Carolyn Hansen

on August 24, 2009

category: creative

Vice President/Marketing

“Enough about me. Let’s talk about you. So, what do you think about me?”

That’s my favorite line from the movie Beaches. I honestly don’t remember much else about it.

This line encapsulates why good marketing is so hard to create. We know so much about the product. And the process we use to make the product. And the brand personality we want the product to embody. And on and on and on.

It all goes in the creative brief – along with the supporting documentation, the previous ads, all the competitors’ ads, etc. We pull it all together. Give it to an Art Director and Copywriter. And they may come up with something brilliant.

Then we all get a little nervous. This brilliance may not have enough hard information to get someone to buy. Oops – we forgot to mention one of the features. Oh dear – the logo may not be big enough. Is the copy truly “compelling?” (That word used in a critique is always a creativity-stopper, in my experience.)

It’s very hard to remember that our ad shouldn’t be about our product. It should be about our target and what she is interested in. She shouldn’t have to work to figure out why this is for her. That’s what we mean by relevant advertising.

It helps to be able to take a step back and get some perspective.

If an ad is all about the product, we need enough of a sense of humor to realize we’re asking the target to tell us what she thinks about us, rather than saying, “Let’s talk about you.”

 

Comments:

8/28/2009 at 11:12 a.m.
Demographics and brand marketing
I haven't seen the research you mention -- but it sounds fascinating. Do Boomers and GenY purchase fewer branded products in comparison? (I'm guessing 90% of what I buy is branded almost by default.) Off the top of my head, as a direct marketer, I'd say it's usually best not to focus on a group that's less likely to buy your product. A person's age is less important than that person's propensity to buy your product. So, if Boomers are buyers and GenY isn't, aim your messaging at the Boomers. If that isn't practical -- if your product is something only a college student would buy -- I'd recommend testing a variety of creative approaches to see what works. If there's any way to get your product in their hands -- so they can appreciate those high production values (sampling? money-back guarantee? first month free?), I'd test that kind of idea first.
>>Carolyn, Seattle 8/28/2009 at 02:00 a.m.
Big differences across demos, too.
I agree, Carolyn, that as marketers we really do tend to talk about our clients' products as though our audience can be defined by the brands they choose and the products they buy. I would just add that the rejection of this mindset is greater among the younger cohorts: GenY is more resistant to materialism than GenX, which is more cynical than Boomers. One paradox runs through the research I've read, though: while GenY really hates product-centered advertising, they are very conscious of production values and tend to buy brands: 90% of their purchases are of branded products. Any ideas on how to approach GenY audiences more effectively with those conflicting issues in mind?
>>Owen Richard Kindig, Seattle WA

Jon Bell

on June 25, 2009

category: creative

Senior Copywriter

Creative collaboration.

Writing – at least in creative fields – has almost always been an individual effort. The writer works alone.

In the world of advertising, like no other creative undertaking I can think of, collaboration usually happens right from the start. The client and account team have collaborated on the strategy – and when it’s time to hand the project to the creative team, you get a writer and an art director.

Maybe this is because advertising was never just about the copy.  The first ads (of the modern era) were posters – and a big part of the job was to get attention. Design is all about grabbing attention.

Direct marketing always was more about copy than general advertising was. It just takes more words to get a sale than to get awareness.

Why is collaboration a good idea?

1. As a creative person, I have to confess that working with an art director takes off some of the pressure. If we don’t come up with brilliance, at least there’s someone to help share the blame.
2. It’s faster to get to good ideas when I brainstorm with someone than when I go it alone.
3. The “words and music” have to work with each other. I may come up with marketing ideas the art director can’t execute. It’s better to figure that out before I present my work to the creative director or the account team or, worst of all, the client.

What make creative collaboration difficult?

1. When I like my idea and my teammate doesn’t, it takes effort to persuade him.
2. The more editors on an idea, the muddier it’s likely to become. Just like overworking a pie crust, you can roll the air out of concepts until they become chewy, not flaky.
3. I got into writing partly because I’m an introvert. Art directors sometimes suck the energy out of me.

These two lists are awfully personal, and not exactly comprehensive. But, to motivate myself to collaborate, I have to look at my own reasons for inspiration and see how ridiculous my “difficult” list really is.

Do you love or hate creative collaboration? What benefits have I forgotten?

 

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Thomas Lamprecht

on April 1, 2009

category: creative

Vice President/Executive Creative Director

If you want creatives to do great work, do you let them play?

