Closer examination shows that this is no cheap piece of wrapping but a robust cover overprinted with outlines of perfume bottles and the word 'Chanel'.  So this is really a Chanel marketing campaign.

So what is going on here? There's no marketing messages, no glossy imagery?  This seems to be a very downmarket approach to advertising a high end product.  Or is it?​

​Advertising in the print media is never a cheap option.  So Chanel must think they are getting their money's worth.  So what are they achieving?

Target Marketing To A Niche Market​

The Sunday Times is not cheap at £2.50 though you do, of course, get a good deal of reading for your money.  Mine usually lasts me through most of the week!  

So Chanel will know that their campaign is going to be seen by every buyer of the newspaper, all of whom probably have disposable income to spend on the high value/designer label product that Chanel is marketing.  No other newspaper carried this cover - they have targeted their niche market.

A Call To Action​

But there isn't one!  Nothing to tell their prospects what Chanel wants them to do next.

However, this campaign took place on Sunday, 11 December.  I would guess that Chanel's marketers have carefully selected the optimum date before Christmas to put 2 ideas into their prospects heads:

1. The brand they want prospects to buy - Chanel
2. The idea for a gift when their prospects are struggling for inspiration - perfume

It's easy to say: 'Of course, everyone knows about perfume as a present'.  But everyone also needs reminding.  Being 'top of mind' at this critical moment is Chanel's objective.

The overprint on that semi-transparent paper communicates everything that Chanel want to put into our heads.  

The repeated image of a perfume bottle and the word: Chanel.

No Call To Action necessary!

A perfume bottle and the brand name - who needs more of a reminder?

Social Proof

Why use the semi transparent paper?  It's sort of confusing because the Sunday Times newspaper clearly shows through and this must confuse the message?

In practice, this is of benefit both to Chanel and to the newspaper.  The Sunday Times maintains its visible presence on the news stands so that their buyers are not put off by having to check what they are buying.

Chanel benefit from an implicit endorsement by the Sunday Times.  It tells people that Chanel is the sort of product that people who buy the Sunday Times also buy.  They feel comfortable in the same way that when they see their friends sharing on social media that they have bought a product. 

Not So Daft​

So maybe the kitchen paper is not so daft after all.

Chanel are:

Excuse me, I've just remembered I've got some presents to buy...

The post Why Is My Sunday Times Wrapped In Kitchen Paper? appeared first on Online Marketing For Business - Dewsbury.

Our results in signups and sales will tell us what is going on with those who have entered our marketing process but what about all those who see our offering but stay well clear?

For that sort of information you have to go back to surveying and that’s exactly what Mancx did, a company offering trusted answers for business questions. Instead of posting a question on a site like Quora or Yahoo Answers, Mancx is a business question-and-answer website that allows individuals to securely buy and sell their knowledge with others.

So they are very interested to know what users think of information that they find on the web.

Is this how your prospects feel?

Out of the 1,900 Americans surveyed a rather distressing 98% said that they distrusted information they found on the Internet with 94% adding that “bad things can happen as a result of acting on inaccurate information online.”

The reasons they gave for this included

Reading those results again you get ‘too much irrelevant, out of date, self promotional stuff’ and they worry that their unfamiliarity with any particular site can lead to them making a costly mistake due to their own lack of knowledge.

So what do you need to do to chip away at that monstrous 98% of users who are so fearful that they won’t come near you with a barge pole?.

Well you can’t do anything about the rest of the internet but you can do something about what you publish. Your website, your blog and any other online real estate you may use.

Who's happy now?

Keep it familiar, keep it comfortable and keep it simple. Reassure your visitors at every stage that you are doing exactly what you said you would do and they can find their way both further in to your process – or out again whichever they choose to do.

From the very beginning you need to build a relationship of trust which probably means putting your own personality into it so that they can relate to you personally.

You need to publish regularly so that they can see how recent your content is and you need to keep your marketing to a relatively low percentage of your total content so that you are not seen as publishing solely for the purpose of selling.

To put it simply, just be a nice guy (or gal!), give useful stuff away so they are more likely to come back and make sure that there are no surprises on your websites.

A smaller group of prospects on your list who are more comfortable with you and therefore more likely to buy will generate more sales for you than scattering marketing grapeshot left, right and centre.

The post What Do Our Prospects Think Of Us? appeared first on Online Marketing For Business - Dewsbury.