Direct Marketing and Common Sense: An Expert's Opinion

As I try to carve out and validate the role of “common sense” in the world of marketing, I thought it might be interesting to seek out experts in various marketing arenas to find out where common sense fit in their marketing philosophy…

My first victim in this endeavor is direct marketing expert Edward Hrybenko. As Vice President and Director of Marketing Communications and Investor Relations at OppenheimerFunds, Inc., Ed oversees direct marketing strategies and initiatives for over 75 mutual funds and various other investment products offered by the firm.

Here is what Ed has to say…

Dipti: In your opinion, does “common sense” matter world of marketing? Why?
Ed: Absolutely. Common sense keeps you from making significant mistakes and wasting marketing dollars. At times we are all caught up in what we need to sell/market or what we want to say, that we become blind the obvious. The key is stepping back from a project and putting yourself in the shoes of the recipient of your marketing message. That gives you the chance to re-think your message, your audience, your design, etc. Just ask yourself, “If I was a (insert target audience here), would I respond to this?” If not, ask yourself why.

Dipti: Where does common sense fit in the world of direct marketing?
Ed: Common sense is the counter-balance to data and science. I’ve seen people insist that a mailing must be successful because the data modeling says so. I’ve yet to see a model respond to marketing. You need “people” to respond to your message and fortunately we all have experience being people. While you need to know the science (how a person reads, how many times you need to convey a message for it to stick, etc) you also need to use your common sense and experience when marketing. The key is balancing the science and common sense. You can’t go too far the other way and let your personal biases guide all your decisions.

Dipti: What is your most favorite direct marketing blunder …one which could have been prevented with a little common sense?
Ed: I was working at a top direct marketing-oriented financial firm and they ran a full page product launch ad in the Wall Street Journal. The ad was great but the company forgot to turn on the phone number so consumers couldn’t respond. Had somebody put themselves in the shoes of the consumer they would have checked on the consumer’s experience when responding to the ad.

Dipti: What’s the best common sense tip that you have ever received?
Ed: Beware Murphy’s law. If something can go wrong, it will.

Dipti: Can you give us 5 common sense tips that can make a direct marketing campaign successful?
Ed:
1. Find time to step back from your project and put yourself in the shoes of the message recipient.
2. Make sure you get the basics right. There are many details in every marketing campaign, but the biggest mistakes happen on the basics.
3. Don’t be blinded by data. If you really don’t think something will work, don’t try to convince yourself it will.
4. Don’t be complacent with creative. “Good enough” is rarely good enough. Push for creativity.
Collaborate. Leveraging differing points of view can ensure marketing success.