In a recent wave of concept generation for several of our clients some interesting patterns occurred. One large, important client required a range of many concepts and the work was given a reasonable but not excessive timeline and resources. Another client, of lesser size, required similar scope of effort but the schedule was impossible and work was rushed through with all-nighters, weekends and down to the wire, almost missed the FedEx, anxieties. Yet another ideation run, for a third client, was allotted quite generous schedule allowing for play, slow-cooking and several rounds of refinement.

How much time do creatives really need to come up with the best work? Is it the more blue-sky time the better? Is it a strictly defined optimal number of hours, perfectly planned and distributed over realistically scheduled days? Or is it small time window, crazy insane, due yesterday pressure? In cases above, the results were mixed and not necessarily intuitive. The first effort went terribly at the beginning and as time shortened and pressure mounted, the quality increased. The second, surprisingly, produced more work but at the end of the day the quality seemed to have drowned in volume. The work didn’t seem focussed enough and although the work was recognised as solid it did not bowl anyone over. The third effort produced great quality and range of ideas that blew our client away.

Do pressure and tension add to the quality of creative? Does having all the blue-skying time you need inspire the best creative ideas? Do realistic but tight schedules? Is there a method to this?

What do you think?
 

Comments:

5/1/2009 at 6:25 p.m.
hmmmmmm.
What is great quality creative? There really should be only ONE answer. Good creative is innovative, always changing, always evolving. But at the same time still be timeless. Good quality creative is creative that makes the agency and the client proud. Proud to have put their blood, sweat and tears into. It breaks through the advertising clutter and gets noticed. That's good creative. A month, a week, a day, an hour it doesn’t always matter, it's not how you get to the good creative, it the end result of the journey.
>>N. Fidel, San Francisco CA4/25/2009 at 2:25 p.m.
Answering your question with a question
What is great, quality creative? Ahhhh. We have as many answers for this as we have clients. As for my own creativity, both tension and pressure always help to drive a bolt of lightening. For better or for worse!
>>Jill Kaufman, Seattle  WA

Jon Bell

on February 10, 2009

category: creative

Senior Copywriter

The world revolves around me.

You are reading this because it’s about me and my achievements. Nothing could be more fascinating. I’ll be giving you the details about all the awards I’ve won and my new work that just launched.

And when you’ve read all of this, I know you’ll be delighted to learn that you can bask in my reflected glory when you hire my agency.

This was the gist of an email I received this morning. I exaggerate -- but only a little.

I admire the self-confidence of this copywriter. I do. What must it be like to go through life with that golden glow?

But I would never hire him or his agency.

Copy Rule #1: The safe assumption is they don’t know about you or your product and they don’t care.

If you really want to fascinate people, either ask questions so they can talk about themselves or talk about what’s important to them. It’s just like getting a prospect to buy your product or service.  Sell what you’ll do for them -- the lawn they’ll get, not the seed you’re selling.

 

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Jon Bell

on January 13, 2009

category: creative

Senior Copywriter

Have a little respect.

I sometimes wonder if marketers have parents or grandparents. So many of us have no trouble talking down to seniors. Or making fun of them behind their backs.

Here’s a snarky little story in the Los Angeles Times, reporting on the Consumer Electronics Show:

Remember when Grandma and Grandpa were confounded by the VCR? Today’s senior citizens are surfing the Web, gabbing on cellphones, Skyping with grandkids and firing up the Wii game console.

When it comes to technology, older Americans have done a cultural reboot.

"They’re doing things that 80-year-olds weren’t doing 15 years ago," said Howard Byck, senior vice president for lifestyle products for AARP.

Excuse me? Did you have a Wii console 15 years ago, Mr. Smartypants? Were you Skyping anyone?

Fifteen years ago was when I bought my first cell phone. That’s also about when I opened my first home email account through AOL. I remember getting something called "Internet in a Box" in order to do it. There was barely a World Wide Web, and certainly no Skype.

What’s more, I recall a few 30-somethings having trouble setting the clock on their VCRs back in the day.

Of course, seniors are doing more technologically sophisticated things than they used to. So are the rest of us. There are also more seniors than there used to be. So the growth in sales to seniors may be more about a demographic bulge than a "cultural reboot."

Seniors deserve more thoughtful consideration than an "isn’t that cute" pat on the head. Marketers need to remember that seniors are a lot like the rest of us. When I’m writing for seniors, I keep real members of the target audience in mind – people like my scary Aunt Ida or Jack Nicholson or Toni Morrison.  Would you pat Hillary Clinton on the head?  Or talk down to Arnold Palmer?  Puh-leaze!

In fact, I respect seniors so much, I aspire to become one!

 

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Jon Bell

on January 8, 2009

category: creative

Senior Copywriter

Beautiful but dumb.

