The Copy Grove

What is a Copywriter?

2012-01-17T10:24:00.000-05:00

What's On My Desk Now

2011-12-28T13:20:00.004-05:00

Nothing like starting off a new year with "Fresh, New Words" to grow your business. And looks like my clients agree ...

Today's assignment: Write a follow-up letter to remind prospects to register for an event be held in the summer of 2012. Assignment received yesterday afternoon, first draft of copy delivered to client this morning. Awaiting client feedback.

Next: Getting ready to prepare copy for a PowerPoint presentation to be used by a global professional organization to recruit members in 2012.

And just got wind of a brand-new opportunity: Received a call earlier today from a CEO who just started working with a new organization. She and I have worked together in the past, and she wants me to head up their social media launch in 2012.

It may still be the last week of 2011, but shouldn't your business be thinking about what "Fresh, New Words" you'll have in place for your 2012 marketing efforts?

Season's Greetings From The Copy Grove

2011-12-03T14:49:00.001-05:00

December 5th Business Fair in Bucks County

2011-11-28T13:36:00.003-05:00

If you're in Bucks County, don't miss this opportunity to network with The Copy Grove at the Lower Bucks County Chamber of Commerce's New Member Business Fair. Meet 22 new member companies and four sponsors to see what we have to offer you and your business.

When:

Monday, December 5, 2011, from 4:30 – 6:30 p.m.

Where:

Lower Bucks County Chamber of Commerce Offices
409 Hood Boulevard
Fairless Hills, PA 19030

The following new Chamber member companies are participating:

American Express Open
Around Town Graphics
Art by Jeno B. Seitz
chuckschaeffer.com
Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Delaware Valley
Edward Jones Investments
Exact Solar
Expos Events Etc.
First Home Care
Great Atlantic Graphics
Impact Thrift Stores
Interim HealthCare
Long and Foster Real Estate
Mrs. G TV & Appliances
Slippery Surface Solutions LLC
TeamLogicIT
The Copy Grove (with design partner/Chamber member, Tango Vision, Inc.)
time4design
Trenton Titans Hockey
Trevose Family Shoe Store
Troika Printing
USA Payroll

Sponsors: 225 Lincoln Properties LP, Angelmark Associates, Inc., Bucks County Bank, and Rex Alfes Photography, Ltd.

Registration: E-mail chamber@lbccc.org or Fax 215-943-7404.
Web site www.lbccc.org or download the event flier: http://www.lbccc.org/documents/NMBF%20Attendees.pdf

I'm May - Calendar Girl

2011-09-03T18:24:00.000-04:00

May 15th - in the Woman's Advantage 2012 Shared Wisdom calendar - to be exact.

Want more of these ditties? Want to see the other 364 quotes of wisdom? You can purchase the calendar online at WomansAdvantage.biz

Thought Control Technology

2011-08-17T14:30:00.000-04:00

And I thought "thought control" was just something stupid from that movie "Dinner for Schmucks." Watch the video ...

InteraXon presents Bright Ideas from InteraXon on Vimeo.

I RELEASE YOU!

Writers who design; designers who write

2011-07-21T16:57:00.009-04:00

In the advertising world, there are many writers who are also wannabe designers and designers who are wannabe writers. In fact, I know quite a few designers who can (and do) write some amazing copy. I also know copywriters with a great eye for design who can whip up a mean writer's rough. I like to think of myself as being in - or at least edging into - the last category.

My design leanings case in point ...

Above: Cropped shot of my hat design on the Henri Bendel website.
The winning design, to be announced next month, will be manufactured and sold at Bendel stores.

From pencil and watercolor paint to an electronic newsletter wireframe I just did for a client ...

... and hundreds and hundreds of writer's roughs in between, I've found that it's good to think creatively in BOTH words and pictures. If I'm stumped on coming up with a headline or a copy approach for a new assignment, I start researching visual images or formats. Taking out my pencil and pad, I start drawing ... what if it looked like this? What would it say? How should I say that? And viola, a concept evolves. Sometimes it's even stronger than if I had started thinking in just words alone.

Next time you get blocked creatively on a project, try thinking in the opposite of what you normally do. If you're a writer, try to draw the solution; if you're a designer, try to write down some options. Think outside of YOUR box. And watch what happens!

How do you spell mammajamma?

2011-07-13T10:02:00.000-04:00

"Tell us in 140 characters or less why you deserve a scholarship to our MBA program?"

Ok, so my "What's happening?" tweet above probably won't win me a two-year scholarship to the University of Iowa's MBA program ... but someone's will.

The university is among a handful of others - both corporate and academic - to tap potential candidates' social media skills to find the best of the best.

So who says tweeting is a waste of time? (And did I spell mammajamma right?)

I'm One of 365 Days in 2012 ...

2011-07-03T18:37:00.001-04:00

365 Days of Women's Wisdom: I'm thrilled & honored to learn that my inspirational quote was chosen from over 5,000 submissions to be featured in the 2012 Woman's Advantage Calendar! It's the only calendar written BY women biz owners FOR women biz owners.

Ouch, Babe

2011-06-28T14:42:00.003-04:00

Disguised As a Giant, 15" Postcard

2011-06-20T16:03:00.002-04:00

"Giant Inventory Sell-Off" - Here's the 15" "postcard" from McCafferty auto that arrived in my mailbox today. Bent, yes. Big, you betcha. But they didn't "go it alone."

The piece, if you look closely, is from The Colossual Circular, whose tagline is "Reach your customers in a BIG way!"

And it's not actually addressed to me, but rather "****ECRWSS (which stands for Extended Carrier Route, Walking Sequence Saturation) Postal Customer."

And there are ads for a hair salon, hoagie shop, attorney, and roofing company on one side - mixed in with McCafferty "coupons" for FREE inspection and alignment check.

So it's not really from McCafferty auto, and it's not really a postcard after all, but a circular disguised as a humungo postcard.

Ok. Fooled me!

Being in the business of "who's mailing what," my first reaction when I saw this was, "Wow - marketers ARE mailing giant things and paying flat surcharge postal rates, despite the added cost. There you go, Mr. Crumby Economy!" But now I see how they did it ... and just thought I'd share that with you.

So what's new in your mailbox?

QR Patchwork Post

2011-06-10T11:39:00.006-04:00

I made this. Just for you. Using my QR code for this blog.
Because I'm good like that. : )

A little of this, a little of that. I've got QR codes on my mind.

Maybe it's because I read an interesting post about them yesterday.

Some marketing pundits have dubbed 2011 "the year of the QR code," and those quirky mazes of pixel-ly thingies (not to be confused with pizzelles - which do seem to look like they have QR codes on them, and why couldn't they?) have been spotted on everything from business cards to t-shirts, billboards and even in sand.

Are QR codes hot or not? Should marketers be basing entire creative campaigns on them? Probably not. Including them in their campaigns? Sure. But don't overestimate the power of a QR code. It ain't nothing compared to a great headline when it comes to getting prospective consumers to "act now."

David Weineke hits the nail on the head in his June 8th, 2011 article Why Marketers Shouldn't Waste Their Time With QR Codes:

"QR codes can actually impede the conversation. First, you have to assume not everyone knows what they are, so you have to explain how they work. Then, you just hope people are willing to download the app and go through the hassle of getting it to work. Then and only then will they be exposed to whatever brilliant website you have put together. And the majority of the time, this process neglects the critical issue of why someone would want to do any of this in the first place. Right now the answer to that seems to be, 'Because marketers thinks it's cool.'This is a dead-end technology. This is a transitional technology, and other options are headed to market that will quickly displace it. Improvements in mobile search far outpace QR capture. Near Field Communications will provide richer machine interfaces. Google Places has already abandoned QR codes for NFC chips .... It's not all bad though. There are some good QR uses. These are the ones that actually make people's lives easier -- like displaying a boarding pass on a smartphone to a ticket reader. But the day of huge billboards that are nothing but QR codes is definitely past."

Yeah, it's kind of like how artists would take mother boards from dead computers and make them into jewelry or sculptures. Looks cool. And a QR code, in the right designer/artist's hands CAN be a visually stimulating thing, which I'll get to later.

Still, David makes some very valid points in his article. but I think it's even simpler than that: Machines read QR codes, not people.

To me, QR codes represent "high tech" in advertising. They are becoming less of a curiosity to a significant segment of the digerati/wired-for-business professionals so as to warrant the inclusion of these quirky symbols on marketing materials that connect with a tech-savvy audience. Instead of keying in a website with multiple keystrokes, one click takes you from ad to web. Bookmark the page, save it for later - you're in. What could be easier? That's what QR codes are all about, really.

In direct marketing, we love to give the audience a choice of ways to contact the product or service provider - call a toll-free number, visit our web site, fax us, or return the reply form in the postage-paid envelope provided. QR codes are just another one of these options. A QR code can help facilitate response but it alone can not generate it. It's like having an ad with a giant toll-free number and nothing else - no reason to call. Curiosity will only get so many calls. Even Tommy Tutone knows, you gotta ad the line "for a good time call..."

So don't mistake a QR code as a strong enough impetus to generate an inquiry or sale or use it to replace a headline. Strong headlines and copy speak to people, not machines.

On the other hand, design crowd - do you think an ad that has a great photograph or illustration coupled with just a QR code could do the trick? Could that be enough to drive traffic to a website? Sure! Get creative. Just look at this awesome example ...

And here's another from Macy's ...

And yes, I did in fact recommend adding a QR code to a client's piece this morning. Adding it. Not centering the whole piece on it. Because that's how I roll.

Post it, Dano.

Community Service - Giving Back, Giving Thanks

2011-06-04T11:10:00.002-04:00

"Those who can, do. Those who can do more, volunteer." ~ Author Unknown

Community service is important for everyone. It's something I learned at an early age in Brownies and Girl Scouts, and something I continue to do as a working professional, utilizing my skills in a way to promote the positive impact of organizations such as the American Red Cross. Currently, I am active as the Social Media "guru" for my local Lower Bucks County Chapter and was honored to attend a June 3rd event to thank the chapter's major donors and supporters. For my coverage of the event, you can visit our chapter's Ready & Red blog.

Cynthia Maniglia of The Copy Grove, Social Media Volunteer, attending the American Red Cross Lower Bucks County Chapter's Donor Appreciation Night on June 3rd, 2011.

The event was sponsored by Toll Brothers and held at one of
their Dutchess Farm Estates model homes in Newtown, PA.

The thank you card, with pins, that was given out at the event.

I'm in - are you?

2011-04-09T09:21:00.005-04:00

Why I am part of The COMMON Community:

What it is:

A COMMON START from The Butler Bros on Vimeo.

Everybody Chromercise

2011-04-04T11:46:00.001-04:00

While Richard Simmons was busy making an exercise video for Air New Zealand, these guys were whipping us this for us.

Now I want to know ... where can I buy those cute finger bands? And do they come in pink?

Don't You Wish Your Conference Gave You a Wrap Like This?

2011-04-01T08:39:00.003-04:00


From the Wishes for Women website

I'm not talking chicken wrap. I'm talking about a Wishes for Women by Karen ThompsonTM wrap. I recently attended The Women's Business Forum's IDEAS 2011 Expo/Conference/Power Lunch and not only came away with a lot of great ideas and inspiration on how to boost my business but also a fluffy, cushy Wishes for Women wrap (a $39 retail value). This is the kind of thing you'd expect to win as a door prize at a conference - but every attendee received one. The wrap comes with a Wish Card where you can write down your heart's desire and Your Wish PocketTM where you can tuck the card away and I don't know - maybe rub it for good luck or take it out every now and then to remind yourself that wishes do come true, if you focus on working towards them. Now that's what I call awesome conference show haul! Makes a great gift. Thanks, Women's Business Forum and Wishes for Women!

