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By Randi M. Killian
I’d been married about four months when the mail brought an intriguing item: a red, high-gloss box, 6 inches by 6 inches in size, sporting a nondescript return address. It was elegant in its simplicity — and, based upon the size, rather mysterious.
My first thought was, “Wow! He sent me a present.” My husband, being the aforementioned “he,” had been spending a good bit of time out of town on business. It would not have been out of context for him to send me a little gifty, just to let me know he missed me.
Even now, I can remember smiling to myself in anticipation as I walked back from the mailbox. So, you can imagine my surprise when, after opening the package, I discovered that my husband hadn’t sent me anything. Saks did. Yes, I was holding in my hands the hot-off-the-presses 1981 Saks Fifth Avenue Christmas catalog — in three slim, glossy red volumes, wrapped in that intriguing red box!
Here’s where my story takes an interesting turn. Instead of being upset or disappointed that the love of my life hadn’t given me something, I was in awe. This catalogue-in-a-box format struck me as quintessentially cool, and it imprinted upon me a lesson I’ve never lost about what I now call “the power of the total package.”
Fast-forward 23 years to just the other day. The trip to the mailbox brought another small package. It was clearly an invitation to something — it said so right below my address — from a company that was totally unknown to me. I figured it would be some kind of promotion. Yet, because size and format brought me back to my little red box, I couldn’t help feeling like Yogi Berra the first time he uttered his oft-repeated phrase, “It’s like déjà vu all over again.”
When the outer cover was opened, this box revealed a small portfolio held together by grommets and a small green band. Inside the portfolio were two booklets, each bound by slightly larger green bands. From an overall production standpoint, this was impressive. It was well printed and highly designed. Yet, it lacked the “home run” of my Saks package for a three reasons:
- The Pitch Was Too Fast. A brief, pre-printed story on the portfolio cover proclaimed that I was one of a small group of people who had been chosen to receive this package. Yet, there was no real explanation of the purpose of the “gift.” Each additional word of copy made me ask, “Just how much will this cost me?”
- An Unforgivable Error Was Made. For all its supposed elegance, the people sending this package made two really big mistakes. The first was getting my gender wrong. The mailing label was addressed to Mr. Randy Killian. Sure, I have one of those names that often confuse strangers with regard to my gender. It’s an issue that has some very interesting stories attached to it. However, in this case, my expectation is that these people should know better. Also, my first name was spelled wrong. How exclusive a group could this be if they started out with these mistakes?
- They Really Struck Out. If the gender bender wasn’t bad enough to have me toss the promotion, they made presumptions about me that were critically wrong. Specifically, they said I have a “passion for private aviation and a personal belief in the concept.” If my cable company had sent something like this out, I would have let it slide. But, here was a company who was trying to sell the extra-ultra-excusive life. The least they could do is show they cared about who they were trying to reach. After all, data abounds about all of us these days — our likes, dislikes and passions. If they had taken the time to dig a bit, they would have learned, for example, that I drive a high-performance sports car. A reference to my passion might have me overlooking even the mix up on gender. I might have thought, “Hmm, these people took the time to get to know me. Maybe I’ll check them out.” But, now I won’t.
These days, it’s harder and harder to get results for marketing efforts. There is more competition, the audience is more knowledgeable, and we have more expectations.
While marketing isn’t rocket science, it is an interpretative dance of sorts, with a tempo all its own. Harnessing the total power of the package feeds the dance, a la my favorite red box. Unfortunately, this latest package didn’t recognize the power it could have had. Clearly this was no “red box.” Whatever punch this promotion (that’s what it was, after all) might have packed was lost to poor execution and inattention to details. From where I sit, that boils down to a truly wasted opportunity.
Too bad none of the people involved ever got the boxed catalogue from Saks. I guess Yogi was right about something else: “The future ain’t what it used to be.”
Randi M. Killian is founder of Randi B Enterprises, Inc. (www.randib.com) in Hoffman Estates, IL. She can be contacted at 847-991-9886 (e-mail: randi@randib.com).
(This article is reprinted from the Spring 2004 edition of Enterprising Women magazine. Copyright 2004 Enterprising Women Inc. Reproduction in whole or part is prohibited, except by express permission of the publisher.)
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