The Madison Avenue Journal has been doing an in-depth, multi-article interview of Keith Reinhard who deeply admired Bill Bernbach. The Journal has nicely presented Bernbach’s 20 insights on advertising. Number 9 struck me as just terrific:

I wouldn’t hesitate for a second to choose the plain looking ad that is alive and vital and meaningful, over the ad that is beautiful but dumb.

How many of us fall for the beautiful but dumb one in a creative presentation?

I have a bias. I’m a writer. So in my heart, "meaningful" has more to do with copy than art. But in reality, I know that vitality and even meaning can also be about touching the emotions through design or music. The beautiful ad can also be the very best.

Judging advertising in a conference room during a creative pitch is trickier than it sounds. You think, "I’d never pick the beautiful, dumb one." But it happens all the time. Fortunately, direct marketers have developed more humility than that. We’ve all fallen for the dumb one. Then we test it and discover the target audience completely disagrees.

I’m glad my career never depended on a "golden gut" or an ability to unfailingly pick winners. Instead, I’ve tried to learn what people respond to and put that vital and meaningful touch into every campaign.

 

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Jon Bell

on December 16, 2008

category: creative

Senior Copywriter

Automated advertising.

It used to be a joke among creative types that when you show a client three different concepts, they’ll pick the headline from the first ad, the photo from the second and the copy from the third.

Then we’d shake our heads and laugh, go into a deep funk or rage, depending on our personality.

The last laugh is on us.

The New York Times has reported on a new technology that will create web ads on the fly "changing elements like color, type font, message, and image to see what combination draws clicks on a particular site or from a specific audience."

In theory, because I’m a direct marketer, this makes a certain amount of sense to me. I love testing. I love knowing what works. I even love being surprised by what works.

In practice, I can’t imagine this working very well at all.

Type fonts and colors are important, but they’re important only in context -- and they’re not important at all relative to many other things you could care about.

Images are attention-getters in the advertising world -- and a bigger deal than type and color -- but they’re not the whole story either.

Now, messaging . . . that gets closer to the point. That’s well worth testing and I don’t have any objection to testing as many ways to get the message across as you can think of. 

But the really BIG things to test are audience and offer. Audience and offer will make all the difference. The other stuff is so secondary, I wonder if these guys will even get a significant lift in their purple vs. orange tests.

Let’s see if these ad assembly systems are in wide use in a year or two. If they are, I’ll go into a deep funk or rage, depending on my mood.  If not, I’ll go about my business of crafting messages for specific audiences about specific offers.  And I’ll be doing it with a smile on my face. 

 

 

 

Comments:

12/17/2008 at 01:08 a.m.
The 40/40/20 Rule
Good points Jon. The generally accepted direct marketing rule is that 40% of a direct mail piece's effectiveness is supported by OFFER, another 40% is supported by AUDIENCE and the last 20% is supported by CREATIVE. Applying this rule to web-based messaging, the font or background color is only a fraction of that last 20%. While this new technology might lift reponse by some small fraction, logic says that at least as much thought should be going into technology that rotates/tests OFFERS and delivers messages to rotating AUDIENCES. Maybe instead of playing with fonts and colors they can use the same technology to rotate messaging, offers, and audience delivery?
>>Mark C., Seattle, WA12/16/2008 at 11:28 a.m.
A hammer does not a carpenter make...
...putting a pen to paper does not make one a good writer, and the ability to change an ad does make one an effective advertiser. This new tool may be nice for reducing the production cycle, but without the correct reasoning behind the decisions, people will not results they expect.
>>Dave, Seatttle WA

Thomas Lamprecht

on October 6, 2008

category: creative

Vice President/Executive Creative Director

Love is not enough.

Brand advertisers often find themselves in a complicated relationship with their customers and prospective customers. They are in hot pursuit of customers’ affections. They believe, "If only the world loved my brand as much as they love their iPhone, their Moleskine notebook, their Prius and shopping at Whole Foods, I could live happily ever after."

Too often, a marketer’s love is unrequited or the customer gets involved with a competitive brand and complications ensue.

As with any relationship, attraction is just the beginning. For love to develop, you need something deeper. You need to engage in give and take.

There’s nothing wrong with romancing your customers -- but romance is only a starting point. When you are dating, you don’t propose marriage without having some conversations first. When a love interest tells you what they like, you don’t put it in a database and then forget about it.

The key is to get deeply involved. That’s what separates a temporary crush from a meaningful relationship.

People long to believe that the products they love are made just for them.  They modify their Mini Cooper to suit their style.  The iPod has not just a few, but ALL of their favorites tunes -- and their favorite movies and videos, as well.  The beverage they get at their local café is hand-made to order.

