It has been said that 'the discipline of the written word punishes both stupidity and dishonesty' (John Steinbeck) this statement has never been more poignant than in the use of leaflets for propaganda. Dropped by specially designed bombs and shells and used in many conflicts, the propaganda leaflet really began to hit home in World War II. One example of a fairly successful propaganda leaflet is of a German leaflet which appealed to American troops and depicted a passionate kiss between a man and woman. The leaflet read: "FAREWELL Remember her last kiss? Gee were you happy then! Together, you spent marvelous times, lounging on beaches, dancing, enjoying parties galore.., listening to the tunes of your favorite band". On the reverse of the leaflet was some heart rendering words about how they may die and leave their loved ones alone and that she is longing for him to return home soon... well you get the picture. This leaflet was pretty stark for the soldiers and it is said that it did make a dint into troop morale for a little while at least. the Americans, however countered with a leaflet depicting no words at all, and yet was extremely effective. It was a scene of a large open field filled with the graves of dead German soldiers. Dropped in 1942 it reminded the Germans of the fate that awaited them in their quest for an Iron Cross. Another ingenious and highly effective WWII propaganda leaflet campaign was 'Operation Corn flake' Allied forces targeted and derailed German mail trains and during the confusion of the bombing would drop duplicate German mail bags full of false but properly addressed letters to German citizens. these letters would be gathered up by the German post office workers and under the misconception that they were gathering spilled German mail, would deliver it to the German public. The letters often contained copies of 'Das Neue Deutschland' the Allies propaganda news sheet... ingenious! Propaganda leafleting is still used in conflicts today and whole government departments are created during times of conflict to strategize the best message that will encourage opposing forces to lay down their arms. So I suppose that in some cases 'the pen is mightier than the sword'.
ABBA - Selling out in the 70's
Article: Dated 18/12/09
As a massive fan of memorabilia and printing, I was very happy to stumble across this leaflet from 1977, depicting 'Anna and Freda' from the super-group Abba, lending their fame to help sell televisions to the Australian buying public.This just goes to show that the pop artists of today are not the only ones to sell their collective souls for the chance of a fast buck and corporate sponsorship. The leaflet was distributed as part of a massive advertising campaign in 1976 which was sponsored by the Japanese electrical manufacturer 'National' to promote Abba's forthcoming Australian tour in March 1977. The tour was a huge success and Agnetha (Anna) recalled that due to the hysteria she felt a little scared and at times even cried
'Sometimes it was awful. I felt as if they would get hold of me and I'd never get away again. It was as if I was going to be crushed. On occasions they would grab hold of us in the most unpleasant ways and there were times when we cried once we were inside the car.' Courtesy of http://www.abba-world.net/phenomenon/tour/agnetha.htm
The weather at the Sydney Showground didn't dampen the spirit of the crowds as the torrential rain that had bathed the region for the previous week didn't show any sign of letting up for the performance. And it didn't stop the tens of thousands of Abba fans enjoying the concert of their lives all huddled under thousands of umbrellas and singing along to the hits of their generation. 'We weren't bothered about the rain' said one concert goer 'we were there to see Abba'. The leaflet depicting the two girls and the television, recently sold on Ebay for an undisclosed sum so it seems that the dream lives on.
Not always the best options this, as it may annoy 98% of your target market. (as witnessed in this excellent, short sketch from Hugh Laurie)
In this age of green bin and paper recycling we have to not only think about the planet but our social responsibilities should extend to marketing courtesy. Choice is not just about what a potential customer may want to buy, what colour something is or how big they want it, the consumer should have a choice about what marketing messages they wish to receive - think pop up ads and spam email. As an avid internet user I still get annoyed when my 'virtual personal space' is interrupted by adverts and pop ups that I haven't chosen to receive. Although with a click of my mouse I can send them off into the ether without a cost to the environment, the same cannot be said of poorly placed leaflets. Leaflets are an excellent marketing tool, when designed and placed correctly they can prove to be the best use of any companies marketing budget. A customer can pick up a leaflet, browse it and save it for the future, whether it has information that has value to the customer or an offer that will save them money, a good leaflet can be a real winner for any promotion... but casually smatter them around and you are wasting paper (trees) plus you run the risk of A. annoying a large percentage of your customer base. B. wasting paper which is no good for the environment C. having Hugh Laurie chase you with a shot gun.
