there was a secret recipe, everyone would be following it and making millions. There are however, fundamental principles used by most viral campaigns, including: 1. Providing Free, Exclusive Content: In the digital age, no one wants to pay for content. In fact if it’s a pay-only site, most people are likely to bounce off your site quickly. If you have a product that must be paid for (such as a video game, clothing, etc.), you still need to offer the fan something. People love free things – use this to your advantage. The more compelling the FREE item, the more likely people are to discuss it. 2. Be on Multiple Platforms: A second thing any successful campaign must do is use multiple channels to get the message out. The Playstation game above, used online and offline channels. After you create your free, exclusive content, then use multiple channels (such as email marketing, social media, YouTube, mailings, your website, forums, reddit, etc.) to get the word out. This will help amplify your message and have more fans find your current campaign. In this world of information overload, you want to make sure that your campaign doesn’t get lost in an inbox and fade away with the rest of your competitors’ marketing efforts. 3. Easter Eggs: One of the quickest ways to get a consumer’s attention is with “easter eggs.” Easter eggs are an unexpected/undocumented feature in computer software, on a dvd. These are included as a bonus for the user. Google does this on holidays such as April Fools. Snapchat does this with filters. If you are a brand or are selling an item, you can add on to the exclusive content you created by hiding little gems/easter eggs for your fans to find. 4. Advertise & Reach Your Target Audience: You can do all the above, but if you don’t have an advertising plan and budget to reach your target audience, very few people will actually see your message. So that most users see your message, sponsor a post on Facebook. The same goes for Twitter. Instagram has recently added sponsored posts for businesses. By paying for this sponsored post and targeting the correct demographics, more users will see your post. Another great way to spread the word of your marketing campaign is by contacting brand ambassadors and bloggers, as well as posting on forums. If there are conventions in your field, you may also want to attend them and give out free giveaways. 5. Make Your Audience Want More: Any successful campaign leaves its audience wanting more. By doing so, you have gained their attention, having them stick around for future content. Ultimately, by creating a successful campaign online and offline, your target audience will purchase your product. Bottom line? Integrate your online and offline marketing campaigns in order to capture your target audience. Look at some of the recent trends of 2014 mailings and marketing campaigns online and offline to help spark your next great viral campaign.