This engagement with the brand, with the molding done by the consumer, is the true goal. Love is just the beginning.

 

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Jon Bell

on September 29, 2008

category: creative

Senior Copywriter

You don't have because you don't ask.

I regularly get busted for being too pushy.  In my marketing copy, not in real life.  In real life I’m a teddy bear.  Just look at my photo.  It’s obvious.

But, on behalf of clients, I’m a tiger.  When it comes to asking for a response, I go for the jugular immediately.  Sometimes clients think it’s a little too much -- but I beg to differ.

Too much advertising is mere mush.  It’s entertaining.  It’s funny.  It’s clever.  But it’s too shy to say, "So buy me, already!"

There’s no shame in saying, "Call now."  It shouldn’t embarrass you to say, "Find it at your favorite department store."  No one will be put off if you say, "To get this great offer, go to www.xyzxyz.com."  In fact, if you’ve done your job right, they should be chomping at the bit to get your great widgety-thing.

I learned long ago that a direct marketing appeal has a much greater chance of winning when you ask for a response as early as possible.  Even in a long-form medium, like direct mail, if you don’t ask for a reply on the first page, your letter is doomed to fail.

On the Web, you put the Get It Now button right at the top of the page.  You don’t let people wonder whether there’s a reason to click on your banner -- you give them a reason.

Same for emails.  Ask early.  Ask often.  Don’t worry about being obnoxious.  I never do.

 

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Jon Bell

on July 9, 2008

category: creative

Senior Copywriter

Making your product more attractive.

The only way I know how to write compellingly about a client’s product is to fall in love with it, at least a little bit. Usually, this is easy. The old saying, "salesmen love to be sold," is true of advertising copywriters, too.

It’s a little like seeing another man enjoy the company of your wife at a cocktail party. That alone can make you appreciate her a little bit more. A prospect will often catch the excitement of the copywriter.(As long as the writing is totally credible -- which takes some balance.)

To fall in love with a product may take a little playacting. Why does the client love this product? By "the client," I mean the originator of this product. The product manager may not have a clue. Somebody had to be passionate about it -- or it never would have ended up on my desk.

And why will the buyer love this product? Some things are beyond my experience -- like the laboratory bench meters I once sold to scientists. When I figured out their capabilities, the tiny increments of difference they could measure -- and the incredible accuracy they promised -- I was completely in awe. I could talk about those fascinating objects all day.

Of course, I’ve forgotten every detail now -- including what it was those things measured. But I was definitely (though temporarily) in love at the time.

This kind of delight can’t be faked. As someone who reads creative briefs for a living, I know when the product manager is just going through the motions. I glance through the key messages and see that they’re flabby and lifeless. Bleh. They haven’t done their method acting exercises and gotten into the head of the person who will buy their product.

That’s when I get a little sad for those poor product managers. The excitement of falling in love is a big part of what makes the job of selling so enjoyable.

 

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Jon Bell

on June 17, 2008

category: creative

Senior Copywriter

Creative accounting.

I've worked in advertising and I've worked in direct marketing, and direct is better.

Seriously.  In direct marketing, we keep score.  That makes it all more fun.  When we keep score, we can often figure out what we did right and what we did wrong.  Then we can tweak what we do the next time and improve our score.

The only way to keep score in advertising is with awards. 

The Cannes Lions Advertising Festival is going on this week.  It's make or break for a lot of people right now.  I admit, I wouldn't mind a little field trip to the south of France.  But if it meant how good I felt about myself as a marketer for a full year, that might take a bit of the joy out of it.

I have no objection to competition.  I just like to compete every single time we run a campaign.  Besides, the people who judge our work are much more important than the judges at Cannes.  Our judges are the people who buy the products and services we sell.

 

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Jon Bell

on June 13, 2008

category: creative

Senior Copywriter

Creative that takes a licking and keeps on ticking.

If you're someone who has to judge creative work before it hits the streets in its final form, I have a couple of hints for you.

1. The idea you hate most may work hardest. We have a saying around here that no one is soothed into buying a product.  Now that's one of those generalizations that can be easily disproven. Trying to agitate someone into taking a spa vacation would certainly be the wrong approach. However, if something surprises or jars you, it may also get your prospect's attention and response.

2. The idea that scares you may be the breakthrough you're looking for. A little controversy can be a wonderful thing. It gets you noticed. Those who agree with you see your brand as something they identify with even more powerfully. Those who disagree probably wouldn't have bought your product anyway. And their complaints could even get your brand some free publicity. People like brands that actually stand for something.