Chapter 11 = Rotten Apples for Harry & David

2011-03-29T19:50:00.005-04:00

Can an image re-do save Harry & David from the bowels of bankruptcy? An article in the front page of the March 29th USA Today business section seems to think so. Among the article's image change suggestions for the 78-year-old company:

- embrace social media
- brighten/liven up the interiors of its dark retail stores
- stop promoting online discounts
- co-brand with local growers, other "foodie" ventures/companies (well, Macy's does carry Harry & David's goods at the holiday times)
- think beyond the holidays ... which, ahem, the company DOES already (anyone with a Harry & David account who gets their seasonal catalogs or has visited their online store knows that)

In the past, Harry & David's has relied heavily on not just its retail stores but catalog sales. And we all know that catalog sales are not what they used to be.

Should their retail stores become mini produce markets with fresh, local, organic fruits and vegetables? Maybe they ought to go the route of Starbucks and have little snack bars that serve up their gourmet fruit. Or maybe they'll just file Chapter 11 in Delaware and cut down their bond debt and march on.

What's your take? Any way Harry & David is going to retool its image and become anew like Sears and JCPenney did when faced with dwindling business?
Let's hear it ...

Great Marketing Copy - Really Not As Difficult To Write As You Think?

2011-03-22T09:43:00.015-04:00

Recently, I received an e-newsletter with the headline, "Write Great Marketing Copy" which included some great "how to" advice but the problem is, copywriting tips without examples or experience can actually be misleading to the novice marketing writer.

The article said, "Writing good content for your website, marketing materials, blog or newsletter is not as difficult as high-priced consultants would lead you to believe."

Hmmm, if it were "not as difficult" then every website ought to have a least good or somewhat good content and they all should be pulling in a good number of sales everyday, right? Then why isn't that so? (Just ask the marketer whose website gets traffic but can't convert visits to leads or sales.)

The truth is, a professional copywriter knows "tricks of the trade" that marketers don't know. The professional copywriter has experience and from that experience has a well of knowledge to draw upon when faced with any marketing challenge. Copywriters and designers are creative professionals who can turn raw marketing strategy and data into the words and pictures that resonate with a target audience and motivate prospects to become buyers.

One of the first pieces of advice in the e-newsletter said, "Know your audience. Gear your writing to the needs and tastes of your customers. Think of your top 10 customers and write as though you're talking to them."

This is great advice. But let's go a little further with it and get a little deeper into the process of writing great marketing copy. Just because you're thinking about your top 10 customers' wants and needs doesn't mean you can think like them. And are they really the ones you should be talking to anyway?

Sometimes, you need to talk to the bottom 10, the ones who aren't buying your product or service due to perceived obstacles - things they THINK are reasons to not buy. Surveys and market research can help you find out what the obstacles may be and why those customers are not buying. Is the obstacle price? Is it that they don't think they "need" your product or service? A professional copywriter can address negative perceptions and knows how to turn them into positives with words that can appeal to the bottom 10 and turn them into buyers - without alienating the top 10. Without alienating the top 10 - that's key. You still want people who are like your top 10 buyers to buy.

If you ARE writing to your top 10 customers, best thing would be to try to cross-sell them additional products or services - after all, they know and trust your brand. You'll be writing to your best customers, the ones you already have, who are most likely to buy more. But it's that fraction of your audience that isn't buying now that you also need to address and try to convert into customers.

Sound complicated? It is. It's more difficult than the advice in an e-newsletter may lead you to believe. You almost need a degree in psychology. A professional copywriter knows how to motivate with the right words, is a veritable "salesperson on paper" who knows how to talk to the top 10 (easiest to convert buyers) AND knows what to say to the bottom 10 (hardest to convince buyers).

Another "tip" from the e-newsletter ...

"Arouse interest. From your headline to your close, be interesting and colorful. Be crisp. Be friendly. Do everything possible to keep your reader reading."

Again, this is great advice. However, do you know if you're writing a letter what the tricks are that can keep the eye moving through your letter? Do you know how to use long and short sentences, subheads and bold copy, when it's more appropriate to write in the first person ("I"), and why you need to use the word "you" a lot in your letter? These are things professional copywriters know and can make a difference between a letter that gets tossed in the trash can or one that persuades readers to "act now" and buy your product or service.

People We Met At The Show

2011-03-16T20:27:00.001-04:00

From left to right ...

Debra Schaner, Solutions Consultant, Power Tech Cleaning
meets with Joanne Lewis of Tango Vision, Inc.

Cynthia Maniglia of The Copy Grove sharing direct mail samples
with Chris McCraley of Vertical Resources, Inc.

Joanne Lewis of Tango Vision, Inc. with Larry T. Myers, Owner of L. Myers Associates

Exhibitor Jodi Frank, Owner of Keystone Safety Supply
visiting our table, pictured with Joanne Lewis of Tango Vision, Inc.

A Day At The Show

2011-03-15T23:15:00.001-04:00

Here I am, interviewing Myriam Siftar, founder of MTM LinguaSoft (http://www.mtmlinguasoft.com)

What's yours?

2011-03-10T14:46:00.011-05:00

The Copy Grove will be exhibiting with design partner, Tango Vision, Inc., at NAPM-CP’s Diverse Business Trade Fair on Tuesday, March 15th, 2011 from 1-7:30PM at the Colonial Park Country Club in Harrisburg, PA.

The Graphic Department: Good Use of a Grease Pencil

2011-03-07T09:43:00.003-05:00

Greasy kid stuff? Not always. Sometimes enhancing stock imagery or getting the image you want/need is as easy as using your grease pencil.

How to Create Catchy Marketing Phrases

2011-03-05T09:19:00.006-05:00

1) Catchy advertising phrases are often spin-offs of common colloquial phrases, cliches or popular slang.

It's easier to remember a new phrase if it's like one you already know very well. Examples:

Trans World Airways once used the slogan, "Sight for Soaring Eyes" - a spin-off of the cliche "sight for sore eyes."

Consider the Ralston Purina Pet Food slogan, "All you add is love." How close is that to words in the Beatles popular 1960s song, "All you need is love"? Or Nortel's slogan, "Come together" - compared to the Beatles line, "Come together, right now ... over me"?

Geek Squad used "I heart nerds," which is a twist of the "I heart ____(anything - fill in the blank)" colloquial phrase. That phrase, by the way, became insanely popular following the "I love NY" tourism campaign which began in 1977, with a red heart transposed for the word "love" in the logo version.

Apple Computers used "Think outside the box," a phrase that was extremely popular in the business world in the 1990's. Taco Bell changed it to "Think outside the bun."

Syntel used "Consider IT done," a phrase we all know - but changed the "it" to "IT" (eye-tee - as in "Information Technology").

And don't forget Morton's Salt - "When it rains, it pours." A great slogan because damp weather often makes salt hard to pour out of the salt shaker.

2) When in doubt, rhyme.

Click here for a FREE online rhyming Dictionary, if you need help. Then you can create slogans like:

"Once you go Mac. You'll never go back." - Apple Computers

"Easy, Breezy, Beautiful, CoverGirl" - CoverGirl

"Once you pop, the fun don't stop." - Pringles

"Ore-Ida! It's all-righta!" - Ore-Ida

"Leggo my Eggo" - Eggo Waffles

3) Compare and contrast.

"Pork, the other white meat." - Pork council

People were shunning red meat when this slogan came out, so white meat was something people WANTED. And the thing that came to mind mostly when you said "white meat" was chicken, not pork ... thus the slogan's effectiveness.

"The uncola" - 7-Up

What you don't want - cola. What you do want - 7-Up?

Kind of sounds like an "uncool" soda, though - but hey, the brand went with this in the 1970's anyway.

"We're number 2. We try harder." - Avis

People love underdogs.

Well, I could go on and on - but I've got work to do. So I'll leave you with my best advice ...

Just look at a bunch of famous slogans - you can find long lists of them online. And do a little "deconstructive" thinking about them. What makes them catchy to you? Does it sound like something you've heard before? Does it rhyme? And start noticing trends in slogans - how one famous slogan does something similar to another famous slogan. Count the number of words, the way the slogan plays with spelling or punctuation, and see if you can spot trends.

In the early 2000's, it was popular for companies to have taglines that were three words, each followed by a period, like:

"Live. Laugh. Love."

"Experience. Strength. Reliability."

Yawn.

What's. Funny. Now.

A reverse trend. People have started writing like this in their own non-commercial communications. I've. Seen. It. On. Many. Blogs.

Neat.

Bank Merger Yields Interesting "Do Good" Campaign

2011-03-01T22:45:00.002-05:00

Doing well and doing good - for banks that are merging and want to generate financial AND social dividends, here's a lesson from Wells Fargo.

Wells Fargo is taking over my local Wachovia branch. (Yes, banks are still merging - something you may have remembered from the 90's. It's been a while since TD Bank took over Commerce Bank and so on and so forth. My Wachovia used to be a First Pennsylvania bank, I think, way back when. And transitional marketing is a discipline in and of itself, as my former connections with the old Wilcox agency in NYC taught me.) But I digress.

The point of this post - take a look at that buckslip above from Wells Fargo. It's more than just a piece about a bank name change - it's about doing good! Wells Fargo is inviting bank customers to vote for their favorite charity from a list of five local contenders (all prominent in the Greater Philadelphia area from which I hail) and then goes on to say they will donate a total of $80,000 amongst the charities - every one gets a piece, who gets more depends on the number of votes.

Now that's cause marketing unlike anything I've seen in the banking merger world. Right on, Wells Fargo.

Subaru vs. Ford - And Texting While Driving

2011-02-18T18:57:00.002-05:00

This week, Subaru ran four - count 'em - four FULL PAGE ads in the News Section of USA Today. Here's the series of ads the car maker ran and what Ford is doing in contrast.

Ad #1: Through snow ...

Ad #2: Through the woods ...

Ad #3: On the open road and into the sunset ...

Ad #4: Through the mud ...

It's all terrain for Subaru but ... where's the car? It's cool. They're selling what the car can DO. They're leaving their competitors in their tracks and making them eat dust. (For the media buying inclined, ads were all on the left page of four consecutive spreads.)

In contrast, let's look at Ford's double truck magazine ad in this month's Travel+Leisure magazine ...

"Daddy, why are you texting while driving? Oprah says that's a no-no!"

Ford explains, via body copy to Daddy (aka Jordan) ...

So if you're wondering how to combine Social Media with your print ad, here's a solution from Ford. Or if you are thinking of updating your Facebook status about your All New Ford Explorer while driving, please wait until you're in the driveway.

Advertise responsibly.

Auto Dealerships Try to Outdo with Bells and Whistles

2011-02-09T16:53:00.009-05:00

Bells and whistles - that what we direct marketers call snazzy formats and tipped on do-dads that you might find on a direct mail package. They're usually rather costly but can have a great ROI if they bump up response. Case in point ...

Two auto dealers send similar mailings to me on the same day - what are the chances of that happening? It may not seem too unusual until you look at the actual mailers ...

This one is from Peruzzi Nissan.

Hey, that's a real key tipped on the piece. Wow! And a scratch off. Double wow!

This one is from Dieckhaus Buick.

That's a real key tipped on the piece. And a scratch off. Semi-yawn. I've seen this trick before! Oh, wait - this one has more pages. It's like a newsletter. Hmmm. Interest piqued. AND there's a check inside - "Customer Down Payment Assistance - Pay the sum of: ONE THOUSAND SEVEN HUNDRED THIRTY FOUR DOLLARS AND ... 00/00." You may have me at varoom.

Bells and whistles be damned. Too bad I am not in the market for a new car. Those keys are not cheap to put on a mailer. For high-end products like cars, the cost to put something in the mail with a real key can be worth it if it bumps up response.

