Are We Approaching an Identity Crisis?

Summer got in the way of posting over the past few weeks, but an interesting observation prompted my return.  And, it’s not marketing/PR related. (Well, may be just a little.)

While at the post office in Old City Philadelphia this afternoon to purchase stamps, the postal worker asked me if I had personally hand-written the birthday card I was about to mail.

I answered in the affirmative.

She said, “ Can I ask you a personal question? Did you go to Catholic school?”

I again answered ‘yes.’

The woman effused about my handwriting. She said her sister and mother had attended Catholic school and she recognized the trademark cursive. Then she said, “Shame, it’s a dying art.” We lamented about the fact that some schools no longer teach cursive. It’s true. A friend and I recently spoke about the fact that his son had reached high school (at a reputable Philadelphia school) without ever being taught cursive.

As our brief conversation came to a close, she tongue-in-cheek-ingly joked about the upcoming, print-only generation not being able to sign a check or other legal document.

With technology, these kids many not have to sign a check per se, but won’t they have to sign something? I can certainly see shorthand going by the wayside as computers replace the way we used to do most everything. But, our signatures now?

Walt Disney had a unique style of printing. For most, however, it’s our scripted signature that creates our personal trademark. I mean, who would want to buy insurance from plain, old John Hancock? Not nearly as stately, unique or convincing. Furthermore, with a "signature" like the this, the insurance company would surely have a different logo (I knew I’d tie this back to marketing one way or another.)

In any case, graphologists (those who study handwriting) say cursive gives them a better read on a person than printing, according to a recent article by Amanda Armstrong for “Real Simple”.

As a matter of fact, “Handwriting is about the brain, not the hand. Nerve impulses travel down the arm, into the hand, directing the fingers to maneuver the pen. When the ink hits the paper, it actually reveals the complex inner workings inside the writer’s body mind and spirit. A deeply trained graphologist can spot imbalances in handwriting that reveal imbalances in the body mind and spirit,” reports DrOz.com.

The analysts on Brainwriting.com contend that a person’s signature is the outermost symbol representing how they want to be viewed by the world.

“I use handwriting as a tool for coaching, team building, testifying in court, hiring, entertainment (trade shows, events and parties) and romantic compatibility,” handwriting analyst, Sylvia Friedman says.

Speaking of graphologists . . . does this transition from old school to new mean they will be out of jobs in 10+/- years? What about the books and classes dedicated to this ancient study, which some say began with Aristotle?

I’m for progress as much as the next gal. But please folks: teach your kids cursive. It is the one, unique component of our identities we can own as every cyber criminal tries to steal the rest.

Thanks for tuning in.

-Natalie

(Hold-off on analyzing me; this not my real signature :)

Resources:

http://www.realsimple.com/work-life/life-strategies/handwriting-101-00000000015886/index.html

http://brainwriting.com/Common_Questions.html

http://sylviafriedman.com/blog/2012/01

http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/what-your-handwriting-says-about-your-health

What are your thoughts?

Today’s post seeks to find an answer. For all of you PR professionals out there, I have a question:

Can you define the line between news-worthiness and marketing pitch in a press release announcing a new company?

Let’s discuss . . .

Positive Spin on a Curveball

What got me thinking about today’s topic is, well, everything. It’s official: we are now inundated with too much information.

A coworker and I were chatting and he mentioned how refreshing it was to receive a direct mail piece from a Comcast . . .  in his physical, not virtual, mailbox. It caught his attention. Just like it was meant to do in the old days. That’s because it stood out. There’s enough documentation out there underscoring the plethora of information we receive minute-by-minute via our electronic devices, so this blog post won’t waste time making that case.

However, what it will do is raise a question -- should we marketers surprise the “C”s (clients, constituents, customers, consumers) every now and again with a curveball like direct mail, for example?

In baseball, a curveball is aimed at decreasing the chance a batter will actually hit the ball because of its illusive direction. From a marketing perspective, a surprise pitch has potential to result in a direct hit by grabbing attention amidst a bombardment of other ads and information being showered upon us.

Done correctly (you know the drill -- grabbing headline, valuable offer, call-to-action, expiration date), old direct mail can be a nice 7th inning stretch for the eyes. And, now that internet marketing has nearly eliminated our print budgets, we can afford to do it quarterly or so.

I can just hear the pre-Internet marketing folks saying: But what about frequency over reach, and all that consistency stuff? My answer: Don’t forget the dos and don’ts; but remember that every pitcher mixes it up for the element of surprise.

Keep in mind, however, like one pitching coach and baseball blogger puts it: “A true curveball is a beautiful majestic sight -- an aesthetic event that stuns a hitter and inspires awe. But the truth of the matter is -- good curves are common, great are few and rare.”

That’s my two cents for today. Thanks for tuning in.

-Natalie

Resource:

Quote by Dr. John Bagonzi, The Pitching Professor at  http://pitchingprofessor.com/article_breaking_ball.html

All Things Considered

I recently attended a meeting introducing a new concierge service to my office building. My first impression of the owner of the concierge services company was that he was skilled and likable, and a really good BS-er.

However, as I listened to the how behind his delivery promises, which, by the way, extended from dry cleaning drop-off/pick-ups, to car washing, to delivering gourmet lunches to our office from restaurants that do not offer take-out or catering, to everything in between, I came to realize this man could come really close to being all things to all people -- in our building anyway. That's right. For a negligible service fee, co-tentants could have access to virtually any service one's mind could conjure: dog sitting, plant watering, blood testing, and a host of others.

