How Not to Build Your Mobile List:

When this image popped into my team’s email and Facebook timelines, our immediate responses ranged from jaws dropping to light vulgarity. This perplexing image did little more than distracted us, especially considering the organization that sent it.

The group that sent this was not the Humane Society, nor do they have anything to do with animal rights.

There’s a common theory that if you use cute pets you can sell anything.

When it comes to politics, I’m not humorless, but on this matter I flatly disagree:

• There’s a place for cuteness and humor in politics, such as photo ops with candidates and events, not crappy overused stock photography of kittens.
• People are easily distracted, and there’s a lot of noise in campaign season. Every effort needs to be on message and drive users to action.
• When you’re dealing with an issue that impacts the quality of life of many, ask yourself if you really need to be cute or funny. What’s to gain from taking a direction?

And if you still need to soften a message, use imagery that reinforces why your campaign is important and who impacts, not LOLcats.

Besides choice of image, here’s where this attempt falls flat:

• The campaign needed to add what to expect from the list. And the key statement “Msg. & Info rates may apply.” Failure to do so could lead to suspended accounts or worse with your mobile provider.
• Not only the copy, but images need to be MMA compliant, for they can quickly find its way onto Pinterest or Facebook images without the copy attached.
• They included their Facebook URL. If the primary goal is to get them to sign up for SMS updates, don’t distract them with another call to action even if it’s passive.

Images and emotions matter in campaigns, and they’re also tied together. Be sure to use them wisely.