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What came first, the print ad or the microsite? These days, savvy marketers are planning offline and online promotion components at the same time, knowing that Web-based elements can be adapted—and even increased in number—as the campaign rolls out.
That’s the goal at Taunton Press, the Newtown, Conn.-based publisher of enthusiast magazines (Fine Woodworking, Fine Cooking, Threads, etc.), books, DVD-ROMs and paid Web sites. Target Marketing checked in with Jane Weber, Taunton’s senior promotion manager, to get her perspective on the ins and outs of successfully integrating creative for multichannel marketing campaigns.
Target Marketing: What direct response channels does Taunton Press use to promote its editorial products?
Jane Weber: We advertise in our magazines (inserts, house ads), on our Web sites—each magazine has one—and through e-mail [to our housefile]. We do not mail outside e-mail lists. We also use direct mail, but only for subscriptions.
TM: In what ways do you integrate the promotional messaging for online and offline campaigns?
JW: We typically use the same look and feel for both print and Web. Structurally, it’s all one department. Once a print ad has been created for [a magazine], the design elements may be picked up for e-mail and/or Web ads.
The messaging for the Web is much more flexible. We can use more urgency with follow-up e-mails than our publishing schedule allows (six to eight issues a year). So things like “one more week to get 50 percent off in our warehouse sale” or “last day to get free shipping” are used routinely on the Web but would be impossible in print. For some of our print pieces, we create special landing pages; for example, if we are promoting multiple products on a cover wrap, we have a landing page that shows them all.
One good example of a campaign that was well-integrated is a current campaign for FineHomebuilding.com. We’ve been running ad spreads in the magazine (shot of a solar house with search boxes and cursor arrows for things like “photovoltaic panels”) with a call to action to take a “test drive” where they can try out the various features of the paid site [via a free microsite] before going to a sign-up page.
TM: How does writing copy for online promotions differ from how you approach print promotions?
That’s the goal at Taunton Press, the Newtown, Conn.-based publisher of enthusiast magazines (Fine Woodworking, Fine Cooking, Threads, etc.), books, DVD-ROMs and paid Web sites. Target Marketing checked in with Jane Weber, Taunton’s senior promotion manager, to get her perspective on the ins and outs of successfully integrating creative for multichannel marketing campaigns.
Target Marketing: What direct response channels does Taunton Press use to promote its editorial products?
Jane Weber: We advertise in our magazines (inserts, house ads), on our Web sites—each magazine has one—and through e-mail [to our housefile]. We do not mail outside e-mail lists. We also use direct mail, but only for subscriptions.
TM: In what ways do you integrate the promotional messaging for online and offline campaigns?
JW: We typically use the same look and feel for both print and Web. Structurally, it’s all one department. Once a print ad has been created for [a magazine], the design elements may be picked up for e-mail and/or Web ads.
The messaging for the Web is much more flexible. We can use more urgency with follow-up e-mails than our publishing schedule allows (six to eight issues a year). So things like “one more week to get 50 percent off in our warehouse sale” or “last day to get free shipping” are used routinely on the Web but would be impossible in print. For some of our print pieces, we create special landing pages; for example, if we are promoting multiple products on a cover wrap, we have a landing page that shows them all.
One good example of a campaign that was well-integrated is a current campaign for FineHomebuilding.com. We’ve been running ad spreads in the magazine (shot of a solar house with search boxes and cursor arrows for things like “photovoltaic panels”) with a call to action to take a “test drive” where they can try out the various features of the paid site [via a free microsite] before going to a sign-up page.
TM: How does writing copy for online promotions differ from how you approach print promotions?
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