The Annotated Pretty Penny

Get brilliant.

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No More Fancy Pants Writing*

A tendency to think in "fancy" terms shouldn't bleed onto the paper/screen/conversation and make it difficult for the audience--any audience--to understand. 

If you need a dictionary to slog through content, it's probably because the writer has serious room for improvement. After all, this makes it almost impossible to quickly and easily pull information from content. 

Thank Seth Godin for the realization. In his book We Are All Weird, Godin writes:

If you need a map and a manual, it's probably because you're creating a problem.

Actually, he was explaining his idea of a factory, not writing style: 

. . . any organizational effort that's built around repeated interactions and mass.

The Godin factory model ignores or even resents the rise of niches, unique consumers and markets that do not appear immediately profitable (the "weird") in favor of the relative safety of the masses.

* 20 points to anyone who can offer the appropriate AP styling for "Fancy Pants"

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WTF QR Codes

You can't imagine how badly I wish I'd taken a picture last week of the bloody aftermath of a poorly placed QR code. Alas, I'm one of the 83 percent of smartphone users who don't whip out their phones at a moment's notice to snap a shot of something unsightly.

It's bad enough that someone would want to hold up traffic just to dig through her comically oversized purse and frame a shot of a hideous QR code plastered to the glass door. I suppose she thought it would be worth it to see where that rabbit hole would lead her, even if it meant viewing it on a 1.5" screen. 

Ah, but what happens when the door is covered with a semi-transparent ad for an upcoming feel-good family movie? Bless her misguided heart, how could she have known that the QR code money shot would come at the price of her own safety?

Enter disaster.

Stooping to get a better shot of the butt-ugly black and white square and all the promises it offered, her nose only inches from the glass, she must have missed the sign above the door: Entry Only. You can imagine her surprise when the QR code pitched toward her face, set violently into motion by an incoming herd of teenage boys. I've never seen so much blood. 

What's the moral of this story? Not only do QR codes offend the eye, they also break the nose. 

If I had a picture, I'd submit it to WTFQR Codes, a blog by Brad Frost and Craig Villamor. I encourage you to do the same.

Three to read for more on QR codes:

11 Reasons QR Codes Are Not Engaging Customers

15 More Appalling QR Code Fails

QR Code Usage Fails

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Yes. 

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Hey Whipple, Squeeze This! Chapter 1 Takeaways

Just starting in on this one - Hey Whipple, Squeeze This! A Guide to Creating Great Ads (2nd ed.) by Luke Sullivan.

It seems that every Half Price Books in the area has at least 3 copies of this one, so I was wary at first. At $2*, however, I felt I'd be a fool to leave it behind. So far? So-so. I have a weakness for any writer with a sarcastic streak, though, so onward.

At this point the most insightful bits are culled from notable admen and industry pioneers--not from Sullivan--but I give him credit for including them and am optimistic about the upcoming chapters. He really is a kickass copywriter, so I'll stick it out.

From Chapter 1 - Salesman Don't Have to Wear Plaid: Selling without selling out

"In the middle of a meeting, the client spat on the conference-room table and said: "You have just seen me do a disgusting thing. Ugly word, spit. But you'll always remember what I just did." -- From Fred Wakeman's novel The Hucksters, 1946

"Put 'new' in that headline. Drop that concept and pick up an adjective." -- hypothetical direction from the new breed of 1970s advertising managers

"Essentially, it's like finding a seat on a crowded bus. You look at the market place. You see what vacancy there is. You build your campaign to position your product in that vacancy. If you do it right, the straphangers won't be able to grab your seat." - Ted Morgan, explaining the concept of positioning

"The more intellectual you grow, the more you lose the great intuitive skills that really touch and move people." -- William Bernbach

"It's not wise to violate the rules until you know how to observe them." -- T.S. Eliot

"I have no use for rules. They only rule out the brilliant exception." -- copywriter Ed McCabe

* is there anything more glorious than those yellow Clearance stickers used by Half Price Books? The red stickers used by Target are a close second, though.

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"The most memorable, savored brands of the future will be those that . . . adopt religious characteristics as they simultaneously make full, integrated use of sensory branding--period. Each fully integrated brand will boast its own identity, one that's expressed in its every message, shape, symbol, ritual, and tradition--just as sports teams and religions do."

