Dumb Ways to ?

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The Creative Behind Dumb Ways to Die

Warning signs don’t go viral. They barely get noticed.

How many warning signs did you see on your commute this morning? Did you mention any of them to a coworker? Probs not. This conversation has never happened: “Hey Jordyn, I saw a really great stop sign today. It was red with white lettering. Really stood out.”

That realization is what started the creative process for one of the most viral marketing campaigns ever.

Melbourne Metro wanted to run an advertising campaign to improve train safety, but they knew that slapping up some additional warning signs at train stations wouldn’t do a thing.

They also knew that running a campaign that stated facts wouldn’t do anything because facts don’t actually change behavior. They had to tell a story. But this isn’t some sob story. It’s a catchy, fun story…about…safety. Seems odd, right?

If you haven’t seen the video (do you live under a rock?), take a hot sec and watch it now.

Today’s Listen, from Jay Acunzo, interviews Leah Waymark. Leah was one of the creative minds behind the Metro campaign.

Leah and Jay talk about the whole campaign and have some advice for getting your organization to step outside of the box and do truly creative things.

• People in organizations often only put forward ideas that will get approved because it’s easy. If you want to push the boundaries and be creative, you might have to fight for it.
• If you’re going to fight for it, start small. Take baby steps with pushing the limits.
• Relevant quote from Jay, “Creativity isn’t the ability to do something big. It’s actually the sum of a ton of little wins all strung together.”

No time-stamps today because you truly gotta listen to the whole thing.

Listen Now

Read

5 Signs it’s Time for an Email Marketing Makeover

Email marketing is basically push-button at this stage in the game. Once you have an email list and MailChimp, it’s like smoooooth email-sailing from there.

Lol psych.

Just because email marketing is “easy” doesn’t mean it’s always going to deliver the results you expect out of it. Nah, that’s no way to handle a relationship.

If your eloquent, inspired, perfectly-formatted email sinks like a cannon-blasted ship, don’t blame the email. If you know it had potential, maybe it means it’s time to take a step back and restructure your approach.

And today’s Read is showing you the way with easy fixes you can implement, so you can start seeing more opens, clicks, and conversions. That wonderfully-written, good-lookin’ email deserves to be seen.

Get your email marketing on the same level with these makeovers:

• The Sign: Prospects Simply Don’t Engage With Your Message — If you only send emails out when you want to sell something, you’re gonna have a bad time…
• The Fix: Start an Email Marketing Calendar — The best email newsletters don’t just sell—they share stories, go behind the scenes, and share insights… Look for ways to fit in emails about other things your customers’ value.

• The Sign: You’re Sending Out a Blanket Message to Your Subscribers & Getting Little Interaction — If you’re sending out the same message to everyone, your open and CTR might be low. This happens because not everyone is at the same stage in the customer journey or the sales cycle…
• The Fix: Start Segmenting Your List — By nearly every criteria too! By demographic, by product purchased, etc. And if you’re looking to convert people, you can put together a drip campaign that builds interest over time, eventually getting prospects to convert.

• The Sign: People Open Your Message or Click, But Don’t Purchase
• The Fix: Start Retargeting Campaigns — Done correctly, retargeting campaigns not only remind customers of your product or service but also capture their attention again, giving you a second chance to connect.

Still, a few more fixer-upper tips to go!

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Watch

Scared Straight: Out of Advertising

Have you heard of Zulu Alpha Kilo? They were named Small Agency of the Year last year. It was the first time a non-US agency won the award.

You can probably tell by their parody-style website that it’s a creative agency that doesn’t take themselves too seriously. Today’s Watch is not different—though far more biting. Seriously, the language in this one is #NSFW. You’ve been warned.

“Scared Straight” was made for Strategy magazine’s Agency of the Year event last week, along with several other parody videos from different agencies.

This one takes the cake, though, parodying a boot camp that scares young professionals from working in the ad industry. Dreams are shattered. Tears are shed. Explicit words are yelled. The brutal truth is revealed.

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