When someone hands you a flyer, it's like they're saying, "Here, you throw this away." - Mitch Hedberg
Mitch Hedberg was an extremely funny guy. The basis of his comedy was observational humor. He'd point out a common thing that all of us interact with on a regular basis and then provide a humorous perspective on it. The thing is though, the reason observational punch lines are funny, is because they're true and they resonate with the audience.
And that's what I love about the joke above - it's true.
I know of a person who regularly embarks on flyer hand-out campaigns. He readily acknowledges that the chance of someone coming to his events as a result of a flyer they received is almost zero. So why does he do it? His response would be brand recognition.
But really, what kind of brand recognition are you building, particularly with someone who is a kinesthetic learner (learns by doing), when their experience of your brand is:
- Receive piece of paper with information that has nothing to do with you on it from a person you've never met before.
- Glance at the paper and either decide you don't care about the information that's on it or you don't want to carry it with you.
- Throw the flyer out or jam it in your bag or pocket so you can throw it out at home.
The sum of the experience with that brand was entirely negative for any type of learner, but for someone who learns by doing, they have literally just mentally locked the memory of your brand in their brand, by equating it to the physical act of throwing out garbage.
So, the question I pose today is, kind of like with telemarketing, why do people keep doing it?
Are you handing out flyers?
Have you had success with it?
If so, why do you think that is?