3. The idea that strikes you as perfect as soon as you see it may be exactly wrong. Some of those perfect concepts look just like your previous campaign -- or worse, just like your competition. The obvious is often boring. The joke everyone has already heard is worse than not funny, it makes you look like you're not paying attention.

You wouldn’t hire a consulting firm to put together a focus group with just one person in it.  If you find yourself beginning to function like a “focus group of one,” it’s time to pause and take a deep breath.  You don't need to make an immediate, emotional decision. You're the one with the veto power, so go ahead and sleep on it before giving your final opinion.

 

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Jon Bell

on May 22, 2008

category: creative

Senior Copywriter

Why media trumps copy.

Whenever anything goes wrong with the results of a marketing test, you can count on me (as the copywriter) to say, It must have been the list.  Or, if it wasn't a mailing or email, Must have been poor audience targeting.

It's a joke to deflect blame from my bulletproof creative work.  Like all jokes, it's based on truth. 

You can bring the gospel to the infidels, but you can't make them believe.  You can make a great offer to someone who doesn't need your product, but you can't make her buy.

But wait.  There's more.

Better targeting also helps me, as the writer, more directly.  I need to get into the head of my target audience -- and having a clearer picture of that group can only make that easier.  So, who reads Beagles Unlimited Magazine?  (I wonder if the editors call it BUM?)  Who watches the Food Network?  Who searches for information on vacations in Croatia?

That's why we all count on our friends in the media department.  They make me look good.

 

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Jon Bell

on April 16, 2008

category: creative

Senior Copywriter

Don't bury the lead!

I've gotten pretty far in the direct marketing biz by understanding the "what's in it for me" principle. My job is to get inside the head of someone else in order to figure out what they want. And then I climb back out again and show that person how my client gives them just what they're looking for. (As a friend of mine says, "Be careful. It's dark in there.")

The WIIFM idea works for headlines, copy leads, calls to action -- just about everything.

Sometimes this approach is lost in an effort to be more interesting or clever or just different. I've found that it's sometimes very hard to make a clever approach work. Not because people don't like cleverness -- they often enjoy it very much. But, more often, we creatives fall in love with an idea that isn't actually clever at all. In fact, sometimes it makes no sense, unless you have someone there explaining it. (That's why I'm a little suspicious of creative presentations to the client or account team that require a lot of set-up.)

Now, as the economy worsens, everything we do has to pay off and the work has to speak for itself.

My advice is to be sure your creative approach doesn't get in its own way. Keep coming back to the point -- and the point is always about how the reader benefits.

 

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Jon Bell

on March 21, 2008

category: creative

Senior Copywriter

Quality of work

In my role as in-house curmudgeon, I often grumble about lax attitudes toward perfection. If something is worth doing, it's worth proofreading for the microscopic differences between a hyphen and an en-dash, I always say.

But then I have to remember, not everything will have an impact on response. Sometimes it's better to let it go. Especially if it's expensive to fix.

Better yet is using speed as part of your strategy.

When things can get done quickly, you can learn what works . . . fast. Then you can implement another round of testing -- sometimes before your competitor has figured out that you've gone through the first round.

I still prefer to work with people who enjoy futzing with the details. I just have to put a time limit on the tweaking or another part of the marketing strategy -- speed -- will break down.

And I insist that I retain my right to grumble.

 

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Jon Bell

on February 28, 2008

category: creative

Senior Copywriter

Do you have a favorite word?

I have a friend whose favorite word is mélange. He says he likes any English word that's actually French. Bizarre.

If you're a marketer, I'll bet your favorite word is FREE. Or maybe YOU. Or sometimes GUARANTEE.

My favorite marketing word is a little tricky . . . and some clients don't let me use it.

It's I. (Or should I say "c'est moi," in honor of my Francophile friend?)

I is a great word for emails and letters. It makes them look like they were written by a real person. How many personal emails have you written that haven't used the word I?

Some clients don't want their marketing to be that informal. Or, they think it sounds less customer-focused. I get that. But, for me, it's the word WE that does that, not I. That's the corporate WE I'm talking about. If you can get one or two YOU AND I's in your letter, you've got a chance of creating a bond with the recipient.

Throwing in an I also can let you say things the lawyers don't like . . . such as, "I think this is the best thing going." It puts its own disclaimer on the superlative. You ought to be careful with the superlatives anyway — but if your claim is true, and you really, really want to say it, this is a good way to do it.

Perhaps un peu sneaky, but c'est la marketing!
 

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Jon Bell

on February 5, 2008

category: creative

Senior Copywriter

Opinions are meaningless in business.

