July 2024: Consumers Watch Their Wallets

The latest quarterly results from JICMAIL reveal that 6% of mail (including Direct Mail, Business Mail, Partially Addressed Mail and Door Drops) prompted a purchase in Q1 2024, while the average amount of time spent with a piece of Direct Mail across 28 days climbed to 134 seconds. JICMAIL – The Joint Industry Currency for Mail – has revealed that while the UK economy grappled with the recovery from a technical recession, those advertisers who maintained their confidence in the mail channel were rewarded with 43% year on year growth in purchases driven by mail.

Tackling a global health crisis has looked different for different retailers. For United by Blue, an outdoor brand that sells through its own site as well as retail partners, it looked like holds on order shipments, followed by cancellations on those orders. It proved a tough position to effectively run a business. Mike Cangi, co-founder of United by Blue, said the company swiftly noticed that its peers were also struggling in the immediate aftermath of the pandemic, and thought there may be a solution in them all banding together. The result was a joint sales event between some 15 to 20 mission driven brands in April, dubbed "I Stand With Small," in an effort to drive traffic — and hopefully sales — to each other's businesses. "It was really just a joint marketing and sales tool for us to help get through what was a really tough time with a lot of uncertainty in April of this year," Cangi said. "And it was really successful." For the brands, it did what it was supposed to do: give them a lift at a much-needed time. But for consumers, it was also a plus, by introducing them to new brands that held similar values to the ones they already bought from, according to Cangi. After the initial sale's success, the companies started talking about working together again, and thus, the effort was renamed the Mission Brand Alliance and a website launched to showcase the brands in July. more at: https://www.retaildive.com/news/why-20-brands-are-sending-out-a-joint-holiday-catalog-this-season/591499/

I know. “Copywriting” and “formulas” sound like they don’t even belong in the same sentence, let alone the same concept. As someone who used to enjoy English class and all but cry their way through chemistry, I fully support words and numbers playing in separate sandboxes. But in marketing and advertising, there are in fact copy formulas you can use to disrupt and drive consumers to buy what you sell. The best formulas are easily remembered, quickly mastered, and can be used by novice and experienced writers alike. Knowing them can help you create copy that’s twice as effective, in about half the time. Formulas can also offer a boost when writer’s block sets in or help validate your work when you need a final gut check. Oh, and the reason they’re called formulas? Because they work! FORMULA #1: AIDA = Attention, Interest, Desire, Action; FORMULA #2: THE FOUR Cs = Clear, Concise, Compelling, Credible; FORMULA #3: FAB = Features, Advantages, Benefits.