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July 29, 2007

The Fallacy Of People Don't Read Anymore

Here's a link to some great thinking on copywriting by the highly-respected Drew McLellan author of Drew's Marketing Minute , a blog currently ranking #37 on Todd And's Power 150 Marketing Blogs.

Drew's observations are built around the J. Peterman catalog. J. Peterman was made famous on Seinfeld before an infamous stint in bankruptcy. Now resurrected, the J. Peterman catalog and website are carving a distinct brand niche with their clothing. And the copywriting is brand-consistent, differentiating and ...perish the thought....FUN.

OK, I exist in a B2B world, as do many of you. So, is there anything to be learned from this. I contend yes. All copywriting is about appropriateness — in length and style. But appropriate is not defined rigorously -- it is defined by the brand and the presumed reader use. Everyone is TOO busy, businesspeople AND consumers. To me, the message of Drew's post is in writing's ability to make busy people slow down. If people are not reading your copy, could it be that the words are neither compelling nor relevant to the reader!?!?

Many thanks to Drew for helping point this out.

Posted by jcioban at 11:40 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

July 23, 2007

The Power of NO.

Small business guru John Jantsch has a short, but important reminder posting about learning to say No when it comes to working with clients. Especially in many smaller independent dealer organizations, the temptation to accept all work is overwhelming. Learning to stay on focus can help you better manage your resources and keep the organization on a positive track.

Posted by jcioban at 5:26 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

PlaidNation Tour. Putting Marketing To Work.

In marketing, it is often sad that the hardest assignments are the ones relating to your own business. Take a peak at the rebranding effort under way at CT agency Plaid (formerly Visual Intelligence Agency) as viewed through the company's Brand Aid 2007 Tour site or their Website. The folks at Plaid are certainly practicing what they preach in employing a multi-channel marketing program with a liberal dose of Web 2.0/social media, including live WebCam feeds, a Flickr album, Twitter feed, blog, a traveling plaid van, and even some traditional direct mail. Some large corporations could learn from the company's very creative use of budget to garner publicity ... and measurable return from a string of nationwide appointments.

Posted by jcioban at 4:37 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack