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Marketing Special Sauce

Taking some notes from McD’s today.

How to Prepare for Gmail’s Passive Opt-Out Feature

Gmail recently dropped a bunch of new updates to their email platform. Most of them are really cool, but there was one that might concern some marketers:

“Gmail will start suggesting when to unsubscribe from newsletters or offers you no longer care about.”

Whoa. Timeout. Does that mean Gmail is going to cause my email list to see mass-unsubscribes? Maybe. Maybe not. Gmail is going to start telling people to unsubscribe from email lists if they haven’t opened an email from that sender in 30 days or more.

If you consistently have low open rates and send out generic mass emails that no one engages with, then yes, Gmail is going to cause a spike in unsubscribes for you.

But we actually think this new feature is a good thing. It’s going to cut down on the traditional “email blast,” and force marketers to get smarter in how they use their lists. And getting smarter will almost definitely give you better email results.

So what can you do to get smarter? A few ideas:

  1. Mix up your messaging cadence. If you’re reaching out too often, not enough, or at the wrong times, your emails are going to suffer. There are two things you can do here. (1) Ask your audience when they’d prefer to receive emails. Or (2) Set up a preference center that allows subscribers to pick their time and frequency.
  2. Try reaching out on day 28. Since Google is going to start telling people to unsubscribe around day 30, start running re-engagement campaigns on day 28 of inactivity. Need some inspiration for these campaigns? Really Good Email has a full list of ’em.
  3. Invest in and innovate your triggers. Triggered emails, which are sent in response to specific actions, generate on average, almost 5 times the click rate of traditional campaigns. An innovative idea from GrubHub: they send emails, promoting their food delivery service, that are triggered by location-specific weather conditions, such as snow or rain. Dunkin Donuts sends a different type of real-time trigger campaign – one that is informed by a subscriber’s home team win.

More to unwind here. Get the full scoop below…

12 Essential Tips for Creating Instagram Stories Like a Pro

We can’t stop gushing over Instagram. The platform has made huge, innovative strides toward e-comm. We’re basically Thor learning he will face the Hulk in the ultimate fighting championship.

Today, we’ve got some solid tools and strategies, from iMPACT, on Instagram Stories. The feature has arguably crushed Snapchat from a buyer experience standpoint.

Here’s how to create content like a full-blown pro!

1. Opt for Natural Lighting
Natural light (no, not the terrible beer you drank in college) can prevent overexposure and weird shadows. But, if for some reason you can’t get outside to get that sweet natural light, check out Wistia’s Down and Dirty DIY Lighting Kit.

2. Use Your Phone’s Native Camera
Don’t use the IG app to shoot your Story. It gives you lower resolutions and limits your editing options. Instead use your smartphone’s camera. Or, if you have the money, think about buying a DSLR camera.

3. Keep Video Length & Editing in Mind
‘Gram Stories are only 15 seconds long. Keep it short and sweet. And in case ya didn’t know, users typically browse with their phones vertically. Stick to portrait mode.

Oh, and check out some editing tools like Magisto and Quik.

5. Use Locations and Appropriate Hashtags
(Yeah, we skipped number 4. You didn’t even notice, did ya?) You probably already know the benefit of hashtags and location tagging on IG. Don’t forget to use them in your Stories! Not sure where to start? Try searching for words that your audience might be using on Instagram. Or do a little creeping on your competitors to see what hashtags they’re using.

6. Add Animation & Music
Yep, you can add animation to your Stories! It’s a killer way to make your videos better than your competitors’. iMPACT recommends Adobe Spark for this.
When it comes to music, there are a bunch of options, but Guiding Tech has you covered there.

Wooo, that’s only 5 (or 6 depending on how closely you read this). It’s up to you for the rest →

#BigMacCan

Who can create a mashup better than Girl Talk (throwin’ it way back there)?

Uhhhh…apparently the folks from DPZ&T. The Brazilian agency dug deep into their creative crates for the recent Big Mac 50th anniversary collaboration.

Celebrating 5 decades of stacking patties could only be shared with an equally classic icon.

Big Mac + Coke = Perfect Combination.

The limited edition Big Mac Coke Can flaunts a drool-worthy design inspired by the burger’s classic recipe: two patties, lettuce, cheese, special sauce, onions, and pickles, on a sesame seed bun.

Put the can in the hands of influencers and cult-like fans with the hashtag #BigMacCan, wrap it up in a special version of the traditional Big Mac packaging, and you got that Marketing Special Sauce.

“We need to stop interrupting what people are interested in and be what people are interested in.”

Craig Davis

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