Martin Lindstrom on the similarities between branding and spirituality, from Brand Sense: Sensory Secrets Behind the Stuff We Buy, p. 5

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Unmarketable Takeaways, Ch. 2 (Scene for Sale)

Excerpts from Unmarketable: Brandalism, Copyfighting, Mocketing, and the Erosion of Integrity by Anne Elizabeth Moore

Skewering the hell out of Lovemarks:

"Marketers wishing to stay competitive will connect with consumers emotionally, tapping directly into those snap decision-making skills and bypassing the need for product information." - p. 26

". . . iconic brands that are infused with mystery, sensuality, and intimacy--and exploit the hell out of them for money." - p. 27

"Where branding relies on metaphor (where things seem in close proximity to each other over and over become confused) and reification (where things are confused with their descriptions), lovemarks are meant to inspire "loyalty beyond reason." - p. 28

"It's a forged connection to authenticity, a borrowed veil of integrity, a disingenuous stab at honesty." - p. 29

On the appeal of Jones Soda, which allows fans to submit artwork for its labels: "It was a welcome change from the mandated identities of brands like Coke and Pepsi." - p. 35

"When you're marketing without money, you have to stay true to the fact that you need to make an emotional connection." - p. 37

Interesting idea: "They have now started a program for moms called VocalPoint and inspired the Girl's Intelligence Agency, a slumber party-based word-of-mouth provider. Also in 2001, a similar peer-to-peer marketing style was adopted by the Boston firm BzzAgent, which places a relatively austere 60,000 volunteer marketers on the streets for a wide variety of products to perform one-on-one promotions for [its clients]." - p. 38

An article to check out later: The Hidden (in Plain Sight) Persuaders by Rob Walker in the New York Times, 2004

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7 Deadly Sins of Marketing

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Winning at New Products: Accelerating the Process from Start to Launch by Robert Cooper

Psst: Fund my education and further your knowledge! Click the image to purchase this book on Amazon!

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Half Price Books haul: The X and Y of Buy by Elizabeth Pace

First impression: Wonder if it focuses solely on product marketing or also includes insight into marketing services? Should be interesting.

Psst: Fund my education and further your knowledge! Click the image to purchase this book on Amazon!

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Facebook Fan Pages: Botching Engagement

I love perfume. Makeup. Sparkly things. Naturally, I like Company S. Not just literally, of course, but also in the social media sense of the word: I "Like" Company S on Facebook.

Or at least I did.

Then Company S underwent a change to a more aggressive/intrusive social media strategy that included seven posts per day on my Friends feed. It's hard enough to sift through endless updates from friends and immediately identify what's interesting and what's, well, a recap of what someone ate for breakfast.

And then Company S goes and clutters it up with even more worthless Wall posts about every single damned shade of lipstick in their not-inconsiderable repertoire of cosmetics---neon purple, anyone? So not only is this information not even remotely relevant (doesn't work with my skin tone, out of my price range, tested on animals, etc.), it's threatening to take over my Wall. 

There is an option to "Hide All" by Company S, which I did. Because of this blackout, however, I wasn't privy to news of a phenomenal sale on my all-time favorite overpriced skincare product. What did I do? I went out and threw my dollars at Company S's top competitor, which had saved my purchase history and preferences and used that information to send me a well-timed email message informing me of the promotion.

I still like Company S. I just don't "Like" it. Is there a lesson to be learned here? Are you over-engaging? Do your attempts to engage your fans actually lead to disengagement and resentment?

You decide.

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Social Media Marketing Evaluation for Facebook

I used Google Docs to create a form that can be used to perform a basic evaluation on a Facebook business page. Enjoy.

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Content Marketing Workflow template by Bob Squirrell on Google Docs

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DIT Facebook Analysis (6/4 to 6/18)

Most engaging content: photos (11 likes, 33 comments)

Majority of wall posts are one-time commenters

Most common inquiries focus on pricing and discount codes

Timely, professional responses from Administrator 

Few negative comments, but few positive comments. Majority of comments are neutral.

Of course, these stats describe a limited time range. The rate of engagement for the photo post is very high, which may represent an excellent opportunity to interact with fans/users.

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Using Analytics to Measure and Engage Audience (Facebook ed.)

Fan growth (Social Bakers)

Engagement Rate: (Likes + Comments)/Fans

Admin Response Rate 

Most Engaging Content Types (text, link, image, etc.)

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Average number of Likes and Comments / # of Fans : Does content actively engage fans?

How GoPro Measures Social Engagement | Inc.com - Brand Audience Rate of Engagement

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Idea Flight

Idea Flight allows you "the pilot" to remotely control up to 30 iPads "passengers" on a single network. Dropbox is integrated, allowing you to invite participants to download the app and join the presentation. Users can read along with the presenter (sync) and download the presentation for future reference.