Am I the only one who gets mesmerized by those ultra-simple UPS commercials? Apparently not, according to Slate’s Seth Stephenson, who gives a great behind-the-scenes look at those ads here. (You can watch the whole series of UPS spots here.)
You can’t take your eyes off them. There’s something about all that white space, and the guy’s mastery of the dry erase marker, and the quick, simple stories he tells. It’s hard to look away. (The long-haired guy, by the way, is not an actor, but Andy Azula, the creative director of the ad campaign. Bravo, Andy.)

Other companies are trying a similar approach. “Companies are increasingly using simple pictures to distill complicated concepts into easily shared, easily remembered nuggets,” says Fast Company in a piece called The Napkin Sketch. FC quotes Tuft’s Neil Cohn, a researcher in cognitive psychology and linguistics at Tufts University:

“Graphic expression and visual thinking are a central part of human cognition… These ideas are spreading from how companies sell what they do — as in UPS’s “Whiteboard” ad campaign — to plotting strategy.”

Just for laughs, my wife, who’s a talented artist, did a quick sketch of me when I first hung out my shingle as a freelance copywriter in March, 2001. I was amazed. It was quick and funny — the T-shirt reads “Will Write for $.” It’s also probably closer to the “real me” than anything a brand artist could come up with.

I’ve never shown it publicly before, but if quick and simple sketches are the latest thing in branding, maybe now it’s time.

What do you think? Is it too silly and frivolous for an (ahem) “professional” like myself? Or should I start using it as part of my identity and brand? Tell me in the comments. I really would appreciate your input.

Andy Sernovitz at MarketingProfs offers six WOM tips, gleaned from his experiences with Holly Suttmann, a former schoolteacher who has effectively been promoting her Black & Light Candle company.

“Holly really understands word of mouth,” Andy says. “She’s proof that every business can master these inexpensive techniques. There are a lot of global companies that should study what she’s doing.”

I’m going to extract and paraphrase a few of Andy’s gems:

1. Cultivate key talkers. But use personal notes and e-mails, NOT not press releases, to build a personal relationship with the writer or blogger. As Sernowitz aptly put it, “Not sales calls, just friendliness.” [Note: there is a time and place where press releases are appropriate, but not with bloggers! More on that in a future post.]
2. Give away free samples. People can’t talk about a product they haven’t seen.
3. Make it easy to spread the word. Think coupons, discount codes and other pass-alongs.

Question: What is missing from this list? It’s an essential ingredient for any kind of effective marketing, conventional or viral. It’s mentioned in the MP article, but it’s not on my list. Can you spot what it is — without looking at the original article?

Tell me in the comments.

To make your writing seem personal, write like a person, for cryin’ out loud.

That goes for most corporate communications as well as speeches and presentations, as Dick Cavett pointed out in a recent NY Times blog post. The former talk show host was referring to political candidates’ speeches, but the same principles hold true for effective copywriting and business writing.

First, contractions are OK except under the most formal circumstances. Cavett’s suggestion:

“Change all “I wills” and “I shalls” from the speech to “I’ll’; Also, “I haves” and “I ams” to “I’ve” and “I’m,” etc. You’d be surprised how much this cuts down on the oratory tone.”

Cavett’s second tip is the secret of all effective writing, speaking — even radio personalities.

“Tip #2. Pretend you are speaking to one person. One single person. Because that’s what everybody is. No one watching or sitting in the audience is an “all of you” or an “everyone” or a “those of you” or a “Hi, everybody,” and no one is a “ladies and gentlemen.” You, out there, are a “you.” So, speaker, think of yourself as being viewed by only two eyes. (Presumably on the same person.) The most magical word you can use, short of a person’s name, is “you.”

Hey, you — got that?

Seth says write like a blogger. Good advice.

The two biggies on Seth’s list that hit home for me were:

#3: Drip, drip, drip. Bloggers don’t have to say everything at once. We can add a new idea every day, piling on a thesis over time.

