Sunday, October 30, 2005
Start a second career: Become a copywriter.
I’m back. Sorry for the long gap in posting. Annual reports are heating up, and I’ve been traveling here and there. One of the places I stopped at was Bettendorf, Iowa, where I gave a presentation to the Ad Fed group there on copywriting. Out of that presentation, came “Robert’s Rules of Copy.” They are mostly focused on advertising, but if you write at all, I thought they might prove useful to you.
Robert's Rules of Copy
--Learn to feel the rhythm in everything you read.
--Create a sense of movement in what you write.
--Always read your copy aloud.
--Don’t restate the visual in the headline.
--Don’t restate the headline in the body copy.
--But do pay off the headline in the body copy.
--Make the intro as short as possible.
--Use the power of three, i.e. “Today. Tomorrow. And for all time."
--Match the voice to the audience.
--Less is more.
Saturday, October 08, 2005
New links for old -- Some interesting stuff
International Networks ArchiveCheck out their fascinating maps on social dynamics. One shows how the global presence of Starbucks coffee shops and McDonald's restaurants acts as global hubs that connect some of the world's poorest, most remote countries with some of the wealthiest.
Stefan's Branding Blog
Yet another perspective on branding.
An interesting blog about naming
A Clear Eye.com
A portal to advertising, marketing and branding wisdom.
Saturday, October 01, 2005
The Marines have landed...finally
The USMC Web site that I worked on this summer is finally operational. Take a look when you gat a chance.
Get ready for a brand new war
First it was the "The War on Terrorism," but that sounded so destructive and warlike. To soften it a bit, the Pentagon tried “The Global Struggle Against Violent Extremism," but that sounded too much like the title of a white paper. So now the Pentagon has brought in Saatchi & Saatchi CEO Kevin Roberts for a new spin on an old war.
His line: "The Fight for a Better World.” (I think they used that one during the crusades).
It gets better. Roberts feels The War on Terror doesn't have a lot of positive spin going for it. He proposes that America seek to become as beloved a brand as Harley-Davidson or Apple, so that the country becomes a “Lovemark” for foreigners. Maybe we could fly over Iraq and drop iPods.
Check out the whole article by Todd Wasserman in Brandweek. It's a good read.