So I wonder which of these mailers outperformed the other? Is this something new for auto dealerships to send mailers with car keys tipped on? Have you seen it before in your mailbox? Inquiring minds want to know.

SOCIAL MEDIA FOR NONPROFIT

2011-02-09T16:40:00.000-05:00

The Copy Grove has just completed the training required to do SOCIAL MEDIA for the American Red Cross, Lower Bucks County Chapter.

LinkedIn Creative Group Asks: Do We Really Tell Stories?

2011-01-17T20:32:00.002-05:00

“Brand stories"- what's the story? Nowadays, advertising agencies and creative boutiques are being charged with the task of creating a narrative that tells the story of a brand like a Hollywood movie. Is it what we are in the business of doing anyway or just a passing fad? LinkedIn creative group asks the question.

Your thoughts?

Catchy Slogans - Reincarnated (Part 2)

2011-01-13T15:06:00.000-05:00

The Original:

"What Happens Here, Stays Here" - In 1999, the team at communications agency R&R Partners introduced this fresh campaign and a new motto for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Bureau (LVCVB). Maybe you remember the commercial featuring the two women who go into a bathroom at a Vegas club and switch wigs ...

Reincarnated:

Flash forward 2010-2011, Luvs has put its spin on the tagline to come up with "What happens in diapers should stay in diapers." Here's the spot that's currently airing ...

I'm lovin' it!

MORE CATCHY SLOGANS REINCARNATED ...

Cloud Computing is Great, But ...

2011-01-05T10:38:00.006-05:00

Cloud computing is hot now - witness the Windows 7 commercial that aired this holiday season about going "to the cloud."

This is web based electronic storage, a convenient way to back up your photo, Word doc, MP3 and other important files from your SmartPhone, laptop, or what-have-you favorite go-to-device. Windows 7 isn't the only one to offer this service. For instance, Toshiba offers it and so does a company called GoGrid, to name a few.

The information you back up to the Cloud is accessible as long as you have an Internet connection. That's the convenience, but it can also be a downside for business people who depend on having constant access to archived or "work-in-progress" electronic files.

Say the Internet goes down. A Verizon cable is compromised or something goes awry with Comcast. You don't have access to your primary device. You've got a deadline to meet and need to work on some files - which, unfortunately, are only backed up in the Cloud. Unless you're Icarus, too bad; you're out of luck.

Modern technology rocks but you don't want to get stuck between it and a hard place. Even with state-of-the-art web based electronic file storage, you can still build a case for backing up to a good-old-fashioned flash drive. So go dig up the free one you got from the trade show you attended last year or the one that vendor just gave you. It might come in handy!

Visual Thinking Slideshow

2010-12-16T16:18:00.000-05:00

Share & Share Alike: A How-To Video about Google Docs

2010-12-16T14:15:00.003-05:00

A Year of Twitter

2010-12-14T09:02:00.003-05:00

Click on image to see larger at
Flowtown - Social Media Marketing Application

Catchy Phrases: What's "In" Now

2010-12-10T09:42:00.005-05:00

"Game-Changer." You've heard the phrase. But have you used it? USA Today used "Game-Changer" in a recent article about the tax cut bill, and one of my new clients just gave me an input document with the phrase in it. Use "game-changer" to describe anyone or anything that brings something good and different to the playing field - innovation or convenience. One company that specializes in innovation and brand growth even uses the phrase as their name, without the hyphen. Now more than ever, the market needs "game changers" to stimulate profit and growth. Be one! Or at least write about one.

FileCatalyst Provides Alternative to "YouSendIt"

2010-11-16T18:52:00.001-05:00

Have you heard about FileCatalyst? They're a great alternative to yousendit.com - offering a variety of products and services related to file transferring to make life easier. They have a free service where you can send large files; it's quick and easy, with no log-in or registration required. They're known for secure and fast file transferring. Try it out free at FileCatalyst.com and let me know what you think.

Nothing To Sneeze At - Kleenex TV, Social Media and FREE Sample Campaign

2010-11-09T10:16:00.007-05:00

Kleenex's "Softness Worth Sharing" campaign combines TV advertising, a microsite, social media and free sample giveaways for seasonal promotion genius that's also worth sharing.

The "Softness Worth Sharing" campaign is a great example of brand and direct/social media marketing synergy. Thirty-second TV advertising drives viewer traffic to the website to send a free package of softness anywhere in the US. At the "Softness Worth Sharing" site, simply fill out the sender and recipient information to start the "chain of sharing," which you can track like a UPS package on the site via a map.

Here's one of the 30 second TV spots from the Kleenex "Softness Worth Sharing" campaign ...

Now go send some free tissues.

I just wrote a letter to Santa!

2010-11-07T09:40:00.003-05:00

Macy's gives back ... and brings pre-holiday magic online with a unique, fun and generous website to help support the Make-a-Wish Foundation(R).

For every letter received, Macy's will donate $1 to the Make-A-Wish Foundation, up to $1,000,000. Help make wishes come true by writing your own letter to Santa! Click on the letter above and it will take you right to the site ...

Creative Shopping Bags - An Idea for Advertisers

2010-11-02T09:30:00.001-04:00

These days you read and hear so much about the potential of social media for marketers that we tend to forget about other ways to be innovative in "the real world." Shopping bags have traditionally sported a store or company's logo. At boredpanda.com, you can read about and see how advertisers are taking this concept to new heights - with subway bus handles!

Courageous Creativity: October 2010

2010-10-28T10:28:00.002-04:00

Think Before You Pink

2010-10-18T10:26:00.010-04:00

Do you buy products just because they support a worthwhile cause or charity? Some people do. Whether it's a plastic bracelet or a six-pack of yogurt, a product with a charitable tie-in gives you the consumer a "feel good" experience when purchased. It seems like a win-win for everyone - the consumer, the company selling the product, and the charity. But that's not always the case.

I bought Dannon yogurt recently not because of the pink tie-in, but because I like strawberry yogurt. Nevertheless, after noticing the message printed on the back of the lid which urged me to go to a website and enter a code to help raise money to fight breast cancer, I decided "Why not?" - it'd be something interesting to blog about this morning.

Turns out that Dannon's partnership with the National Breast Cancer Foundation is helping raise money to fight cancer - with 10 cents being donated for every time a special code (found under the foil lids of specially marketed Dannon yogurt products) is entered on the cupsofhope.com website. Here's the landing page ...

Very easy to interact with and "fully loaded" for sharing on Facebook, Twitter, etc.

(By the way, that is not a napkin in front of Jamie Lee Curtis' face. That's the video play button.) The Dannon Cups of Hope campaign includes the Activa, DanActive, Dannon All Natural, Dannon Blended, Dannon Fruit on The Bottom, Dannon Greek and Dannon Light & Fit products.

All of which prompted me to do a little research into how yogurt ties in with breast cancer prevention, other than being "healthy" or good for you, and here's where it got interesting.

Up popped an article about "pinkwashing" - the practice where corporations try to boost sales by "pushing pink," tie to a product and then rake in the bucks. From the article:

"For consumers, pinkwashing makes it hard to arrive at an informed choice when making ethical purchases. In some cases, pinkwashing is also used to brand products which are bad for human health, including products which contain suspected carcinogens!
Some activists have suggested putting an end to branded tie-ins altogether, and asking consumers to donate directly to breast cancer charities and research organizations. Others argue that the availability of such products makes it possible for people who would not normally donate to give to the cause. In other words, if you're going to purchase yogurt anyway, you might as well purchase yogurt that benefits breast cancer patients, but you might not send a donation independently.

Consider this, from another article on AOL Health where a breast cancer survivor weighs in on whether pink product overload has gone too far:

"Mike’s Hard Lemonade Co., for example, has turned their alcoholic drink pink, and will make a $250,000-contribution to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation this year. We’re talking alcohol here – and research shows that as little as one to two drinks a day can up the risk of diagnosis. Yoplait was another past offender, promoting their Save Lids to Save Lives program while making their yogurt with rBGH, the possibly-cancer-causing artificial growth hormone given to cows. Yoplait has come around, and their yogurt is now rBGH-free -- thanks to an online campaign by Think Before You Pink, a project of Breast Cancer Action calling for more accountability by companies and increased responsibility by consumers."

So that's a lesson for both consumers AND corporations/marketers.

Steal Smart

2010-10-15T10:21:00.003-04:00

When you earn your living by your creativity and have to "be creative" on demand, you have to learn some tricks to keep sharp so you can keep producing. One trick is to "steal smart." Don't be put off by the word "steal." It should really be "borrow" - "borrow smartly" to be exact.

Here's what I mean and a great example.

First there was the Wheat Thins "snack attack" commercial and subsequent print ads featuring a woman being "attacked" by a oncoming swarm of flying crackers.

"This can only end one way," says the woman's voiceover in the commercial as she catches a flying cracker mid-air between her teeth. "Cruuuuunch!" Yum. (You may have seen a more recent version featuring a macho guy in the same scenario.)

Anyway, what a great technique - a flying swarm of crackers against a white background and the main character triumphant in the foreground! Great visual. Eye-catching, point making.

OK - witness now the new "Stop Breast Cancer" online web ads ...

In the animated version of this, the swarming black yukky stuff comes towards the woman who then thwarts it in its tracks with her outstretched bare hand. Swarming something. Woman in defiant stance. White background. Similar technique to the Wheat Thins campaign, don't you think?

Lesson learned - borrow smartly. That's not stealing.

The Future Of Work - A Slideshow by Jeff Brenman

2010-10-14T16:40:00.000-04:00

Check out this SlideShare Presentation:

The Future Of Work

View more presentations from Jeff Brenman.

Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Every Zip Code

2010-09-22T17:16:00.004-04:00

This ad appeared in USA Today. Great placement for this ad; it appears on the page that features state-by-state news blurbs (short paragraphs about the top news under a bold header for each state in the nation). Tomorrow is officially the first day of autumn, but hey - with temps in the 90's here in PA, we're still in "sprinkler" mode. So this ad passes "go." As someone who does a lot of work for Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies nationwide (independent licensees of the BlueCross BlueShield Association), I'm pleased to see this cheerful, simple and well-placed ad, in light of recent and upcoming health care reforms, promoting the brand we all know and trust.

Catchy Ad Slogans Reincarnated

2010-09-22T09:54:00.002-04:00

The Original:

"Got Milk?" - created for the California Milk Processor Board

and then licensed for milk processors and dairy farmers nationwide.

The Reincarnated:

The Original:

"What's in your wallet?" - Capital One campaign and tagline.

The Reincarnated:

The Power of J.D. Power and Associates Awards

2010-09-12T11:39:00.008-04:00

Every year, J. D. Power and Associates recognizes select companies - all across the nation and in virtually every major industry, from car manufacturing to health insurance - for great service and high customer satisfaction ratings, all with the goal of making it easier for Americans to be smart consumers. You've no doubt seen the ads that recipient companies run, touting their J.D. Power and Associates rankings, often with a headline that brags about how many years in a row they've received the award. Here's an example that Hilton's extended stay hotel chain, Homewood Suites, ran recently to promote it's J.D. Power rating. The celebratory print ad appeared in USA Today, with the clever headline "HOW SUITE OF YOU."

J.D. Power and Associates awards CAN be extremely powerful in an ad. This Homewood Suites ad features the award front and center, and it has a great start with it's clever headline. The ad's copy is well-written and concise (albeit hard to read), explaining that the award is for "Highest in Guest Satisfaction Among Extended Stay Hotel Chains."

Painted Hands + simple headlines = striking AT&T ads

2010-08-16T12:29:00.000-04:00

AT&T is a cell phone carrier that knows how to make a successful promotion. Take a look at these great posters. Using just hands and a phone, American carrier recreates a popular idea of painting hands into the colors of different countries.