#9: Say it. Don’t hide, don’t embellish.

I’m always making the mistake of expanding and reworking and polishing my posts to make them as complete and “stand-alone” as possible. Must be the ex-journalist in me. As a result, a single post can take me an hour, or two or three. Not necessary. And who’s got the time?

As a result of all this pseudo-perfectionism, I don’t manage to post very often. Seth has something to say about that, too:

#8: Show up. Not writing is not a useful way of expressing your ideas. Waiting for perfect is a lousy strategy.

(Slapping myself in the face) Thanks for the reminder, Seth.

PS: Success (sort of)! I managed to write, edit and upload this post (with a photo, no less!) in about 20 minutes. Is that good? It is for me!

Photo by lapideo

Strong, powerful, confident words communicate and convince. Lame, wimpy writing kicks the legs out from under your message, and waters it down.

The most common kind of wimpy writing are “qualifiers.” If you remember what your 7th grade English teacher told you, qualifiers are adjectives and adverbs that limit (”qualify”) your message — thus modifying it — and too often, undercutting it. You’ll find lots of them in your own writing — words like “sort of” and “I guess” and “I think.”

Obviously , there are places where certain adjectives and adverbs are appropriate. Take this sentence:  “The dimpled cloud drifted lazily across the blue sky.” In that example, “dimpled” and “blue” are adjectives, and “lazily” is an adverb. You can see how these words describe (and hopefully enhance) the meaning. Unfortunately, most of us overuse adjectives and adverbs, but that’s a topic for another day.

But too often we use qualifiers as a cop-out, as a way of softening or watering down a statement. Note the wimpy qualifiers in italics: “It’s a piece of junk, in my humble opinion.” “She’s sort of a monster if you ask me.” Maybe it’s a little over the top.”
Whether you’re trying to convey a marketing message or a marriage proposal, state whatever you’re trying to say strongly and clearly. Don’t lie or mislead, of course, but don’t water down your message with wishy-washy qualifiers.

I mean, how would you respond if someone wrote,

“I sort of love you. Will you perhaps marry me? I think I could make you fairly happy.”

Doesn’t exactly sweep you off your feet, does it? Now strip out those wimpy qualifiers and see how much stronger and more confidently it reads:

“I sort of love you. Will you perhaps marry me? I think KNOW I could make you fairly happy.”

Don’t feel bad if you find your own writing peppered with wimpy and unnecessary modifiers. That’s what revising and editing is about. Even professional writers and speakers fall into the habit, as Seth Godin admitted today:

“I noticed a little while ago that I was using the word “just” and the phrase “sort of” in my writing. All the time, in fact. In my last book, a search and replace removed more than 80 unnecessary ‘justs’. Just say it. Don’t hide behind waffling terms that don’t mean anything.”

To all the dads out there…

… from all your sons and daughters.

Thanks!

Update to yesterday’s post and also an earlier one about Apple’s new version of Safari for Windows.

Why would Apple develop a product for Windows? Aren’t they arch rivals and bitter enemies? Gossip is flying that Apply did it just for the (gasp!) money. Can it be true? What would the shareholders say?

Apple isn’t talking, but others are. Get the dish here.

From a marketing standpoint, the interesting question is: How can something that’s free (Web browsers) make money for the people who created them and give them away?

Answer: When Firefox users use the Google search field in the Firefox toolbar (instead of going to Google’s home page), Google shares a piece of the financial action. It’s a tiny share (if I know Google) but Mozilla’s CEO admits it adds up to “tens of millions of dollars” a year for the open source developers.

Gee, why would Apple wants a piece of that? Only Steve Jobs knows for sure — but maybe the Fake Steve Jobs will spill the beans.

FWIW, Safari currently has around 5 percent of the browser market share, compared to Internet Explorer’s 78 percent and 15 percent for Firefox.