Just what makes this high profile marketing-compliance-data-mining piece, tick? I must admit to getting a pit of dread in my stomach when addressing a document that looks suspiciously like a cross between a mental aptitude test and a registration form at the DMV. It just hints of being government issued (a phrase that never has a positive connotation). But, because I am hopelessly dazzled by the document world, I can’t help but draw distinctions between this work and other Marketing-centric vehicles. Why does this seem to miss the mark on first impression, while Publisher’s Clearing House mailings invite action (besides the potential of receiving an oversized check, of course)?
To answer this question, I spoke with a wide cross-section of colleagues about this infamous statistics statement that is one of the most important responsibilities of the Commerce Department. Much like our day-to-day responsibilities, my colleagues and I examined the Census not to comment on the politics or policy of its purpose (many have already done that), but rather the method they used to encourage responses.
The Good: There are certainly redeeming aspects to the Census. The first that jumps out is the ease of reading. The fonts are generously sized and not so overly fancy that they’re illegible. The light blue ink color is pleasant. In the modeling world photographers always tell their subjects to wear blue because, “Blue Books the Job!” The piece does identify clearly where to start and even thanks you for your time at the end. Nice touch. It’s also fairly quick to complete once you focus on the task at hand. This replaces the old and less popular ‘long form’. Kudos to that!
The Bad: In life, some things are not necessarily pretty, but they get the job done. Duct-tape springs to mind as an example of this. However, with a budget of $11.8 billion for the life cycle of this project, it should have been possible for the Census form to be both aesthetically appealing and fundamentally functional. I know a number of sharp minded Marketing Professionals that could have accomplished this at a minuscule percentage of the cost.
There’s not much going on graphically to yell out to the reader, “Ooooh. Pick me up and engage me, please!” The piece is not personalized, nor addressed to the specific dwellers of the home. Additionally, there is nothing on the questionnaire that describes the purpose of this important record keeping device. Five concise bullet-points at the beginning of the document would have gone miles to giving people a better understanding of what reasons they were being asked these personal questions.
Overall, most of my colleagues found the Census to be unfriendly, impersonal and creepy. Personally, it reminded me of taking an exam. Now, there may be no way around that in the business of asking questions, but in general, if given the choice between feeling like I’m taking an exam or not feeling like I’m taking an exam, I’m usually going to go with the latter. Did others feel similarly to the point where they just ignored filling it out? We will have a better idea this week.
On a larger point, I wrote this for my Marketing Solutions brethren for a reason. It is easy to get wrapped up in your own documents that you don’t take time to study what else is floating around out there in written-word universe, even if you might not be able to instantly draw parallels between their objectives and your own. A strong Print Solutions Partner works hand-in-hand with the client and the designer to hit the mark, and the more diverse their knowledge-base is, the better expertise they can offer.
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Tony Anzivino hails from the greatly misunderstood state of New Jersey. He's worked in Financial Shareholder Communications world from the age of 12, starting with Janitorial duties at his Father's firm. He likes biking, hiking and ketchup.