> It's fine to talk about integrated marketing campaigns, but what do you do >when your budget is tiny?

You think smarter!

Make sure your marketing communications make offers people can respond to and design them so they can double up as ads, leaflets, window posters etc.

Think about what you are offering, your rivals, their and you're strengths and weaknesses, your marketing problems and needs, your customers problems and needs.

Then try and pull out types of customers in large groups, by age, tastes or needs and make direct strong offers.

I'll take you through a case. The client Harrolds is a small optician chain, the glasses supermarkets are moving into his patch. He ain't got mega bucks, and is obviously threatened.

So what to do? The weakness of the big guys is they are impersonal. We bash the hell out of them for it, while taking on their price arguments.

Harrolds.
See more for your money.

Is the line.

So now we start targeting and tackling those benefits and problems.

· a special offer for pensioners (who remember the welfare state)

Remember where frames were free?
They still are.

· many people only have one pair, they can be sold more and there's a market for profitable varifocals and bifocals.

Your reading, driving, kissing, walking, fishing, knitting, cooking glasses.

(strong prices)

· lots of people can be sold fashion glasses who would not have considered it because of the imagined expense.

Armani.
Gucci.
Christian Dior.

Suave, sophisticated and a snip from Harrolds.

· The glasses supermarkets are seen as having a larger range.

Find the real you at Harrolds.
1500 frames for every personality. Free to 200 pounds.

· The supermarkets make your glasses in around an hour, Harrolds don't and can be cheaper if you give them lots of time. (There was a high profile campaign against car speeding at the time "speed kills".)

Speed Costs.
Come to Harrolds and save around 35 pounds.

· Xmas gives a chance to psych people, possible because we have a rapport!

When the Xmas snaps come back, will they love your glasses?


All this is done without graphics (except for the logo) in cheapo black and white. The offers are clear and the prices large and prominent.

Because we have worked on the brand, you would feel really mean going into the glasses supermarket, without giving that lovely, charming Harrolds a look.

Importantly, because he carries on about his prices and offers, he "must" be good value, so it's unnecessary to do price comparison!

You can see the ads and read the copy here.



So one can incite action and create a brand image at one and the same time, even on a small budget.

Sure this is slick, but a single store owner can emulate the technique, even if they use heavy handed puns or lame humour. It builds the idea that here is a real person, with personality, it would fun to do business with.

That's a valuable brand image.

>hardware store, how does the concept of creating a brand image apply to the decision to spend US$1000 on mailing coupons to your neighborhood?

Mailing the coupons is making an offer, creating the brand image is how you make that offer.

The secret is to be consistent. Each time you incite action the prospect has an impression of you and the way you do business, handle this right and the impressions you make over different offers add up to a brand image.

Future marketing investment adds to the brand image and, because people get to know you, the spend goes further.