Dan Kennedy? Transmedia Producer? Who the hell is Dan Kennedy?

Well he isn’t a Transmedia Producer and probably shouldn’t be one. But if he ever tried his hand at it, we might all be trailing in his wake.
I found Dan Kennedy via Perry Marshall (who is one of Dan’s many students). You can read about my journey from there to here.

NO BULLSHIT STRAIGHT UP REPUBLICAN WHO CHARGES $100k+ TO WRITE A SALES LETTER

There’s a lot not to like about Dan. But there’s a lot I do like.

His politics are his own, certainly not mine. I do like his distinct personality and lack of BS. But what really interests me is his knowledge of psychology. It’s astounding. His skills in that department alone would qualify him as a Transmedia Producer.

But the other interesting thing is Direct Response Marketing. Dan is one the leading experts in this area and I believe that Direct Response Marketing is one of the things that is missing from most Transmedia & Multiplatform projects.

DIRECT RESPONSE MARKETING

..was first used early in the 20th century. It is a series of techniques and rules derived from the Junk Mail business. We all hate junk mail but think about it – it’s a lot like the media we are surrounded by today. The mass of largely useless information that goes to make up the internet is a bit like surfing junk mail. And so these techniques are pretty useful across all connected devices.

As producers and storytellers, we have a very limited window on people’s attention. We are not broadcasting anymore. We are competing for attention. We cannot hope that our story will appeal to everyone and to target widely is a waste of resources…

BLIND ARCHERY

There are a number of simple rules from Direct Response Marketing that are applicable to engaging an audience over multiple platforms:

• Use Distinct Personality and USP
• Target the Audience as Effectively as Possible
• Always Have an Offer and a Reason to Act Now
• Use STRONG COPY and Make Instructions CLEAR
• Sequence Communications and Follow Up
• Test and Measure Results

Boiled down into Dan Kennedy’s shtick – you need the right message on the right media aimed at the right market.

And this is REALLY IMPORTANT for me – and possibly others in Transmedia, Multiplatform and Interactive Storytelling. I come from the creative side but I am very obsessed right now with this very clear and simple approach to engaging audiences.

Additionally I think EVERYONE is missing a trick by not combining Direct Response Marketing with the Social Personalisation techniques we see a lot of today. That would be SO POWERFUL!

DIRECT RESPONSE TRANSMEDIA

Of course I have bypassed lots of other marketing theory and techniques to get to here, but I believe anyone who is coming from a broadcast type of mind-set to Transmedia, Multiplatform and Interactive will find some very revelations in the world of Direct Response Marketing.

Perhaps if I look deep into my own psychological reasoning behind writing these posts I would see that I am looking for expert collaborators with knowledge and skills in Direct Response Marketing to compare notes with… If you are that guy or gal then you know who you are and you can contact me here…

That wraps up my series of BellyThink posts for this week. What can I write about next…?