Here we are, a group of professional marketers, sitting around the day after the Super Bowl, talking about the commercials. Many of us have worked together for years. We think we know each other.

And then, KAPOW! You learn that someone else at the table — someone you respect — actually liked the boring Derek Jeter commercial for who-knows-what energy drink.

It came home to me again that we live in a world full of opinions. You can't depend on them. They're just so stupidly subjective. By which I mean they're not all the same as mine.

Around here, when we're talking about the work and someone has an opinion that can't be backed up by data, we call it "a focus group of one."

Opinions are meaningless. I won't go so far as to say they're worthless, because sometimes you don't have data and you need to go with your gut. But it's best to know that going in. That way you can be sure to test your ideas and learn something for the next time around.
 

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Jon Bell

on December 13, 2007

category: creative

Senior Copywriter

Are you a pseudoneologist?

Maybe you heard that the word of the year is w00t. Word of the year, according to Merriam-Webster, that is.

If you, like me, aren't familiar with gamer terms, w00t — spelled with zeroes, rhymes with root — is what players of Dungeons and Dragons tabletop role-playing game say when they're happy. It originally meant "Wow, loot!" Now it means "yay!" (If this is about D&D, shouldn't it be the word of 1997?)

So why zeroes? It's easier to get to the zero than the "o" on a phone keypad. Duh.

My coworkers will tell you that I'm a pseudoneologist, that is, someone who makes up new words. Like "pseudoneologist." You can look it up ... but you won't find it.

Unlike "w00t," my made-up words tend to be more self-explanatory. When I say "I think we need to orange-ify this part of the ad," everyone knows that means to make it orangier. If I ask about uncrunchelating some copy, it's obvious I want to give it a little more space. Air it out. Freshen it up.

When I'm talking I make up words when I can't find the right one. When writing, I really am a word snob. The right word choices are important. Marketers can't afford to write copy that makes the reader guess ... or work too hard to get the meaning.

Remember, in advertising: design captures the attention, but copy is what sells. Then the client says, "Wow! Loot!"
 

Comments:

12/19/2007 at 6:52 p.m.
133t!
Hehe, close... "w00t" is a product of Leet, or Leetspeak. It's based on orthography, using substitutions of other characters, letters or otherwise, to represent a letter or letters in a word. It used to just be language used in the 80's on BBS or IRC for hackers or sysops to defeat text filters when talking about "naughty" topics, like hacking, or just for them to seem cooler than everyone else. Now it's in the mainstream, particularly on MMORPGs (for you noobs out there, that's Massively Multiplayer Online Roleplaying Game.) Lolz!
>>Andi Blija, Bellevue WA

Jon Bell

on November 27, 2007

category: creative

Senior Copywriter

More conflict resolution

In my last post to this blog, I talked about how being open to disagreement can help get to a better solution.

Being open is all hunky-dory in those cases where you can tear yourself away from your own point of view long enough to appreciate another perspective. But sometimes you're absolutely certain you're right and the other person is wrong. And sometimes the other person feels just as passionately.

That's the brilliant thing about direct. We can always test it!

Just about any difference of opinion can be resolved in a matter of weeks with a small in-market test. Let the people decide whether the background should be green or blue, which headline is more intriguing, which price point brings the most profit.

We often find that just discussing the test will be enough to give everyone some perspective. A word choice issue in the fine print of lead capture Web site won't make or break a program. Even if I have the precise word for the job — and only the basely ignorant disagree with me.
 

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Paul Jenulis

on October 25, 2007

category: creative

Proofreader

Why slide?

"Why slide?" two former co-workers asked me the other day over drinks. Just beginning my second Captain and Coke, and having not heard the beginning of the conversation, I had no idea what the hell they were talking about.

"What the hell are you talking about?" I asked them.

"Why slide?" they responded in unison.

I assumed the blank face I returned them was a sign I didn't understand, but you know what happens when you assume.

"Are you drunk?" the female asked me.

Another dumb-founded look from me. I wasn't drunk, but I might as well have been.

"Why slide?"

I was getting overwhelmed with the questions.

And I didn't have an answer, so I got up and went to the bathroom.

So today, during an in-between of two projects, I was perusing Hacker's new website and realized just what the hell they were talking about. It's on the home page, right after the Hacker logo shoots out of nowhere onto the screen.

Strategy to the left. Ideas to the right.

With a slider in between.

