Missed Marketing Opportunities
Every time you send something to a client, donor or stakeholder, you should think about the audience and what might surprise them and provide for a marketing opportunity. 
I bought a new sport coat and a pair of pants. When I reached into the pocket to pull out the cuttings from the tailoring, out fell a little piece of paper. Inspected by #2. I have no idea why my pants were inspected by No. 2 or who No. 2 is. Some regulation required this small piece of paper, but what a lost opportunity.
How about “Inspected by ________________” and insert the store where I bought the pants or a note from the owner about how he or she stands behind their pants. Even a small note from the tailor saying they carefully hemmed my new pants — instead of just stuffing the leftovers in the pocket — would have left me with a moving, branded moment.
When I’ve ordered from Custom Ink for printed clothing, there is usually a note from the person who packed the order and shipped it to me. The little card makes me feel good about Custom Ink, but the card also sends a message to the packer that it should be done right and with care because their name and photo is in the box.
It’s these little branding moments that can make all the difference and differentiate you from all the rest.
This blog was inspected by Annette.
Mark Mathis
Mark wrote his first direct-mail fundraising letter in 1981 for the University of Iowa Center for Advancement. The effort raised a few million dollars in undiscovered wills and legacy gifts. From that day forward Mark discovered a love of the big idea that moves the needle.
After 12 years at KWWL, Mark became a business owner as a co-founder of ME&V — rebranded as AMPERAGE in 2015. After 25 years of leading creative teams in video production, graphic design, PR, writing and web development, Mark transitioned out of ownership in 2021. Today he serves in an employee role as special projects consultant.
He is creatively ambidextrous — son of an artist and engineer — and famous for distilling complex ideas down to a few words and a few visuals. Mark is a writer. When he found that many nonprofits struggled with complex branding puzzles, he wrote the book, “NonProfit-NonMarketing .” He also wrote a novel called “Reenactment.”
Mark is an active blogger OneMinuteMarketer® with nearly 1,000 readers each week on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter. One of his most popular YouTube videos is on “How to Look Good on Zoom.”
One of Mark’s fondest business memories was being named to INC 500 two times and attending the INC 500 conference with other winners. Mark is considered by some a Civil War expert (and that explains his novel). Mark also served as an adjunct professor in the business and in the communications departments at Wartburg College.
Mark is a graduate of the University of Iowa and is currently vice president of the University of Iowa Journalism and Mass Communications Advisory Board.
Mark is married to state Sen. Liz Mathis, and the two love to travel, even when it means being trapped by a volcano in the Czech Republic for three weeks.