Nonetheless, even for one who's actual business relies on being all things to all people, there must come a time when delivery is not feasible. Then what?

This got me thinking about the businesses I've come across over my career, specifically those that do not focus time, money and energies on targeting specific audiences but instead, try to be all things to all people; go for reach over frequency.

Well, I'm here to tell you there is no greater business sin as far as forgiveness is concerned than promising and not delivering. When my gym refused to reimburse me a final month's debited payment after having canceled my membership weeks before, they got a big, black "X" on my mental list. There are plenty more gyms to consider. When Verizon failed to fix a cable reception issue after 3+ visits, it was onto Comcast. And, when my daughter's pediatrician misdiagnosed her TWICE, we headed down the road to the next practice. I'm sure you have plenty of your own personal, disappointing examples.

In a time of immediate gratification, trying to be all things to all people is analogous with setting oneself up for failure. (Though I am rooting for the concierge service to succeed.)

So, use your coveted and limited marketing dollars wisely; choose your audience and concentrate on delivering your products or services to them exactly as promised. They will keep coming back.

That's my two cents for this week.

Thank you for tuning in!
-Natalie

Metaphorically Speaking

Advertising is riddled with metaphors. Think about it . . . if you drive a Suburu, you love and protect your kids more than, say VW owners, who are apparently pretty happy people. But VW owners can't compare to the happiness Diet Coke drinkers experience. As a matter of fact, Diet Coke makes consumers like Taylor Swift feel 22 again. Ah! What a great age! Nonetheless, 22 simply cannot compare to a (circa) 8-month old baby dancing the Kalinka while his parent sip on a Pepsi Next. What magic we feel as the everfescent, brown battery acid goes down our pipes! It's like, well, a baby doing cartwheels.

You get the point. 

Metaphors are comparisons that use one thing to describe another – her boss is a wicked witch, he had all day to throw the ball, driving a Suburu means the owner is a saftey-conscious person, etc. Madison Avenue continues to invest in the power of metaphors while laughing its way to Wall Street. Why? Because they work. 

Connie Williams, Chief Knowledge Officer, CMO and General Managing Partner at a company called Synecticsworld, Inc. says, “Metaphors can be a great untapped resource for brands to achieve greatness and for insight-led companies to find the unfulfilled wants and needs in the marketplace.” AND, they make us, the consumers, feel good.

However, metaphors have a best-kept-secret second job. They help solve problems, too. I'm not talking about choosing the safest car or best-tasting softdrink (although I could be). I am referring to everyday issues facing every organization on earth. How can we cut costs without cutting quality? How we engage our back office employees in marketing strategies? How can we encourage parents to spend more time with their kids' homework after working a full day? And so on.

The Creative Industries Research Institute (2008), a subsidiary of Auckland University of Technology in New Zealand quotes Buckminster Fuller, an American architect, inventor, visionary, and author as explaining the use of metaphors this way: “all things, regardless of their dissimilarity, could somehow be linked together, either in a physical, psychological or symbolic way.” 

So instead of tackling the problem at hand, the solution team could brainstorm about a completely non-related issue such as gardening during a summer with limited rainfall, for example. This seemingly silly exercise can accomplish two major objectives: 1) it can encourage particants to contribute without fear of being judged or shot down (it's safer to talk about pruning azaleas than about the women in accounts payable who watch the timeclock), hence adding more ideas to considerand for a possible solution; and 2) by thinking about a unrelated topic, particpants will consider options not usually associated with the problem at hand (especially when guided by a trained facilitator).

Hey, the process works - ask any "mad man".

That's my two cents for this week. Thanks for tuning in and I'll see you again next week.

-Natalie

http://synecticsworld.com/imagine-that/

What do you mean by white paper? Yeah, I use it to fill my copier.

There’ been a lot of chatter in my world lately about Internet marketing’s buzzword and secret weapon – white papers. And yes, they are referring to something other than what you use to print copies.

So what exactly are white papers and how can they help your business?

Here’s the skinny:

According to Purdue University’s Online Writing Lab (OWL), the term originated in government when referring to official, authoritative and informative documents. As such, white papers used for marketing purposes had best provide valuable information or else could work in reverse and discredit their source.

There are various methods for communicating information on the Internet including website content, blogs, and online articles. But what differentiates these mediums from white papers is a narrowly defined problem/solution for a targeted audience segment.

So, let’s presume your company developed a more efficient method for, say, adding (white) paper to your copier. By writing an official paper on the process, and sharing that information with the interested public, you’ve accomplished three major marketing wins:

1. You’ve positioned yourself as the expert (and subliminally have given potential customers a reason to contact you when a need arises,
2. You’ve most likely enhanced your SEO by cross-referencing and linking your white paper to your website and vice versa, and
3. You’ve provided a good will service that may leave readers wanting more if written properly – another reason to contact you.

But, writers beware: readers are smart people, too. They can smell a sales pitch from a mile away. To keep your material authentic, OWL recommends the following:

“If you advertise before convincing your readers of the truths of your argument, they are more likely to be turned off.”

Thanks for tuning in,

Natalie

Source: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/