Plan not only your message and the value of it but plan the distribution and placement of your leaflet campaign, because quality and targeted delivery always provides a much better return on investment.
The 'Focused Leaflet' - Why Marketers Are Switching Back On!
Article: Dated 21/01/10
Leaflets as a part of you marketing mix are tremendously important; In this 'mouse click' culture of too much choice, it's imperative to focus your customers attention on to what you have to offer. That is the beauty of leaflets... they can be placed straight into your customers hand; Your offer, your message, your company details... tangible and with your customer holding on to them.
Although, let's not kid ourselves here... face to face customer contact isn't dead just yet. I know that the internet has become the dominant form of small business marketing but leaflets are inexpensive and relevant. So when you actually meet one of your customers in either a 'potential' or a sales capacity and you wish to up sell or promote further offer or goods, you would find it very difficult to ask them to re-visit your website and click the promotions button! It just wouldn't happen. Handing over a relevant leaflet will make sure that the customer has something to refer to and also that they have something tangible with which to remember the purchase with.
Leaflets are powerful marketing tools and smart business owners have tuned into the fact that just like modern website pages, leaflets should be focused onto specific areas of need. Your leaflets should be targeted at your customers who... thanks to the internet, now have a savvier more focused attention into what it is that you offer and sell. Big companies are starting to switch onto the 'focused leaflet' and marketing departments across the world are taking some of their 'eggs' out of the internet basket and placing them in the box marked 'print' thanks mainly to the fact that leaflets are inexpensive and relevant It has come as no real surprise that the simple leaflet has become really popular with marketers , for now more than ever, in today's highly viral, web2.0 society... Relevance is key to your brands importance to a customer. (courtesy Joe Pilizzi's excellent blog) and choice savvy customers with a hunger for information will just go elsewhere.
The Spanish translation for leaflet is Prospecto. What a great word! It just sings business passion and hope. 'I'm sending out 10,000 'prospecto's' with a great offer on that I know will please our customers and create tons of fresh business.'
That to me describes just what great leaflets are about. You are prospecting for fresh customers just like the American miners of the 1800's hoping to strike gold! I love the upbeat linguistics of the Spanish language and the feelings that spill with every descriptive phrase it's perfectly mesmerizing. Another essential marketing product; the business card has the Spanish name tarjeta de visita which simply rolls off the tongue and from an imaginative marketers point of view (which I am) sounds just like 'targeting of visitors' - Magic!
It seems to me that we should consider renaming our boring, non descriptive business stationary with words that have more apparent descriptive alternatives. I think that from now on the Business card should be known as the 'Impression Creator' and the leaflet should be the 'Spectacular Customer Generator' Yes.. I defiantly like that a whole lot more, I may write to the Oxford English Dictionary and suggest it!
Of course you can only call them 'impression Creator and Spectacular Customer Generator' if it's designed and printed properly. This FREE six page guide that I've found about how to get leaflets right will help. I wonder what the Spanish word for success is?
One of the most original and successful leaflet campaigns that I ever saw was for a bar in Middleborough. It was a Saturday night and the crowds were thronging around the drinking holes of this University City but as seems to be the case these days, there was too few people for too many bars and so the leafleting and flyer people were out in force.
Most of the leaflets carried similar messages; drinks promotions... two for one etc, which DJ is playing where tonight, free entry before 11pm and all the same old and tired marketing ideas which can work when the offer is good but if everyone is doing the same then it becomes a bit of an information blur with no consumer credibility.
It was then that I spotted two sad looking girls (about 18 or 19 yrs old) thrusting scrappy looking A5 sheets into the hands of passersby's. This is not unusual I agree, it's just that nearly everyone was doing the same thing. A quick glance... then stopping walking... Reading the leaflet back to front, looking at the girls who handed it to them and laughing out loud. Then most importantly, keeping the leaflet by either stuffing into their clothes or their bag. Amazing! I had to find out what was on this amazing bit of marketing.
It was an advert for a lost dog... or so I first thought.
Anyway... you get the picture and it just goes to prove that even crappy leaflets can generate sales as long as there is a little humour attached.
