What are your favorite Superbowl commercials? Make a list of five commercials and then write the products next to them. Can you remember all of the products? I couldn’t.

The Darth Vader commercial that ran during the 2011 is one of my favorites. It made such an impression on me that I could remember all of the scenes except for the one that focused on the brand.

Roger Dooley’s post about a similar commercial reminded me of the Darth Vader one, but it had a very different effect.

Both advertisements used a movie theme to capture the viewer’s attention. Both have the components for a viral marketing campaign – interesting story, humor, original idea. There is plenty of ammunition to start a social buzz. Neither one offered a clue about the product until the end. But when everything was over, one product was permanently embedded in my mind. After watching the videos, do you see the difference?

One commercial focuses on the characters. The other makes the product a character.

Many purveyors of social media have declared that traditional marketing is dead. In their minds, direct mail was the first casualty in the battle between viral and old school sales tools. Their rally cry “Stop marketing and start engaging” is gaining traction as companies seek new ways to generate revenue without increasing costs.

The idea of going viral in a social media world is appealing. It’s easy to imagine your company racking up page views on YouTube, tweets on twitter, and posts in blogs around the world. It is only a matter of time before mainstream media picks it up and your shopping carts and cash registers are filled.

I can imagine winning the lottery, too.

While stories of viral marketing entertain, most don’t offer tangible results. You know where I’m going, but I’m going to say it anyway. The purpose of business is to serve customers at a profit. Borrowing a phrase from our viral past, “where’s the beef?”

Social media is a great add-on to a solid marketing plan. When it is done well, companies are humanized and approachable. There isn’t a down side if the plan includes maintaining or enhancing the brand while continuing traditional marketing.

Unlike social media, direct mail is tangible.

You can hold it in your hand; you don’t have to store it in your head. Catalogs can be marked, post-noted, and shared. They have a longer life than a video, tweet, or post.

Direct mail can be personal and convenient.

Admittedly, many companies blast out mailing with little thought to the people opening the mailbox. They target a demographic and send thousands of pieces to uninterested parties. They can do this because it is profitable. A 1-3% response rate usually exceeds the breakeven point. (BTW, for catalogs selling “collectibles”, living in a rural area doesn’t make me interested in knick-knack dust collectors. You can stop mailing me your books.)

Sorry, I needed to get that off my mind. Some companies do it differently. They use direct mail to engage their customers. American Girl is one that immediately comes to mind. My 10-year-old daughter watches the mail daily looking for anything American Girl. She can recognize their catalog and magazine from 100 feet. Their website is bookmarked under her computer login and their books are dog-eared from multiple readings. How can any parent say no to a company that inspires a child to read historical fiction?

Direct mail is measurable from concept to completion.

How many catalogs or postcards does it take to breakeven? When will the return from the mailing peak? How long is the tail? (Some catalogs generate orders years after they were mailed.) Almost any question you have about a mailing and its return on investment can be answered with analysis.

Social media is exciting, fun, intriguing, and should be included in your marketing plan. It is not a replacement for direct mail. Beware anyone who tells you differently.

I received a Christmas card and letter yesterday. Since Christmas was almost five months ago, it was very late or extremely early. It was from my sister, and it was late.

The enclosed letter explained everything. (Not really. It explained why there was a Christmas card in my mailbox in May. If you know my sister, you know that there is a lot more that needs explaining.) Okay, back to the letter…

Last year they moved into a new home. Everything was hectic with the move, two young children, busy work schedule, and life in general so the cards were printed but not mailed. When she realized that a lot of people didn’t have their new address and that postage was going up, she decided to mail the cards.

The cause isn’t as important as the effect.

When I received the card after a challenging day, I purged my stress by laughing out loud. Others had similar responses. It turns out that Christmas in May is fun.

Sending the cards was a simple, unique, and memorable way to reconnect with friends. It made a lasting impression. When was the last time your company did something simple, unique, and memorable? How about your last marketing campaign? Or, was it just more of the same?

Think of ways to reach out to your customers and prospects that is personal, sincere, and different. Look for opportunities at every touch point. Your recipients will remember.

Holiday season is just around the corner. Do you know where your customers are? They are probably hunkered down waiting for the storm to pass. When it does, the floodgates will open and the shopping will commence.

Will your customers be eager to order from you when the holiday season kicks off in October? Or, will they have forgotten your great products and wonderful service? Times are tough now, but the upturn is just around the corner.

The steps you take now create the environment required to attract and keep customers. It is time to start planning so that this holiday is the most profitable season, ever!