Good copy in unexpected places

2010-08-02T12:13:00.002-04:00

On a tea bag tag.

Just a reminder to use space and use it well. You only have one chance to sell. And if a product is already sold, give them a new message before they forget the old.

Mad Men Inspired Ad

2010-07-27T16:49:00.001-04:00

Witness the online ad. It is unmistakeably inspired by the opening graphics of the popular AMC TV show, "Mad Men." Dontchathink? Intentional or coincidental?

Talking About Talking About Social Media

2010-07-27T15:26:00.005-04:00

CVS Caremark & Supplier Diversity: Making the Connection

2010-06-21T19:23:00.013-04:00

Today: Attended the CVS Caremark Supplier Diversity Business Building Event for women-owned businesses at the Baltimore Convention Center, in conjunction with WBENC’s 2010 Conference & Business Expo.

In this photo: Cynthia Maniglia of The Copy Grove (left)
and Joanne Lewis of Tango Vision, Inc. (right).

The event featured a one-hour session about doing business with CVS Caremark, followed by a series of intense, one-on-one 15-minute, "speed" presentations, scheduled prior to the event - a chance to give your best elevator pitch.

To hit a home run at one of these events: Be sure to know your niche - where your product or service best fits within the company's structure, as well as how it aligns with your potential buyer's overall corporate strategy.

The Copy Grove has been asked to follow up our recent presentation - and we'll keep you posted.

You've Come A Long Way Since Bill Cosby

2010-06-16T08:55:00.007-04:00

Temple University's fundraising pitches have come a long way since the tv commercials featuring Bill Cosby (who attended the University) with the memorable refrain, "I could have gone anywhere - I chose Temple." While not as high-profile as the Cosby spots, today's fundraising efforts from the University show spunk and creativity, as is the case with this recent email that I received from my alma mater, with the intriguing subject line:

A chair. A camera. 60 seconds.

To be truthful, when I read that subject line, I thought Temple wanted me to make a video for them (a chance to use the camera on my MacBook Pro and maybe get famous?). Silly me! And when the email opened with this personalized message ...

Cynthia,

During finals week in May, Temple students

were given one last test - to convince you

in just 60 seconds to support the university.

Click here to decide whether they passed.

... of course, I had to click to see the video.

I think you'll agree, this video is a great way to bring real faces to a fundraising effort, and what greater way to talk about supporting the next generation of society-molders than having them speak for themselves and the University.

Go Temple!

To give to the University, click here.

Long Live Summer ~ and Star Rewards!

2010-06-04T14:33:00.008-04:00

For quite a few years, the mailers that Macy's has been sending to their charge card customers featured "clean release" cards (sometimes, they're not so clean and full of goo when you pull the cards off the mailer). The cards were good for "Star Rewards" discounts on purchases made with Macy's charge cards. These mailers tended to have upwards of four (or more) cards affixed. That's gotta be expensive to produce. So I wasn't surprised when this new mailer from Macy's arrived, sans the glued-in cards.

The format is a self-mailer with an insert that pulls out of the mailing sleeve. The insert is cleverly designed to pull down from the bottom, with the line of demarcation acting as the liquid inside of a die-cut cocktail glass, to reveal the word "CHEERS." When the insert is pulled completely out of the sleeve, you are left holding a little red booklet with one page filled with four discount cards, which you then can tear out.

With summer only 17 days away and the coupons good from June 3rd through July 18th, this is one promotion I'll be holding onto ~ and using on my next trip to the mall.

Where my mother/fathers at?

2010-06-01T16:38:00.000-04:00

Watch as the Sienna Family drops their hot new single, Swagger Wagon. This goes out to all you minivan families ...

World's 1st Reverse Image Search Engine

2010-05-05T11:46:00.004-04:00

Find out if someone is stealing your images with tineye.com. Check it out here:

Where's The Bun?

2010-04-06T16:33:00.007-04:00

When I heard KFC was making a sandwich with no bread, I was thinking it would be like P.F. Chang's lettuce wrapped chicken ... not this monstrosity:Two all chicken patties, special sauce, cheese ... and is that bacon I see too? No bun. KFC’s new Double Down sandwich, which will become available at the chain's fast food locations nationwide and cost a whopping five bucks, is better than a bag of beef jerky, I guess, if you're into protein power. Atkins Diet followers will no doubt love this fare. But those who are watching their waistline, look out. This sandwhich is featured on a web site called "This is why you're fat; where dreams become heart attacks."

How would you advertise this sandwich? Forget the "Where's The Beef?" lady. Here's how KFC is doin' it:

Are you hungry now?

Do You See The Trend Here?

2010-03-15T16:42:00.006-04:00

You've seen the newspaper print ad. Here's the free-standing mailbox insert. See the trend here? It's all about shape. Good tie in.

After I wrote my previous post, I thought all of you highly-evolved creative and marketing readers out there were thinking, "Big deal." And maybe I was making a big deal out of a little thing. But it pays to notice subtle creative touches like the trend here. You never know when they'll come in handy.

Shape It Up: Progressive Space Ad

2010-03-11T10:23:00.014-05:00

Nowhere are ads more "boxed in" than in the world of print. Which is why the ad below caught my eye ...

Here, Progressive Auto Insurance works its space at the bottom of the page in USA Today's Life Section, with an ad that follows the shape of an umbrella. If not for a thin black border, the ad would blend in completely with the newspaper's "table of content" area. Taking a quick glance, a reader might think the ad is a teaser for a newspaper article featuring Flo, the gal from the Progressive ads. (I wonder, might this ad have been even more eye-catching with reversed-out type and a dark background?)

Nevertheless, the next time you have a space ad assignment, inquire with the publication about shapes other than squares or rectangles. You might find some creative leeway you can use to make your ad stand out from the clutter.

What NOT to do in Direct Mail Creative

2010-02-09T09:03:00.009-05:00

Double window envelopes - the kind that have a window in the upper left corner for the sender's information to show through, plus a window below it for the recipient's information - are pretty generic. They can be blank (just stock paper with no teaser copy printed on the envelope) and used by any sender and sent to anyone, so long as the sender's logo and recipient's addressing information are positioned to show through the windows properly. So this envelope says to me "generic."

And the teaser copy "This is not junk mail" says doodly-squat. In fact, that's a generic teaser. Could be used by any company. This is not junk mail? Yes, it is.

Worse yet, CLEAR - the company that mailed this gem of a direct mail package - is a wireless internet service that's trying to make a name for itself, and this isn't the way to do it in direct mail. So my message to them is: "My dear CLEAR, you can gain a stronger foothold in the marketplace with a clearer message on your envelopes about what you have to offer, rather than hyping what you're not. I mean, you're not the unVerizon or the unComcast, are you?"

Let this be one small lesson to direct marketers in "What NOT to do in Direct Mail Creative."

Until next time ...

Do Not Bend

2010-01-22T10:09:00.003-05:00

The "Do Not Bend" caption on a direct mail envelope is something we marketers have been using for years. And it's good to see it's still in use - a tried and true line of copy that's more curiosity provoking than warning.

Recently, these two samples arrived in my mail - each bearing the same "Do Not Bend" teaser copy. Reading the cautionary words, the recipient is made to believe that there's something delicate inside that could be harmed by bending - a photograph perhaps? We often use this line of copy when there's a membership or plastic card inside the package - to allude to the thing of value without showing it and heighten the curiosity factor. What's inside the envelope? In these two cases, nothing so worthy of the "Do Not Bend" line, such as a membership card or photograph. Just magazine subscription renewal forms - BUT the cautionary line of copy DID get me to open the envelope, and that's half the battle in direct mail.

Now, if they'd only make me reply!

Legislation Against Loud TV Commercials

2009-12-23T10:16:00.000-05:00

Catalog Wednesday

2009-12-01T08:20:00.004-05:00

We've got Black Friday for brick and mortar shopping and Cyber Monday for online shopping. How about Catalog Wednesday for catalog shopping?

And to help us get started, CVS is on the scene with this new catalog ...

Yes, pharmacy super store CVS has put out a glossy, 4-color, 84-page Holiday shopping catalog for the first time. The piece arrived in my mail about two weeks ago. If you didn't get yours, they're giving it out at the retail stores. Items are available in the stores, online AND by calling 1-800-shopCVS. Take that, Walgreens!

State Farm Agents Mail Holiday Address Labels

2009-11-18T17:26:00.008-05:00

What's New In Agent Insurance Mailings?

Recently, my auto insurance agent retired and a new guy took over his office - and his clientele. Just about a week ago, around the middle of November, the new agent sent me an interesting mailing for the holidays. It was a 6 x 9 envelope with address labels inside. Wow, a lot more costly than your typical/standard holiday greeting card! I'm impressed. While I've seen LOTS and LOTS of direct mail kits with holiday address labels - from just about every charity know to man and woman - I've yet to receive one from my insurance agent. Good show, State Farm and your agents!

Blog Action Day: Direct Marketing, Paper and Global Warming

2009-10-14T09:34:00.014-04:00

Here at The Copy Grove, we recycle paper.

When we get an electronic file, first we ask, "Does this have to be printed out?" In many cases, the answer is "No!" So we try to print out as few documents as possible, to conserve electricity, paper, and ink - not so much for cost-savings but for the sake of being environmentally friendly. Used ink cartridges go to recycling programs whenever possible. And if we print out a document, after the document is read and used, it goes in a pile - and after a couple of months, the pile grows and is repurposed; that is, the paper is sent back to the printer for printing on the other side.

Here's our current pile, soon ready for reuse:

When creating advertising for businesses that use direct mail, we always try to use less paper. Making a mailing more compact and cost-effective by using less paper puts less stress on the environment. And helps keep costs down for our clients. This can be a creative challenge. The writer and designer have to make the most of the paper that they DO have to use. For writers, that means more powerful, shorter headlines and more concise yet persuasive body copy. For designers, that means more powerful graphics that grab attention and generating a layout that leads the eye through the message. Bottom line here is you need a strong creative idea - one that is so strong, you don't need a big, long spiel to get the desired action from your reader.

Of course, you can print your entire mailing on recycled paper. To learn more, read this excellent brochure by the Recycled Paper Coalition.

And for a discussion on direct mail versus e-mail, see this article by Barry Abel, where he tells us ...

"The 20 percent increase in the cost of paper over the past two to three years is being caused in part by higher labor costs as well as higher fuel costs to get wood to the mill, run the papermaking machines and transport the finished product to warehouses and on to printers.

Moreover, many paper mills are making investments to become more eco-friendly, incurring costs to train employees in new processes and procedures. Printing and postage costs are also rising, and additional paper price increases are likely."

Do you have thoughts, suggestions, ideas to share on this topic? Please join in the conversation, in honor of Blog Action Day 2009: Climate Change, and leave a comment with what you have to say or a link to your blog or web site.

"Blog Action Day is an annual event that unites the world's bloggers in posting about the same issue on the same day on their own blogs with the aim of sparking discussion around an issue of global importance. Blog Action Day 2009 will be the largest-ever social change event on the web. One day. One issue. Thousands of voices."

Who's Spending The Marketing Dollars These Days?

2009-09-16T11:21:00.011-04:00

Looks like fundraisers aren't slimming down their packages lately - they're beefing them up. Sandy Rees, CFRE at her Get Fully Funded blog asks, "Do you know when the best times are to mail a fundraising appeal?" She gives the answer, "Studies show that there are definitely months of the year that produce better results than others. October is the best month to mail." Ok, so that may explain why fundraising efforts that arrive in my mailbox lately are chock-full of incentives for me to give. Case in point, these two recent efforts from Paralyzed Veterans of America.

