For the last few years, sticky ads have been popping up … and standing out … on newspaper front pages. It's the best, most cost-effective way to get your message on the front page, in color, above the fold. Sanford School, DE, has been using this technique since 2009. The school has used sticky notes to get the word out about big open houses as well as its drop-in series. Last year’s spring open house brought in 19 prospects.
One of the beauties of the sticky note, as most prospects have realized, is the ability to peel the ad off and stick it right on a refrigerator or calendar.
Sticky notes are typically 2” by 3”. So how do you get the biggest bang for your buck in that limited space? Learn to write effectively for the medium. Take Back Your Brain!, a Web site focused on marketing your message, tackled the subject in How to Write an Effective Ad on a Post-it Note.
“The beauty of the Post-It is the stark simplicity of the medium.” You don’t have a lot of room, so you need to zero in on your message—its all about content. “The Post-It forces us to deal with the content in our ads—refining the message until it can deliver a punch all by itself,” according to TBYB.
Here are some tips:
Define your objective for the ad. Is it to announce available seats for the fall? An open house? What do you want the note to accomplish?
Clearly state your message, and tell prospects what you want them to do. One of Sanford’s sticky ads invited prospective families to “Experience the Quality of a Sanford Education.” Hone your words to succinctly get your message across. And take care to let the reader know what you DO want, not what your DON’T want, them to do. TBYB points out that “for some reason, the part of your mind we're influencing does not know how to process negatives.”
Connect your message to an important benefit. In few words, craft WHY the prospect should come to your open house, schedule a visit, support your school…depending, of course, on your objective.
Keep it simple. You only have a small space to make a big impact.
Most newspapers allow you to target your ad to specific populations, often by zones. Cheryl Fleming said that Sanford clusters zip codes and covers five zones. You be the only game in town, as papers may limit sticky notes to one a day—so plan ahead!
ISM Consortium Gold members can read the full article about Sanford’s sticky note program as it appeared in To The Point Vol. 17 No. 2
Learn more about the key principles of effective messages—and much more—this summer in ISM’s new Enrollment Management: Three Steps to a Full School workshop, July 8-11 in Philadelphia. Get the details and register here.
More ISM resources of interest
ISM Monthly Update for Admission Officers, Vol. 8 No. 9 Your Summer Assignment: Define Your School’s Main Marketing Message
Marketing Your School Trilogy, ISM publication
ISM Collection: Recognize Your School’s Market Niche (free for ISM Consortium Gold members)
More Resources for ISM Consortium Gold Members
To The Point Vol. 10 No 4 Sharpen Your Marketing Tools
Ideas & Perspectives Vol. 32 No. 3 Marketing Your Purpose and Outcomes Statements