If you slide it left, the Hacker logo dances away and you get five options from which to choose (the who we are and what we do pages). Slide to the right, and after that little dance of the logo, you get samples of some of the work Hacker has performed in the past. Although there's a bar at the bottom of the page for easy navigation, this sliding option is what has caught the eye of at least two people. And they seemed perturbed by it. Having raked over this new site repeatedly for typos and such (and then checking to make sure the edits were made, and then marking up more edits, and then checking to see if THOSE were made, and repeating, and repeating again), it never occurred to me that this slider option may not make sense. Well, to me it did, but that's not saying much.

In any case, the question was raised again: "Why slide?"

I had no answer then, and I have no answer now. I'm just a proofer, you know. I'm all about words and syntax and punctuation, and not much else (well, I know a lot of useless sports statistics, but where's that gonna get me in life?).

The slider made sense to me at the time. (Disclaimer: I'm about as technologically advanced as dinosaurs. Even now, typing this blabbery out, it amazes me that I can hit some keys with symbols on them and the thoughts in my head appear on screen.) I have no idea why Hacker chose the slider option, except that perhaps it's fun. It's modern. It's technologically savvy, baby.

But that's not what's important, right? What's important is that the site is navigable.

So why slide?

Is it that important? What's important is that, although some things have no answers, it's the questions we CAN answer that need to be dealt with. Because, really, why mess with questions that can't be answered? It'll drive you crazy. You might as well be a dog chasing its tail. Or a sports nut proofing junk mail. (Or a bored reader checking out some lame blog about sliding navigation bars.)

It's important questions like, "How did you miss THAT error?!" (I was distracted) and "You're a proofreader?" (on some days, yes) and, perhaps most importantly, why have you, dear reader, read this far?
 

Comments:

10/29/2007 at 12:32 a.m.
Here's why
The slider is all about choice! It gives people the opportunity to navigate the site the way they think about marketing. Some focus on ideas that can be turned into marketing strategy, while others start with strategy -- and the perfect idea falls outs -- when the strategy is right. However, never forget you always need both!
>>Spyro Kourtis, Bellevue WA10/25/2007 at 12:58 a.m.
Are you drunk?
Damn straight... "it's fun. It's modern. It's technologically savvy, baby." But "why"? Well... I believe the designers were thinking it would make people think. And wonder. And play with it. And go to bars and talk about it. Or at least mumble incoherent incomplete sentences about it. :)
>>Tara, Bellevue WA

Jon Bell

on October 24, 2007

category: creative

Senior Copywriter

Using all the words we've got

"I don't swear for the hell of it. Language is a poor enough means of communication. We've got to use all the words we've got. Besides, there are damn few words anybody understands." - Clarence Darrow in Inherit the Wind.

Now there's a lawyer who should be reviewing direct marketing copy.

I'm not trying to fool anybody when I say something is free. It's free! But someone in legal thinks there are strings attached when I'm, say, giving away a white paper for answering a couple qualifying questions. They tell me to say it's "complimentary."

Then there's the disclaimer that needs to be written into the pitch. I'm not allowed to tell you that you'll save $250 on installation. No . . . I have to say: You'll pay $1,000 for installation - that's a $250 savings! - when you buy a $25,000 piece of equipment and sign a ten-year service agreement that costs $69 per month per user (minimum of 10 users, please), if you decide to buy before May 15, 2009 and you call our toll-free number when the moon is full.

Okay. Thanks. I guess I won't be mentioning the offer at all.

I just want a lawyer who will let me say what I mean.
 

Comments:

11/1/2007 at 6:50 p.m.

When you start measuring the disclaimer copy in inches, it doesn't strengthen your marketing efforts. But topping the list of my "Favorite Moments in Direct Marketing Legal" is a very short disclaimer: *FREE, without obligation When you have to add an asterisk every time you say FREE, it's frustrating. But when the asterisk points to a definition-- for those who may not be familiar with the term FREE-- well, that's just silly.
>>Meredith Steiner,  

Thomas Lamprecht

on October 18, 2007

category: creative

Vice President/Executive Creative Director

Smart Creative

It takes a village to tango. Or perhaps pogo would seem more appropriate here. Certainly, when it comes to development of great marketing work it takes all the participants to engage in a coordinated dance. At the end, there is always one entity that must assimilate all the parts, deconstruct and synthesize them and find a way to articulate originally, informatively, persuasively. That end is the creative. Smart creative. The smarter, the greater the sum of its parts.

And in today’s world smart the creative must be. It functions like a tip of an iceberg, a beacon, visible above the surface to all, with a supporting, hidden mass of target and industry research, strategies, guidelines, data, clients’ idiosyncrasies, latest visual, copy and design trends, business, art, media, informed vernacular and the very edges of relevant limits to name but a few (phew...). No other area of marketing discipline involves the necessity of rigging as many disparate parts together and coming up with communication that not only works but is innovative, original, compelling, informed and, at the same time, pulls like a freight train.