In a test situation where the fundraiser mails one group of people one kit and another group of people another kit to see which package gets the most response, I should have only received one of these packages. Nevertheless, I am now the lucky recipient of a Holiday Favorites music CD which arrived in the "Christmas in September" package, as well as a free notepad with a patriotic (Labor Day tie-in) motif AND address labels to match the notepad. Chances are, these two kits are NOT testing against one another. There was probably an oversight in the scheduling and list selection that enabled me to get both kits on the same day last week. But since I did get both and I know the mailer has put a lot of money into these free gifts, I am inclined to donate to this charity, as I have done in the past.

However, a situation like this where two kits arrive at the same address on the same day could turn out to be a big waste of the charity's money if the recipient doesn't make a donation in response to either package. Also, even if the recipient gives a gift, if it's not "enough," then it won't offset the cost of mailing two kits to the same address on the same day. In a perfect world, the Christmas kit should have been sent to me in October, as a kind of follow-up, 2nd effort to the notepad/label kit - IF I didn't reply to the first effort.

Such is life. Who knows? There may have been some delays or problems at the inserting or printing stage.

What we can see is that fundraisers aren't being shy about spending money on their direct mail appeals. In this economy, that's a good thing for direct marketer vendors serving these charities. Instead of mailing 2-color packages with standard No. 10 envelopes, a letter, reply card and BRE (bare bones), fundraisers are inserting calendars, using custom 4-color envelopes, mailing CDs and more. Hopefully, people who receive these costly packages will also open their wallets and give.

Special Olympics Fundraiser Mailing

2009-08-25T16:25:00.006-04:00

On August 12, 2009, Eunice Kennedy Shriver - the woman known as the founder of the Special Olympics, sister of former president John F. Kennedy, and mother of Maria Shriver - died at the age of 88. The news was abuzz with Shriver's passing ... as it is today with the more recent passing of Senator Ted Kennedy. Shriver advocated tirelessly for the mentally disabled, and two days ago, I received a mailing from the Special Olympics, the organization which has been in the media's light of late due the sad loss of its founder.

The mailing is timed well, because people are more prone to give to this worthy cause due to recent media attention on the passing of its founder. The mailing is also well done, with the centerpiece being a 16-month 2010 calendar (the first month is September 2009), featuring paintings by Jennifer Nolin Winkler, an extremely talented 24-year-old Special Olympic athlete for 11 years.

The calendar is sized to fit in an envelope that is small enough not to incur the extra postage of a flat mailing. And on the back of the calendar is a quote from Eunice Kennedy Shriver...

"Every person, regardless of whatever different abilities they have, can contribute, can be a source of joy, can beam with pride and love."

You can't help but love the tagline for the Special Olympics: "Be a fan(R)" And, I might add, a supporter.

While calendars for fundraising and promotional items are a dime a dozen, this mailing stands out for it's great timing and for being so full of heart, thanks the lovely artwork by Jennifer Nolin Winkler.

Art and Copy: The Movie

2009-08-10T16:33:00.011-04:00

Art and copy is a way of life for those of us in the advertising profession. Art and Copy, the movie from the One Club, opens in select cities (NY, Chicago, Denver, Seattle - sorry no Philly) August 21, 2009. For those of us not able to make it to one of the select theaters in that very short list of cities, we can probably catch it on The Sundance Channel one of these days - since the film has been dubbed an "Official 2009 Sundance Film Festival Selection," in addition to having won a couple of other awards.

Here for you now is the screener, courtesy of YouTube:

And an overview/blurb about the flick, courtesy of artandcopyfilm.com:

"ART & COPY is a powerful new film about advertising and inspiration. Directed by Doug Pray (SURFWISE, SCRATCH, HYPE!), it reveals the work and wisdom of some of the most influential advertising creatives of our time -- people who've profoundly impacted our culture, yet are virtually unknown outside their industry. Exploding forth from advertising's "creative revolution" of the 1960s, these artists and writers all brought a surprisingly rebellious spirit to their work in a business more often associated with mediocrity or manipulation: George Lois, Mary Wells, Dan Wieden, Lee Clow, Hal Riney and others featured in ART & COPY were responsible for 'Just Do It,' 'I Love NY,' 'Where's the Beef?,' 'Got Milk,' 'Think Different,' and brilliant campaigns for everything from cars to presidents. They managed to grab the attention of millions and truly move them. Visually interwoven with their stories, TV satellites are launched, billboards are erected, and the social and cultural impact of their ads are brought to light in this dynamic exploration of art, commerce, and human emotion."

If you dig the movie so much, you can become a fan and follow it on Facebook.

This is definitely on my list of "must sees."

How do you market to women entrepreneurs?

2009-07-28T13:37:00.009-04:00

Let's take a look at a couple of examples from Enterprising Women magazine.

The first ad shown here speaks to a diverse range of women in a single headline. The ad is intended to promote a professional network called LEXCI, which is co-branded with the Women's Leadership Exchange and the American Express OPEN business credit card.

Fabulous layout - very attention-getting!

The second ad is meant to also appeal to women and minorities within diverse business communities. But instead of the "in-your-face" layout and brash headline, we've got something much more subtle, yet still full of impact ...

Here, American Airlines integrates the headline/call-outs to the various market segments with its own logo to make the point.

Side note: Many corporations have diversity initiatives whereupon they encourage the hiring of certified vendors that are women-owned or minority-owned. Enterprising Women magazine is strongly aligned with these programs. Their readership is different than that of Working Women or Fortune magazine. So the ads appearing within the pages of Enterprising Women must reflect the unique needs of their unique audience.

Kudos to the marketers cited above for their well-done ads in this fine publication.

More Bang For Your Buck: Turn your average business reply envelope into a bangtail to increase sales in direct mail packages

2009-07-22T15:43:00.012-04:00

Before your potential customers send in their order for your main product or service, think about making a second sale using real estate on your business reply envelope (BRE). Make it interactive - by creating a bangtail BRE.

Here's an example of a bangtail BRE that recently arrived in my Bank of America credit card statement (you may have seen this piece if you're a Bank of America customer; it's been mailing for quite some time) ...

This is the reply envelope that we're supposed to use to return our credit card payment. But instead of just taking our payments, this envelope contains a special offer - and tries to make another sale. It starts to reel me by piquing my interest with a "please remove to reveal value" sticker. Half of the sticker is affixed on the back flap of the BRE. The other half of the sticker hides part of an insert that is folded and nested inside of the BRE.

In this example, the insert that is nested inside of the BRE is about the size of a buckslip and contains copy promoting a complimentary $20.00 gift card - which I can get just for trying Buyers Advantage(R), an added service that Bank of America offers their customers to help protect their purchases, get the lowest prices, and more.

Here I am with a "Direct Mail Minute" talking about this piece ...

Any questions?

(Note - This example is rather complicated! Bank of America spent some buck$$$ creating this piece - but since they send it to a high volume of people, the production costs are brought down to scale. Nevertheless, many marketers with smaller production budgets can still do a bangtail by extending the back flap of the BRE a couple of inches and adding a perforation - thereby turning the flap into a reply form that can be returned in the original BRE for the second offer or sale.)

Apollo 11 - 40th Anniversary celebrated with AOL morphed logo

2009-07-16T10:11:00.007-04:00

On The Copy Grove's Directions blog, we've talked about how AOL has been periodically morphing their homepage logo to celebrate various seasons or holidays throughout the year - such as April Fool's Day and Tax Day. (Incidentally, April 15th marked the first time AOL ever morphed their logo into an actual product ad for Turbo Tax, which you can read about here.)

Well, as you can see from the above images, looks like AOL is at it again for the 40th Anniversary of Apollo 11.

***

Speaking of logos, is the GM logo going green?

And you can test your logo IQ with this online quiz.

Have a great weekend!

If you can't wear the one glove ...

2009-07-09T18:27:00.009-04:00

Click to view larger image.

... you can wear the bracelet - silver-tone charm bracelet, that is.

At least The Franklin Mint waited until today to advertise this item in USA Today. They're calling it the "Pop Icon Charm Bracelet." Copy from franklinmint.com reads ...

"You can keep the thrill of Pop's greatest icon alive! Each charm is a work of art and a celebration of the greatest performer of all time. Remember the talent that has touched the world each time you wear this beautiful toggle bracelet. Seven handmade charms tell the story of a musical revolution that will live for generations. Swarovski crystal accents give it the sparkle of light."

Apparently The Franklin Mint is not the only one with an item like this for sale. The Bradford Exchange Australia Collectibles web site site was selling this - "Historic Michael Jackson Charm Bracelet Remembers the Music and Magic of the Legendary King of Pop in a Sparkling Salute! - He was a consummate artist and ..."

Sorry, the item is no longer available from The Bradford web site. It IS available on eBay. (Um, was. Not any more.)

Compare this item and post to Bill Green's post today on MTLB: I JUST NEED ANOTHER $2,700 TO EXPLOIT THE MEMORY OF 9/11.

At least the charm bracelet is affordably-priced (under $80).

Oxi Clean shows class with full page Billy Mays memorial in USA Today

2009-07-01T17:16:00.008-04:00

Click to view larger image.

This appeared in today's USA Today newspaper, page 7A, "In memory of Billy Mays 1958-2009." Note the words above the Oxi Clean logo quoting the opening line that this passionate pitchman made famous ...

"'Billy Mays here!' Yes, he was but sadly not long enough."

How true.

***

Another famous pitchman passed away a little over a week ago today, Ed McMahon. Most people remember Mr. McMahon as Johnny Carson's sidekick on the Tonight Show ... but for us direct marketers in the Greater Philadelphia region, particularly those who have done work for the Colonial Penn Life Insurance Company, we remember him for his work in DRTV.

***

For more about pitchmen in advertising, how to pick one, why they work, etc. ... take a look at this Money Magazine article: Why the Caveman Loves the Pitchman: A little celebrity and a shrewd marketing strategy can go a long way to sell a product. The key is understanding how the human brain really works.

***

Catch you after the holiday weekend. Have a good one!

Bloggers say the darndest thiings ... on Michael Jackson

2009-06-29T14:20:00.007-04:00

Did you know ...

"Michael Jackson had a patent."

- You can read about it on the Advertising That Works blog.

"You know the morphing effect that we take for granted in movies and commercials, can even do at home on our laptops? What was the first time you ever saw that? If you're like me, it was in the Black or White music video. It was so cool, so cutting edge that I remember sitting in my living room watching it, right after an episode of The Simpsons, even now."

- From The Exact Target blog.

"My question to you - How did you hear about Michael Jackson’s death?"

- Was it via Twitter version 1.0 or 2.0? Check out this interesting post called "Michael Jackson and the Twitter factor" on the Wikinomics blog.

Who's The Leader of The Brand That's Made For You and Me?

2009-06-22T12:36:00.020-04:00

I'm a brand. He's a brand. Wouldn't you like to be a brand, too? Now, you can be ...

When it comes to personal branding, Tom Peters wrote the book - well, an article actually - for FastCompany magazine way back in 1997, and you can read the reprint here - "The Brand Called You."

How well does Peters' advice hold up ten years later? You can see what this blogger has to say about that here. But even more telling is how many followers Peters seems to have ... people who have given the concept of the personal brand their own twist.

Larry Genkin has taken the concept to new heights with his Personal Branding Power Pack, which you can read about here. Here's Larry's ad ...

Click to view larger.

Of late, this ad, by the way, has been running regularly in USA Today. I love the subhead, which I think should be the headline on this ad ...

"Honestly, Do You Chase After Business Opportunities or

Do Opportunities Chase After You?"

Mr. Genkin is the creator of The Thought Leadership Marketing(R) Method, in case you haven't heard of him. Sort of like a Tony Robbins...

