Messaging is critical in any marketing campaign. The wrong message to the wrong audience and all you your effort is a miss. No organization has only one audience. Even if your organization has the most homogeneous target audience, say retired male teachers, it might be at different levels of engagement with the organization: some have never heard of it; some have just been exposed to your services; others are members; and you might even have a volunteer force that helps you fulfill your mission. Since budgets are always tight, the temptation is to create materials (brochures, mailers, email blasts, visuals) that communicate to the entire target audience. Unfortunately that seldom works. What to do then? Identify your stakeholders. Every marketing campaign my company puts together involves a strategic session where we identify the target audience(s) and their level of engagement or commitment. Know who they are, their motivations, and the…

Successful marketing campaigns sell a lot of product, or move people into action.  While messaging and graphics are all over the spectrum from amusing to powerful, these campaigns usually cover the four basic foundations for success. They trust. If the consumer doesn’t trust the brand or the fact that the company can deliver on its promise, the campaign will fail. They respect. Guilt and shame don’t compel people into action. Treat your audience with respect and they will respond. Talk down to them and they will ignore you. They are relevant. Even the right message to the right  people at the wrong time will not bring results. Make sure you answer the bottom line question we all ask when faced with an ad: “Why should I bother?” They compel. Make the case for you. Even after you have covered the “why should I bother?” question, you still have another important…