How Would Modern Marketers Have Their Way with Telegrams?

The 2015 Masters Tournament marked the 40th anniversary of Jack Nicklaus' win at the 1975 tournament. While recently watching highlights of the 1975 final round showcasing the stellar play of Nicklaus, Johnny Miller and Tom Weiskopf, I noticed a pair of glaring omissions. None of the golfers were wearing hats and there were no corporate logos on their shirts.

This observation was a good reminder that the propensity for marketers to exhaust all opportunities for logo placement has rapidly grown over the years.

From promoted tweets to text ads bordering your Gmail inbox, modern communications are cloaked in marketing messages. Taking the above realization further, I wondered how modern marketers would have their way with forms of communicating that are no longer around - like telegrams.

Before we start exploring, we all would probably benefit from a quick review of what a telegram actually is...or was.

Let's say you live in Atlanta and you want to send birthday wishes to your friend in Memphis. You would simply visit your local telegraph operator and have your message transmitted to an operator in Memphis who would print your message for your friend. Telegrams were at their height in popularity before the increased use of telephones. Western Union was the most recognizable commercial telegraph operator. In fact, perform a Google image search of a 'telegram' today and countless photos of telegrams printed on Western Union telegram templates will be provided.

The following clip from NPR first aired back in 2006 when Western Union made the decision to stop its telegram service.


In an ironic twist for the modern age, "Telegram" is the name of a very popular messaging app that touts its speedy and secure delivery of mobile messages.

So how would modern marketers have their way with telegrams? I think we would see more of the same methods in play.

ADS ON THE BACK
Since the front of telegrams usually featured a uniformed look, I would expect to see modern marketers take advantage of the space on the back of telegrams. I've noticed this practice at Winn Dixie grocery stores where advertisements and coupons for other businesses are printed on their rolls of receipt paper.

HASHTAGS
Hashtags prompt targets to take action the best when they’re featured in an electronic format. But they're also seen on bumper stickers and t-shirts. Why not cover all areas and include your campaign's hashtag in a telegram?

MASS MESSAGING
It has been several years since I last received or sent a fax. However, mass messaging via fax machines is still a common technique. I know because my employer's fax machine frequently spits outs offers for health insurance and cruises - to no one in particular. The economics of sending a telegram would probably produce a poor ROI but hey, it's an idea.

In 1975, Jack Nicklaus earned $40,000 for winning the Masters. Jordan Spieth earned $1,800,000 for winning in 2015. Telegrams trended in a much different direction. Considering all the ways we communicate (and advertise) in today's world, is that a good thing? Please let me know by sending me a telegram tweeting me @nick_baggett.

Thanks for reading!