He's not the only one to get on the personal branding bandwagon. Dan Schawbel is the leading personal branding expert for Gen-Y. His blog, "Personal Branding Blog(R), Navigating YOU to future success" is worth a look, especially if you want to pump up the volume on your social networking sites. FastCompany magazine called him, a "Personal branding force of nature." Business Week said he's "A leading voice in the area of personal branding." Entrepreneur Magazine called Dan Schawbel the "Gen-Y branding expert." His personal brand, it seems, is personal branding. Kind of like a rose is a rose is a rose, to paraphrase Gertrude Stein. In fact, on a Google search of the words "personal brand," Dan shows up third from the top. Not bad, beaten only by the 1997 Peters' article for FastCompany and a Wikipedia description of the phrase.

I'd say Dan beats Larry on that score!

Nevertheless, all this personal branding stuff got me to thinking ...

It's all wonderful IF you have something to back it up with. You can brand the heck out of something, but if it does not deliver the goods, all you've got is a lot of advertising and no sales.

I'd rather take the $299 for Mr. Genkin's Personal Branding package and spend it on a course to sharpen my skills, a membership in a professional organization, or certification to boost my credentials. And read all about how to enhance my personal brand online - for free.

More catchy phrases

2009-06-10T18:54:00.010-04:00

Google "catchy phrases" and you'll inevitably find yourself here. Such is the power of Google. For my blog, which does not specialize in "catchy phrases" per se, is apparently receiving a LOT of visits from people plugging those very keywords into their search engines. In fact, my single blog post (until now) on this specific topic, which you can read here, has been viewed a whopping 1,400 times since it's original posting back on January 28th of this year - and that number is growing daily.

Which got me to thinking ... it's amazing how many people are searching the web for that kind of information, and if you're reading this now, chances are, you are one of those people. Keywords people use for this search have included "catchy financial phrases," "catchy direct mail phrases," "catchy summer phrases," and even "catchy chicken phrases" (I kid you not).

In an attempt to not disappoint my somewhat newfound audience for this kind of information, I bring you MORE CATCHY PHRASES, starting with ...

Catchy financial phrases:

Nothing beats "FREE money" for me or "get cash now."

Even better, show dollar figures - "$1 MILLION" is a good one.

But only if you can - that is, no false advertising.

Catchy direct mail phrases:

It's easier for me to give you tips on this, since direct mail IS my specialty.

In direct mail, some people think that one of the biggest "catchy phrases" is "Act now!" It's been around for so long that it's a cliche. More cliched phrases are "The sooner you act, the sooner you can save" or "But hurry! This offer is for a limited time only." Actually, these are not so much cliches as time-tested, proven phrases that get people to respond to the mailing. They are used so often because they work. They're plain English. The tell it like it is. And they're kind of catchy.

To learn more of these phrases, you need to be a student of current and past direct mail. So start forming an archive of the direct mail that comes to your mailbox and circle phrases that are consistent no matter who is sending the mailing. Those are likely to be phrases you should be using in your direct mail, too. They're usually action oriented phrases that get people to do what your direct mail piece is intended to do - and that's get people to RESPOND.

Catchy summer phrases:

- "Ain't no cure for the summertime blues."

- "In the summertime, when the weather is fine ..."

- "Fun in the sun"

- "Life's a beach and then you die."

- "A cloudy day at the beach is better than a sunny day at work"

- "Get in the swim ..."

I think you get the idea.

Catchy chicken phrases:

I'm stumped here. It all depends on the context. So I just brainstorm and come up with stuff like ...

- "What came first?"

- "The chicken or the egg?"

(After all, we're talking phrases here - not full sentences. If I had to come up with a headline for a chicken ad, let's say, I might write two headlines - one with the first phrase and one using the second phrase. Of course, my colleague/competitor might be doing the same thing. So ...)

I'd move on to the chicken joke ...

"Why did the chicken cross the road?"

And maybe try to do something with "drumsticks," I don't know.

This is not getting me anywhere, I'd probably be thinking ...

So maybe I'd do something totally removed from chicken.

Ugh.

The whole idea behind catchy phrases is (and this is the real secret) ... YOU HAVE TO MAKE THEM UP. You can't rely on phrases other people have used. You have to play with words. A catchy phrase is memorable. You want to repeat it many times. It sticks in your head like like a song lyric or the title of a book.

And so I leave you with this YouTube video, which serves as a good summertime example of a great catchy phrase in use. (Can you tell me what the catchy phrase is?)

YouSendIt.com alternatives

2009-06-07T09:01:00.002-04:00

Click article above to see larger image.

USA Today had a good article about alternatives to YouSendIt.com.

YouSendIt.com offers you a free service for sending LARGE files you'd otherwise have a hard time sending from your IPS. This is a function that many designers or account service representatives in marketing might be in need of - mostly for large pdf or native art files.

Check out the article above and see what your other options are, in addition to YouSendIt.com.

Are Redbox and Hershey's reading my blog?

2009-05-29T15:02:00.004-04:00

I posted about these two on May 8th - talking about how they both have freebie offers going at the same time this summer.

Today, I get this offer (above) via email - "Buy two bags of Hershey's candies and get a free Redbox DVD rental." Seems Redbox and Hershey's have joined forces.

Do I have ESP for an inside scoop on what marketers are doing, or what?

Selling Auto Insurance The Hard Way ... Like Nationwide

2009-05-28T10:35:00.015-04:00

It goes like this:

1) Send a direct mail package to people who don't have your coverage, like the one above, which I just received from Nationwide. (Getting people to switch is hard.)

2) Try to get me to switch without a "savings" message in the main headlines.

As I said, getting people to switch their auto insurance is hard. BUT getting people to switch without a promise of how much they can save is even harder. So don't put any promises on the envelope. Don't even allude to the fact that I can save money by switching, like Nationwide.

After all, sometimes it's hard to quote an exact amount. So why bother? All the other auto insurance companies who say you can save say things like "drivers who switched saved $375 on average."* (Notice the "*" after the statement; it always has to be footnoted with the actual survey information, to back it up. If you don't have this kind of back-up documentation for a savings statement, you can't make one. Simple as that.)

GEICO doesn't even have to quote a specific dollar amount for their savings promise. They just show a stack of bills with eyeballs on top of it, and say "this is the money you could be saving" if you switched to GEICO. We get it. Saving money motivates us. That's why people switch to GEICO. And you need to motivate people out of inertia if you want to get them to switch.

Ok, so ...

3) IF I happen to open the envelope, tell me I've been "4 GIVN," like the Nationwide mailing above. For what I've been forgiven, I don't know ... but since I was not born yesterday, I have a suspicion that you're talking about forgiving me for my bad driving record. After all, everyone knows that a bad driving record could drive up my insurance rates.

The problem is ... I don't have a bad driving record. I, in fact, have a great driving record. So you must be mailing to a lot of the wrong people and working with a bad list. I should be on the "good drivers" list.

But back to the point of all this. Nationwide is trying to sell auto insurance the hard way ... so this is permissible. Nationwide, you are forgiven.

Oh, and 3a) Did I mention this mailing with it's message of forgiveness has a somewhat religious tone to it? Here's what Keywords, a blog has to say about that... and apparently this kit from Nationwide is not a new mailing. Someone got it back in February of this year. So it may be working if Nationwide is still mailing it now, in May.

4) Make your call to action real small, like Nationwide did. Don't put the number to call big and bold on the piece. Like maybe at top of the letter or the bottom of that nice blue band on the left side. But leave lots of room for three local agents to list their names, addresses and phone numbers at the bottom. Maybe I'll call one of them. Or maybe not. I can't decide who to call. Forgive me for my indecision!

Life Comes at You Fast(R) - that's the Nationwide campaign slogan. And this mailing is going in the trash even faster. Better luck next time, Nationwide. At least with me.

How To Differentiate Yourself From Your Competitor (Not)

2009-05-15T10:15:00.008-04:00

If I didn't have a blog, these two pieces of mail would have gone straight into the trash.

But since I am a blogger, I find these two self-mailers worthy of a post for the same reason they would have gone in the trash ...

They're virtually alike. Oh, one has a red logo and the other has a yellow logo. And they both have different headlines. One has more phones on it than the other. And maybe I'd read that headline first. But the fact is, I read neither headline first.

One of these companies already has my business and wants more of it. The other wants to win my business. Neither is going to get their way.

It's unfortunate that you don't know what your competition is going to mail until AFTER the fact. So you can't plan accordingly. It's like picking out a dress to wear to a special event and hoping no one else shows up in the same frock.

In this case, though - I have to tell you - I've been seeing a ton of these black mailings with phones on them. Black self-mailers. Black postcards. Black envelopes.

How very basic black these mailings are becoming. And boring.

Actually, I AM going to be in the market for a new cell phone soon. So maybe I'd better hang onto these ...

Or try T-Mobile!

Two Takes On Freebies: Redbox and Mars Chocolate

2009-05-08T08:26:00.009-04:00

Redbox giveth and Redbox taketh away.

Maybe you've seen their big red boxes outside your local grocery store, where you can rent DVD movies for just $1 (take that, Blockbuster and Comcast Pay Per View!). It's also where you can get FREE movie rentals every Monday of the week. Or should I say was ...

For quite some time now, on Monday mornings, Redbox would text message people who registered their cell phones online with a FREE Movie promotional code. The code was only good that day to save the normal $1 fee on your Monday rental. Well, yesterday, Redbox alerted their loyal customers, via the email shown above, that their FREE Movie Mondays rental promotion is ending on May 11th. But to be the good guys in this bad economy, Redbox is going to keep the promotion going through the summer, on a monthly basis (not weekly) starting on June 1st. How nice is that?

Actually, is there anything better than FREE? It's "the strongest word in the English language," according to many direct marketing professionals. And it sure makes for hard-to-resist offer copy when you can say, "FREE Trial Offer, no strings attached."

In an About.com article, "Creating Powerful Promotional Marketing Coupons, Contests & Samples Drive Sales for Business," Darrell Zahorsky has this to say about the topic ...

"Do free samples work? Giving your product away for free may seem profit limiting but consider the case of Seth Godin. Godin released a book called 'The Idea Virus' in 2000. Unlike other authors, he did not charge for the book instead gave it away for free as an e-book. In less than 30 days over 400,000 copies were downloaded. This created a buzz about the book and even through free, people bought the hard cover; making the book #5 on the Amazon best seller list."

And Redbox isn't the only one who gets the power of free samples and is giving stuff away this summer ...

The Mars marketing team is running a FREE chocolate on Fridays promotion with their Real Chocolate Relief Act (and getting a little governmental on us with that name). They've even developed a graphic "seal" for this official business initiative.

The Mars ad that ran in yesterday's USA Today says, "Every week through September, Mars is giving way 250,000 free* real chocolate coupons for your favorite Mars brands. Authentic chocolate made with 100% cocoa butter. Enjoy one on us today and, for more free* chocolate, visit realchocolate.com on Fridays."

The promotion, per the ad's disclaimer, will run 5/8/09 through 9/25/09. (I'm checking the website now, and having trouble linking ... is it my browser or the Mars site?)

A few months back, I wrote about Mars' Dove chocolatiers franchise. I'm extremely impressed with what the company is doing to move forward - in this economy, you'd think FREE samples might be a bad idea, but Mars is going gung-ho with the idea. You can read more about the Mars FREE chocolate Friday giveaways here.

And don't forget to get your freebies! (My favorite Mars brand: 3 Musketeers. Movie: the latest comedy will do!)

Clever Aflac Duck Spills The Ink In Space Ad Spread

2009-04-29T08:46:00.004-04:00

Aflac is to accident and hospital indemnity insurance what GEICO is to auto insurance. They both have catchy, odd names that are very untraditional - not your typical "American National Life & Home" type of thing. And both are highly advertised national brands with a strong "mascot" strategy to generate awareness and recall for their products (GEICO has the animated gecko, and Aflac has the white duck).

