A while back the association blogoclump had a smackdown about "traditional" marketing vs a sort of un-marketing approach. At the time, Tony Rossell blogged an eloquent defense for marketing that I very much agree with. With a caveat...that it not become an excuse for doing what we've always done in a time when there are new, less resource-intensive options.
Printing and mailing a well-done brochure is effective, no doubt about it. It can even be done inexpensively. But it cannot be done without using energy, water, paper, and petroleum products. The triple bottom line holds us to a new standard. These days, ROI is about more than money.
New Media Means New Choices
Think about it. Why is that brochure so effective? I'd argue that it's the exercise of doing the brochure--the act of actually organizing and defining your organization, product, program or whatever that brochure is promoting. The brochure is the perfect snapshot of who you are and what you are trying to communicate at the time it goes to print. You've done the work to make it user-friendly, appealing and on-message. You've also done the work to define and target the audience who will receive the brochure.
What if you applied the same amount of time, money, energy and strategic thinking to a comprehensive, integrated web strategy?
I'm not suggesting we put our printers and the post office out of work. (That wouldn't be very socially responsible of me, now would it. ;-) But I am challenging myself and you to...
- Cut printing by mailing less resource-intensive pieces less often to fewer people.
- Reinvest in a web strategy that emphasizes an easy-to-navigate, searchable website integrated with appropriate social media and integrated e-mail.
What do YOU think? Can you see how a new approach--one that impacts the triple bottom line--could be just as effective?