To get there and for the pogo to culminate in a graceful and forceful marketing bang some essential parts of the organization need to effect mutually supportive working relationships. Both account and creative staff have to be more invested in the development of creative approaches. Media, sales and accounts have to be encouraged and guided to seek out new appropriate opportunities and openings. Accounts need to look for ways to steer existing clients towards more innovative creative solutions, whenever possible. Creatives need to feel empowered to challenge the usual assumptions and put forward innovative thinking rather than feel locked into churning out predictable—however reliable—volumes of offer-driven, or generic direct marketing. The teams need to feel that they have an equal stake and partnership in fulfilling that objective. They need to feel mutually supportive of, and supported in, reaching it. Let’s dance.
 

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Paul Jenulis

on October 4, 2007

category: creative

Proofreader

The Game of Proofreading

That’s what I do: proofread junk mail.

I’m the coolest person you know.

The green tea is warm in my stomach, and the sweet and salty granola bar (with almonds!) will keep me going until lunch as I continue to read about being Pre-Approved for everything under the sun.

And so: I read. And snack. I mark up, in red ink, of course, corrections to incorrect grammar usage, adding a period here or an exclamation point there; I cross out words and add others that I believe will work better (but few agree with me); I transpose words that flow better when transposed; and I suggest different words that may work better according to the audience involved. All while keeping the clients’ style preferences, which vary considerably, in mind.

Often, I am stetted. Usually, this ticks me off. And so, I’ll argue my cause. Sometimes, the point is proven and agreed with, and change is made (yay for change!). Other times, my requests fall on deaf ears. No matter how big I write in red ink.

You learn to choose your battles and accept losing others, regardless of correctness. But half the battle is learning to choose which battles to fight.

It’s okay, though, friend. That’s how the system works. Keep chugging along, catch the errors, move on to the next project. It’s rather delicious, like the granola bar.

And so: I read. I mark the shit up.

Repeat. All day long, baby.

Move on to the next fun project: it’s all part of the game of proofreading for this, one of the Best Coast’s top direct marketing agencies.

What I’m telling you is that every day I get to come to work and play a game. And get paid for it. Just sit down, drink the tea, and find the errors. It’s like doing a crossword puzzle, or finding Waldo. Only it’s junk mail; and if I’m not 100% on my game, I may miss something. Which could be costly, unless it’s caught later on, but not too late. Too late, and you’re thrown to the dogs. If you miss something, you get lambasted. Lambasted, I say! How could you miss THAT! they say. I’m only human, I reply. But that don’t fly. That don’t fly at all, baby.

Okay, I’m exaggerating. But that’s okay.

We can edit that out…

Until next time,

Paul the Proofer
 

Comments:

10/5/2007 at 11:51 a.m.
Junk mail? No...
What some may call "junk mail", others may call "targeted media". That's what I prefer to call it anyway. Sounds better, more sophisticated. As a proofer, wouldn't you agree?
>>Michelle Schmoelzer, Bellevue WA10/4/2007 at 11:45 a.m.
Awesome post!
Great post PJ! I didn't realize proofing was so much fun... :)
>>Tara, Bellevue WA

Thomas Lamprecht

on October 3, 2007

category: creative

Vice President/Executive Creative Director

Brand sucking air

Development and promotions of brand lay traditionally within a domain of branding and general advertising agencies. The brand of a company or product was developed to embody and project the essence of such entities and its function was to communicate inspirational uniqueness. A brand’s priorities were to be; instantly recognizable, highly compelling, desirable and of perceived prime value. (Not to mention; lethal to the competition.)

So, if the brand is company’s ‘face to the world’ core difference and promise, and thus its articulation of reason d’etre, why is it being developed outside of what it supposed to accomplish in the end—a sale. And, furthermore, why is it not developed from the point of that persuasive one-to-one conversation with specific audience that culminates in their ultimate expression of preference—a purchase.

The reasons seem obvious enough. Branding and general agencies are not driven by concern about how to engage in that vital conversation and they don’t know much about how to engage in it. Nor do most of them care as traditionally that activity resided with direct marketing discipline. Brand was to be created in a brand silo and only after its birth it was forwarded to be used in marketing. It was almost an afterthought. Sometimes a brand worked well in marketing. Sometimes, not surprisingly, it seemed jerry-rigged.

In the current, internet conditioned landscape of audiences’ shortened attention span, increasing impatience for irrelevance and overwhelming preference for user controlled content, brands have to be more than just seductive or inspirational poetry. They have to work hard. Overtime!
 

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