Recently, Aflac took out a bunch of space in USA Today to run a series of ads, each promoting various benefits of having Aflac's protection and reasons to go to the Aflac web site. The ads were numbered #1 through #5, each with the heading "get the Aflacts" on a white piece of paper held up by the familiar Aflac duck (does he or she have a name, I wonder?). The first ad said, "Aflac is different from health insurance; it's insurance for daily living." Aflac does sell life, dental, vision and other types of insurance, but these ads are focused on the company's accident and hospital indemnity products. Nevertheless, while their 4-color ads were very eye-catching, simple to read and quickly communicated key benefits, what was truly outstanding was a bit of clever creativity ...

Ink splashes!

Next to the 4th ad in the lower right corner of the spread, Aflac media buyers bought the lower left quadrant and filed it with benign, fake newspaper text (at the very top of the copy you can see the word "Advertisement") - and over the type, they splayed some blue ink, as if it dripped from the duck's pen in the ad above it.

Nice creative touch that helps make these strong copy and graphic ads stand out even more!

Celebrating Customer Retention With Birthday Messages

2009-04-24T08:14:00.013-04:00

I just read a great article online recently that was filled with 21 ways to improve customer retention through relationship marketing programs. And great timing on my end for that topic, because I'm working on a customer retention project with one of my biggest clients - while my own mailbox seems to be filling up with customer retention efforts in honor of my upcoming birthday.

Some examples:A predictable yet perfectly executed birthday greeting, from my local Hallmark store arrived in my mailbox yesterday. They send me something similar every year. You'd expect a greeting card store to send a pretty card - and so they do. You'd expect the personal touches on the envelope that make it look like a "real" card, sent from "someone I know" - the live stamp, the handwritten font for the addressing areas, and a closed-face envelope. This mailing delivers it all - along with a coupon for 20% off my next purchase at the store.

Next up ...

Here's a nice email offer with a printable coupon for $5 off, from my local Famous Footwear store. I have one of their frequent buyer/membership cards. The email subject line was "Happy Birthday from Famous Footwear--Take $5 off." Pretty straight-forward. (My birthday, btw, is over a month away. This email came today.)

And here is something I'd never seen before, which also arrived by email this

morning ...
It's a very unexpected, birthday-inspired email from a charity I've given to in the past - the American Cancer Society. What I absolutely loved about this email was the subject line: "Who is the official sponsor of your birthday?" - and the whole campaign concept of a birthday sponsor. I also liked the brevity of this email. No long discourse, just a "Learn More" button to take me to the next step, where I can give a gift to the charity online.

When you remember that 80% of your sales come from 20% of your customers and clients, you can see why customer retention programs are not only a cost-effective and profitable strategy but in today's economic environment they're a necessity.

New Gas $aver Card From Shell - Better Than Your Debit Card?

2009-04-15T18:41:00.006-04:00

A recent USA Today article said that we won't be seeing $4-a-gallon gas prices anytime soon - at least not through the summer and probably even next year. The article claims that gas prices could be pushed slightly higher by a modest rise in global crude, but any increase is likely to be tempered by the weak economy. OK ... but the weak economy is still causing many Americans to tighten their belts and look for ways to keep their costs down.

That's where the new Shell $aver Card comes in. According to Shell's new ad, "It's an easy way to save 5 cents on every gallon you buy at Shell." The card is termed a "payment card." You have to apply for the card (applications are available at participating Shell stations). Once approved, it works like this: Swipe the card at the pump and the discounted gas price (less 5 cents on every gallon during the introductory period) is AUTOMATICALLY DEDUCTED from your checking account.

Better than using your plain old debit card at the pump, huh? And even when the introductory rate goes down to 2 cents off the gallon after June 30, 2009, you're still pennies ahead.

Years ago, gas stations developed and marketed their own charge cards, but those cards have fallen by the wayside. And there's apparently a potential downside to using regular debit cards at the gas pump, according to this MSN Money article.

Nevertheless, this new card is good way to drive motorists to Shell pumps. Shell more than likely saves money with this type of payment card rather than going through other credit/debit middlemen. So it's good for Shell and good for the consumer from a savings standpoint. And that's gotta be good for the economy.

Tax Day

2009-04-15T08:55:00.007-04:00

AOL is at it again - with a whimsical twist to their homepage logo on this April 15th Tax Day 2009.

Some of my favorite quotes about taxes:

The taxpayer - that's someone who works for the federal government but doesn't have to take the civil service examination. ~ Ronald Reagan

America is a land of taxation that was founded to avoid taxation. ~ Dr. Laurence J. Peter

Did you ever notice that when you put the words "The" and "IRS" together, it spells "THEIRS?" ~ Author Unknown

Joined Together At The Hip

2009-04-08T16:23:00.012-04:00

Looks like CVS and Depend Underwear are joined together at the hip for this recent self-mailer to CVS customers who have bought the brand.

The back story - no, I don't wear these things. And no offense to anyone who does. This is an important product for not just the over 65 crowd but anyone who needs it.

Anyway, over a year ago, my father was sick. And to help him get through his illness, during which time he had trouble getting up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom, I suggested he try using Depend underwear. I bought him a pack at CVS.

Whenever I make a purchase at CVS, the cashier asks me to show my Extra Care Card. Showing my Extra Card helps me earn points and Extra Care bucks, which I like getting and using on things like dental floss, magazines and so forth. So I showed my card when I bought the Depend product and that purchase was registered on my Extra Care Card, along with everything else I have ever bought when I showed my card.

Of course, the marketing strategy behind the Extra Care Card program is to tie your purchases to special savings offers with a coupon at the bottom of your CVS receipt that might say something like, "$2.00 off any CVS dental product." And thus drum up extra sales.

Well, more than a year after that Depend purchase for my dad, I get a piece of mail from CVS promoting a NEW Depend product. According to the mailing, instead of generic, cookie-cutter, unisex Depend underwear, there now is an anatomically-correct male/female version of said product. That's nice to know. (Too bad neither my dad, myself or anyone else I know is not currently using the product.) Inside the self-mailer is a $2.00 off coupon for either the male or female version and that expires 5/15/09 (not much shelf-value there - use it now or lose it, I guess).

The Depend brand is promoting their product extension on tv with their "Who rules the world?" spot, which you can catch on YouTube.

So who rules the world - men or women?

I say the Depend brand rules - the new product extension shows the brand has innovative thinkers on board who have (dare I say) b*lls. They're not afraid to launch something new in this tough economy. And what a great marketing strategy to promote the new products with CVS as a partner. Way to go, Depend!

Supporting A Worthy Cause

2009-04-08T10:53:00.007-04:00

The Copy Grove is proud to be a sponsor of the Breast Cancer 3 Day Susan G. Komen for the Cure Event. Click to learn more and/or add your donation today.

April Fool's With AOL

2009-04-01T15:13:00.004-04:00

When I logged on AOL this morning, I noticed an upside-down logo on their homepage. I actually thought, "Wonder if they know there's a glitch here. Should I contact them?"

The phone rang, and I was talking to a client. "Sure, next week is fine. Hey - this is strange. The AOL logo is upside-down and now it's spinning around ..."

"Huh?"

"Oh, I'm sorry - but this is so bizarre."

And then I got the joke!

Is this a trend?

2009-03-24T08:36:00.019-04:00

Click on image to view larger.

Here's another "copy-driven" ad. All type, no graphic other than the Boys & Girls Clubs of America logo. If you visit the organization's web site at www.bgca.org, you'll see a very attractive and highly visual home page. There's plenty of visual fodder on the site around which to build a space ad for this organization. Which leads me to ask are we seeing a trend of more copy-driven ads nowadays and why? To save on photo fees? It behooves a direct marketer to create ads that stand out from the clutter - and especially in newspapers where you have a sea of type with scads of articles on virtually every page, why would one shun a photograph or some other attention-getting graphic?

But the ad shown above, which appeared in the business section of USA Today yesterday, sure does start off great. What a fabulous headline:

"IF YOU THINK NOW IS A TOUGH TIME TO BE IN
BUSINESS, TRY BEING A KID."

Then come over 30 lines of Courier type, some of which I greatly admire.

This Boys & Girls Clubs of America ad does a few things right, as opposed to the copy-driven ad for Hyatt Place featured in a previous post.

At least the type in the Boys & Girls Clubs of America ad is easy-to-read black. And while Courier tends to be a highly legible font, it is a bit lightweight for the grainy newsprint paper. (You have to consider the paper an ad is printing on when designing it.)

And while the copy in the Boys & Girls Clubs of America ad is well-written, I would have cut the opening and started the ad with the sentence in the 2nd paragraph:

"When a local youth agency fails, there are no severance packages. No bonuses. No second chances. Just scores of children with one less haven to turn to during non-school hours."

Adding a photo to this ad might have given the message a little more weight. But this is major - the call to action at the bottom should have DEFINITELY been set in BOLD type to help make it stand out and drive response.

What do you think? Could this ad use a visual? Is Courier the right font for this? What about a different kind of layout? Maybe an "open letter" look, where the ad would appear on letterhead, signed by the president of the organization? I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Hyatt Place Space Ad Gone Wrong

2009-03-19T15:48:00.011-04:00

If you thought this ad was hard to read, then you are not alone. The headline/offer/first sentence is so long that I stopped reading about 1/3 of the way into this ad. It's easy to miss the main message; it's all the way at the bottom, under the logo: "Only 3 days to save 30%. Call 888 HYATT HP or visit HPLimitedTimeOffer.com."

Yes, bad typesetting can kill an ad. This was supposed to be one of those ads that are "copy driven." After all (thinks the Account Executive/Marketing Strategist/Creative Director), prospective customers for Hyatt Place are educated. High brow. They read long copy. Right? Maybe. So they will read this, right? Maybe not.

Talk about reader-unfriendly colors for the type. I would have went with the burgundy type for the majority of the headline-as-body-text (it's darker, easier to read) and used the lighter "ochre" color for the "highlights." At the very least. But take a look at the Hyatt Place logo. It's chock-full of color:

Why not pick up something more springy, like say the periwinkle, lime green or robin's egg blue?

Whatever.

Now there's only 1 day left to get the 30% off. Hurry! Act now! : )

Designers, find icon heaven

2009-03-18T16:04:00.003-04:00

... or rather the Icon Garden of Eden - with FREE icons, here at www.iconeden.com.

Through the mailbox ...

2009-03-18T16:00:00.012-04:00

Watch the Pitney Bowes video posted on this link to see how people sort your direct mail.

The video was produced by Creative Concepts (PR, Marketing and New Media Solutions), with offices in NYC and Connecticut.

Posted using ShareThis

... because it's nice to share!

Is Discover Card reading my blog?

2009-03-13T16:40:00.008-04:00

Sometimes it feels like somebody's watching me. And I don't mean those big eyes from the GEICO TV spot.

Is seems like the folks at Discover Card read my post yesterday. Because look what came in my email today:

Now that's upping the ante!

What's New In Credit Card Offers?

2009-03-12T15:42:00.008-04:00

I'm torn. Should I get this card and forget about the measly 1% cash back bonus Discover gives?

A direct mail package recently came in the mail from Fidelity, telling me that the Fidelity Investment Rewards American Express Card is designed to help bring me closer to my investment goals - with a whopping 2 points (2%) for every dollar in net retail purchases.

The specifics: For every 5,000 points ($2,500 in purchases), a $50 deposit can be automatically deposited into a designated, eligible Fidelity account - or I can redeem points for gift cards, merchadise and more through the WorldPoints program ... with no cap or limit on the amount of points or rewards I can earn.

