Inflight Briefing: 002

William Henry on Oct 11, 2022 4:30:00 PM

Delivered weekly, the Inflight Briefing is designed as a blueprint for the builder and inspiration for the curious. It's for the purposeful (that's you!) doing marketing for good.

002: Fall has fallen

If you live in the northeast — or especially if you live in Westmore, Vermont — then you know fall is here simply by looking out the window. But for those of us in Florida, the only way that we can tell is by looking up at the Starbucks menu and seeing a new option: pumpkin spice lattes (#PSLs — yes, people really do have an abbreviation for them on Twitter 🤷).

Even if you aren’t a fan of the PSL, you have to admit they’re doing something right with their marketing. Is it that people who drink PSLs tend to take a hefty amount of pictures with their food and drink? Is it the fact that fall is just a great time of year? Or is it simply that good? Who’s to say?

Snackable snippets

Evolving the Olympic brand

It’s not by accident that the Olympics have such powerful visual branding. For an event that first took place between the 8th century BC and the 4th century AD — and with the modern games launching in 1896 — designers have had quite some time to develop a visual identity that represents this global, timeless event.

Out of step

Modern companies have become more conscious of the diversity of their teams and have taken on initiatives to transform the demographic makeup of their boards and leadership teams. However, although nonprofits are aware of the need for diversity, they are also lagging behind on the trend when looking specifically at their leadership.

The difference a word makes

Studies show that framing “donations” instead as “gifts” lead to increased intention to give as well as actual contribution size. The AMA says: “This happens because framing charitable giving as gifts rather than donations makes donors feel psychologically closer to beneficiaries.”

Sliding into the DMs

Instagram is considering adding a function for users to promote their recent posts through widespread DMs. Instead of hoping someone sees the post in their feed, influencers can now know that everyone is seeing their post — without paying to boost it! But do Instagram users want their DMs littered with spam? We’ll most likely learn soon.

Get that money

If you’re a 501(c)(3), not a government entity, and not in the healthcare or education spaces, then it’s time to get $10,000 each month to spend on advertising within Google Ads. Applying is easy, but finding the right keyword phrases and bidding strategies often require a little more creativity and testing. But it’s free money so it’s well worth the effort!

In the news

Nobel Prizes are being awarded left and right, but one of the most interesting has gone to three physicists who have done research on quantum entanglement. We’re not rocket scientists 🚀, so for more accurate context you may want to read it yourself. But the big takeaway is that apparently disconnected particles can influence each other’s qualities even from great distances.

What does this have to do with marketing, you may ask? Before I answer your question, I do want to make one caveat: although almost everything relates to marketing, not every single thing does. So sometimes the news may just be the news.

But quantum entanglement — at least for me — proves that, yes, everything is indeed connected. And in the context of marketing, this means that the best campaigns are going to be the ones that take every other campaign into account. Because, again, everything is ultimately connected, and no one and nothing is entirely detached from the larger thing that we call life.

Something for your inspiration folder

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Hope & A Future raised $32k using Feathr ads like the one on the left. With dynamic, targeted ads, they were able to increase awareness and boost end-of-year donations to better serve children in the Arizona foster care system. Learn more and give at azhope.com.

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