Print magazines are alive and well, but they’re in transition. The ones that are thriving are customer magazines, designed to be helpful and relevant to consumers while delivering marketing messages and building brand loyalty.
Yesterday I led a workshop in the Netherlands at Media Partners Group. They specialize in both Dutch and English language publications for large companies, like Shell Oil and Heineken Beer, among others. Here’s the way they describe themselves:
MediaPartners Group inspires with text and images. We build relationships, stimulate sales and promote loyalty. We reach clients or employees by performing the unexpected, but without being creative for creativity’s sake.
Our dedicated team of specialists in the areas of strategy, design, content, copy, account and project management provide clients with sponsored magazines, web design, direct marketing solutions, in store communications, advertising and loyalty programmes for internal and external target groups.
As almost everywhere in Holland, professional people all speak English. There were several staff members from the UK, which is why they are able to create high quality communications for huge global corporations. The other reasons are because they are a group of talented smart people who love their work.
I spoke to a group of 50 passionate people, all eager to learn what it takes to create engaging content for their customers. Stay tuned for my Brain Shark recorded presentation to get the information I was teaching. It should be ready as soon as I’m back home next week.
In it, I stress the importance of knowing what makes your audience tick. As most brains are very similar, certain motivations and persuasion triggers are always effective.
Neuromarketing and brain scans of consumers are revealing ways to connect with readers/ viewers, and connect with the subconscious, emotional parts of the brain. What are the key findings? In order to have content that engages the hearts and minds of your target audience, you must gain:
- Attention
- Emotional Engagement
- Be memorable
- Be novel
- Use images, especially of human faces
- Promise pleasure and rewards
- Format with clean, non-cluttered, focused designs
- Be personal
- Focus on the customer
- Provide opportunities for social interaction
More coming on these important tips next week. I’m off to Las Vegas to a big Internet marketing conference sponsored by Mike Filsaime and Chris Farrell. Always learning, as I hope you are as well.
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