This Just In: Targetted Advertising Still Works

I’m a fan of targetted advertising. Advertising in general I can easily skip over, but targetted advertising done right is great stuff. Right Stuf! has released their Spring 2009 Anime Catalog (available via their web site as a PDF, which is awesome).

For some reason, I enjoy “Alice in Wonderland” themes. I also like items themed by card suits, which probably relates. So, what happens when I get a catalogue in the mail showing a girl in an Alice-style dress, a girl with rabbit ears, and clocks in the background? Considering the art style used matches up with something I’d watch, this is a series that instantly catches my attention. Lift the cover, and there’s the girl in another Alice-style dress, and the boy this time as perhaps the Hatter.

I don’t know if the text about the series catches my attention as much:

Welcome to Alice Academy!

Okay, calm down. You’ve just discovered that you possess an ability like reading minds or spouting water from your ears on command. … [You could] possess what’s called an “Alice” – a special magical talent far beyond the capabilities of regular humans. Congratulations! Your next step is to enroll at Alice Academy, the government-sponsored, premier education facility for all Alice-gifted students. You’d better start packing.

I’ll have to read up a little more on the series to consider if it’s something I’d be interested in. A quick look at Wikipedia’s article on the series tells that it’s based on a still-running comic, and that the animation leaves various things unresolved as a result.

Maybe this will be one to pass on, but it got my attention. Targetted advertising works. Of course, the only target here was “anime”, but if they specifically featured a different series on the cover based on the viewer’s selected genres/etc. of choice, then …oh, Zelda! There’s Zelda in here!

Right, right, targetting something-or-other, whatever. I do know I’ll be getting the The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time comics listed in here sometime.

It would be nice if RightStuf! provides targetted advertising by e-mail. Having staff familiar with each series to put decide which audience (mailing list) should receive an e-mail about each series (maybe with an “other series recently released” section at the bottom to mention other series) would be nice. It could include information about an upcoming or recent release, along with a “if you liked this series, then this one is for you” bit.