It is tempting to stop marketing, batten down the hatches, and wait for everything to pass. If you choose this approach, your competition will leave you behind. A better choice is to use the downtime to improve your marketing and service so that it reduces costs and enhances relationships.

The first step is to complete a full post mortem of last year’s holiday results. This includes an analytical review of sales and service. Most companies analyze their sales every which way without consideration to the service effect. The inclusion of this missing piece completes the puzzle so marketing plans and service levels work together to profitably acquire and retain customers.

The second step is to create an internal customer satisfaction index. Perception is more important than reality in the service world. Quick delivery of a quality product is not enough to guarantee a high index score or repeat purchases. Consumers want to feel appreciated and respected, too. The only way to know if perception equals reality is to seek customer input on a regular basis. This can be accomplished with surveys, forum, and one-to-one interviews. The information obtained is then combined with the analytics to provide a realistic view of service and satisfaction.

Common challenges will appear in the first two steps. Ranking them by required investment and potential return creates an improvement checklist. The third step in the customer satisfaction process is to plan the elimination of problem areas. Some challenges are easily resolved and should be fixed immediately. The rest require careful evaluation and implementation. The investment in the planning stage makes the execution easier.

The fourth step is to work the plan. Implementation is the key to every successful plan. This is where process becomes function and benefits are realized. Successful execution requires a systematic approach that includes continuous monitoring of the results. One of the advantages of direct marketing is the ability to measure cause and effect. This allows companies to test marketing plans and service levels to find the optimal combination and insure long-term satisfaction and profitability. It’s time to get started so that your customers are happy and your Holiday is prosperous!

Dear GM:

Thank you for providing today’s lessons on multichannel marketing, branding, and damage control. So far, you are not doing very well. I hope you get it right in the end because you have a great brand. It isn’t fun watching you shoot yourself in the foot.

GM, your preparation for your trip to DC, hat in hand, to ask for a loan was impressive. You obviously paid attention when the financial sector asked for their bailout while continuing junkets and extravagant spending. Before you asked for financial help, you cancelled your star-studded Style event, holiday parties, reduced executive perks, and placed a moratorium on white-collar raises. Since you were so in tune with public opinion, I have to ask, “What were you thinking when you took the private jet to DC?”

All of your efforts to provide a contrite, financially responsible image by canceling events and conserving money were wasted when your executives climbed aboard that jet. The only people who knew about your savings were the few who read the financial section. The rest of the population (and most of your target market), were in the dark about your financial situation until the private jet public fiasco.

Just think about how it could have played differently if you had flown coach. While the other two of the Detroit Big Three were explaining their jet setting, you could have discussed your other cost cutting efforts. But alas, you didn’t get that opportunity.

So, like any good multichannel marketer, you took it to the people. I guess you watched the Obama campaign use the Internet and electronic tools to corral support. You know your customers are loyal because they tend to buy GM time after time. Why not ask them for help?

The “urgent message to GM owners” email you sent to mobilize your customers might have worked if you acknowledged that you goofed by riding the private jet. But you didn’t. You suggested that life as we know it would end if you don’t get the loan you are requesting. You even send them to your “Facts and Fiction” page where you claim “GM Tells It Like It Is”, but you fail to mention the jet there, too.

Now you are insulting the intelligence of the people you need for this turnaround. If they lose confidence in you and stop buying your vehicles, the loan doesn’t matter. It won’t be enough.

In case you haven’t figured it out, here are some do’s and don’ts when you make a mistake:

Do acknowledge it and apologize. Even if you thought it was ok to send the jet when asking people worried about their mortgages for a loan, it wasn’t smart. Accept that you goofed, apologize, and move forward.

Don’t compound the problem by sending a threatening letter. Your letter pretty much said that if you didn’t receive support, the US economy would fail (or come close to it.) Maybe, maybe not. Either way, your position was poorly presented.

Do expand the cost cutting to eliminate the corporate jets. You started the process with two, now go the rest of the way. Yes, it is severe, but according to you, if you don’t get the loan, you are shuttering the doors. Flying coach is better than bankruptcy.

Don’t pat yourself on the back in the same letter that you ask for help. The take-away points from your letter are: Your customer was smart for choosing GM; You need a loan, not a bailout; The US economy is failing and if you don’t receive your loan, it will not be “viable”; You need your customers to pressure their senators and representatives; and you’re leading the industry. (If you are leading the industry, why do you need help?)

Please recognize that you’ve made some mistakes and stop shooting yourself in the foot. Americans can be quite forgiving if you take responsibility for your actions and apologize.

Wishing you the best,

A Taxpayer and Former GM Owner