And there's no annual fee.

Not a bad deal - especially in this economy!

In the direct mail package I received from Fidelity, the 2% is printed on the outer envelope and in the letter headline, which captured my attention - and I'm sure it will capture others. Let's see if this card takes off. I have a feeling it will!

A Nickel For Your Thoughts

2009-03-06T16:15:00.008-05:00

I just received this mailing from the Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA) association. The organization is well known in the direct mail community for its fundraising packages featuring address labels as a gift for donations. This package stood out in the mail for it's size (5" x 11.5") and the fact that it not only contained the usual address labels, but also a real, live nickel.

It's been a while since I've seen any nickel (or penny) kits, as we in the direct mail biz like to call them. For many clients, these kits are too expensive to produce UNLESS you have a huge mailing list, which the PVA undoubtedly has. At small quantities, packages with real, live coins tipped on can be extremely cost-prohibitive. But at larger quantities, and when you count in vendor relationships with the client/agency producing the kit, it's entirely possible to come in at budget.

The coin acts as a kind of envelope opener - much the same way a plastic card works to get envelopes opened.

(At one time, I seem to remember some direct marketers shying away from inserting coinage into kits and showing the "money" through the envelope, because there was a wave of undeliverable mail and suspicion/reports of kits being "stolen" to collect the change.)

Nevertheless, the creative challenge that comes with the execution of a successful nickel or penny kit is in how you tie the coin to the offer. In this PVA package, that challenge is met two ways:

1) With some great letter copy! From the headline to the close of the letter ("For many of these vets who are down to their last few nickels, Paralyzed Veterans of America - and you - are their last hope!), the copy works to persuade the recipient to make a donation.

AND

2) With an extra push of a yellow sticky note, affixed to the business reply envelope, which echoes the letter's P.S. ("P.S. Even if you can't send a gift today, please return the enclosed nickel as a symbol of your support - Paralyzed Veterans of America needs every nickel to continue to provide vital services to veterans who have sacrificed so much in the service of our country.")

Another fine example of fundraising done right. Kudos to the PVA creative team for a well-put-together nickel kit.

Temple University's Latest Fundraising Effort

2009-03-03T19:31:00.021-05:00

Is it me, or does this email sound - at first - like it's coming from a student who is hearing disabled? Here, let me "read" it to you - since the above image is way too small (or click on the image for a larger view):

Dear Ms. Maniglia,

As a current Temple University student, I use many different types of technology and campus resources to enhance my education. Of them all, one of the most important is the headset I use as a Temple Telefund caller. My headset allows me to call alumni, parents and friends to encourage the Temple community to stay involved with the university.

I have been trying to contact you from the Telefund, but have been unable to reach you. As a student with a part-time job, I completely understand how busy life can get. If you could spare just a few minutes the next time one of my peers or I call, we can share campus news with you, update your information and let you know about great ways you can stay involved at Temple.

We look forward to speaking with you during this year's Telefund!

Sincerely,

Marquis
Temple Student Caller

All gifts made to Temple through December 31, 2009 will be credited toward Access to Excellence: The 125th Anniversary Campaign for Temple. Learn more at www.temple.edu/accesstoexcellence.

Temple University · 1938 Liacouras Walk · Philadelphia, PA 19122 · (215) 204-1001
tupledge@temple.edu

I had to read the opening paragraph about three times for some reason. Clever copywriting in that it could possibly "trick" some people into donating, thinking they are helping the hearing disabled. But also potentially misleading and capable of pissing off potential alumni donors big time.

The problem is a disconnect between the first sentence and the second - and probably the third sentence too. And maybe the rest of the letter. The copy doesn't say how the headset and the Telefund enhance the student's education. I don't really care if the headset is important to the student, unless of course he or she is hearing disabled. Maybe he or she is? I'm feeling sort of guilty for not answering their calls lately...

There's no mention in the letter about a donation (unless you count that little footnote at the bottom), just about "ways I can stay involved," and all I'm being asked is to spare a few minutes to talk to this student, who will no doubt be wearing his or headphone - which somehow enhances his or her education.

I must tell you - actually I CAN'T tell you - how many calls from Temple University I've received in the past month that we haven't answered because they invariably come while we're enjoying our dinner.

Sure, I've received great fundraising efforts from Temple in the past, like the one where they tipped on a HUGE magnet (the thing must have been 5" x 5") to the inside of a cool brochure. And I've given in the past ... which is obviously why they keep hounding me now. But this email and their persistent calls have me, well, confused and miffed.

Sorry, Temple - better luck next fundraising drive. You can call me mean if you want to.

Old Navy Newspaper Insert - NOT For Dummies

2009-02-28T16:13:00.012-05:00

Someone had to do it.

Remember when Walmart started using Walmart employees - instead of professional models - in their circulars? Of course, lots of companies use their "own people" instead of hiring talent for ads. (Who can forget the famous DRTV ad, "I'm not only The Hair Club President; I'm also a client"?)

But Old Navy is taking things to the next level and using dummies (or supermodelquins, as they call them) in this week's circular. Behold ...

I haven't stepped into an Old Navy store lately (and not sure that this circular will compel me to do so - although 2-for-$5 flipflops in an array of wild colors are a bargain, they're bad for my arches). But I wonder if Old Navy actually has such lively looking mannequins in their storefronts?

While the circular features dummies, the concept is super smart - with headlines similar to what you might find in People, OK! or any gossip magazine. (For example, "They do what we do; these storefront celebs aren't so different after all," and "Even supermodelquins display less-than-perfect poses.") The circular dishes with the latest on Eva, Kimmy, Wesley, Amy, Michelle and there's even a dog named Parker. Looks like they're carrying over the concept online, too.

With the aforementioned 2-for-$5 flipflops, $19 "women's perfect khakis" and $5 women's tank tops, this interesting take on circular advertising is likely to draw crowds in for the store's FUNdamentals sale, which starts today. One can only hope, given the state of the national economy.

The cover for this Old Navy circular says it is the Premier Issue. And I'm actually looking forward to seeing next week's installment, if only to find out what happens to supermodelquins Eva and Kelly. At least I won't have to read all about it while standing on line at the supermarket ...

Sneak Peek

2009-02-26T09:18:00.009-05:00

Here's our new ad - soon to appear in the 2009 Philadelphia Direct Marketing Association (PDMA) Member Directory, sharing space with one of my design resources.

DMers: A Few Questions for 2009 - and a couple of newsworthy tidbits

2009-02-24T09:57:00.021-05:00

Not on the blog roll yet, but should they be? Check out these top ten blogs in 2009, according to Direct Marketing Observations' Marc Meyer. (I just added one to my blog roll.)

Is this BizReport DM forecast coming true - or too early to tell?

What key steps should big companies be taking to be more effective with their marketing in a recession? See what The Direct Marketing Voice has to say on the subject.

-- Tell 'em The Copy Grove sent you. --

And in today's news:

Amex is paying cardholders to close their accounts. Only a limited number of cardholders will get the offer - pay off your account and close it, get $300. Not bad! Discover, here they come! Discover has a better rewards program, anyway, in my opinion - but hey, in this economy, wonder how long those rewards are going to last?

And how about Tropicana scraping their new OJ carton design (launched last month) because of public outcry? Who needs focus groups when you can have a true test in the marketplace? What Tropicana is doing right: Listening to its market and reacting. Better to get rid of the unpopular cartons NOW, before the company loses market share.

Are you blaming your tools?

2009-02-16T10:45:00.008-05:00

I met cartoonist Mick Stevens way back in 1997 in Philadelphia at a book signing. The book was "e-mail.this.book!" - wherein "Today's most talented cartoonists celebrate the fun and foibles, the delights and dangers, the quirks and quarks, of life in Computerland," complied by The Cartoon Bank and published by Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.

In the almost 12 years that have past, computers, software and the Internet have changed dramatically to help make it easier for us to enjoy a somewhat hassle-free experience as we create documents, e-mail away, blog and generally twitter about our daily business and personal life.

But I love this signed cartoon by Mick Stevens, which depicts a writer who is seated at a desk, presenting his work to his editor or publisher and attempting to blame the glitches in the manuscript on his computer software.

A good craftsman never blames his tools.

And funnily, there is a tie in this to Lincoln's Birthday. And I quote: "The most inspiring characters in history have been those who met their destinies without complaint, whose moral polarity enabled them to see opportunity where others saw only obstruction. The life of Abraham Lincoln is an example of the higher attitude toward events. Lincoln never quarrelled with conditions, though by all worldly standards there was ample occasion for it. He did not complain that good books were difficult to obtain, nor that light from oil lamps made reading impossible. If necessary, Lincoln read by light from the fireplace, whenever he had a book to read, and valued his schooling the more for its hardships. The Light that shone from his own illumined soul more than compensated for the darkness arising from events." This from Kernels of Wisdom, THEOSOPHY, Vol. 38, No. 11, September, 1950, which I just stumbled upon in a quick little Google search.

Isn't the Internet wonderful? How it can not only help tie people together but also ideas. Instead of blaming your tools, use them to the max. Find new ways they can help you achieve your goals. Explore their capabilities and learn about the tools in YOUR toolbox. There may be a few you haven't even touched.

Fidelity Investor's Quarterly Magazine Cuts Back

2009-02-10T09:06:00.009-05:00

These days, it seems every company is cutting back somehow - from service hours to packaging to staff. With that in mind, this month's Fidelity Investor's Quarterly issue is all about helping investors put their personal economy back in order and restoring financial confidence in the market, with headlines like "Don't let tough times derail your retirement," "Why the Democrats' Victory May Be a Win for Investors," and "Finding Shelter in Stormy Markets."

As I was flipping through a copy of it, I noticed that the magazine's pages were thinner than previous issues. A sure sign of the times. Cutting back paper costs conserves marketing dollars. One thing you have to be wary of with thinner paper, though, is how much ink coverage you have on the pages and show-through issues, as well as page creasing that can occur during freight when the pieces are stacked in boxes and delivered from printer to post office. Quite a few pages in the new Fidelity magazine had those creases. Oh, well. It's a small compromise for cost-effectiveness, I guess.

On the cover, I noticed a "Read us online" slug on the masthead. I wondered: how long had that been there? Was it on previous issues or is this something new? Onto the inside, the editor's letter elaborates ...

"Special note to readers: This will be the last print edition of this magazine. Beginning in May, it will only be available online. To receive the magazine electronically, please visit Fidelity.com/email and provide your email address. We look forward to bringing you a robust and engaging online reading experience."

Don't you just love those buzz words "robust" and "engaging?" And of course, it will be an "experience" to read the online magazine. Anyway, smart move on Fidelity's part. Environmentally smart and money-smart.

We've already seen the demise of Domino magazine last month. How many other publications will shut down? Going online is a paper savings to be sure, but there still are many costs associated with pulling together a "robust and engaging" online magazine - writers, designers, editors and more to pay. Still, it's nice to see that Fidelity isn't panning their Investor's Quarterly magazine altogether.

Got a lot of money? Don't know what to do with it?

2009-02-06T08:53:00.008-05:00

Buy a town. Not just any town - Garryownen, MT, "one of the most historic sites in Custer Country and a 'must see' for those interested in ... the history of the American West," according to the Custer Battlefield Museum. It's actually for sale ...

As far as space ads go, this could be a little better with:

a) a more "robust" and "engaging" headline

and

b) body copy in upper and lower case, versus all caps which is hard to read.

The layout is OK, resembling a "Wanted" poster, which would no doubt appeal to history buffs and people with a love for the Old West. Anyway, imagine owning this town where The Battle of Little Bighorn began. It would be like owning Gettysburg, PA.

Wonder how much it's going for???? Have a good weekend all.