Scott Flood - Scott Flood Writing

THE TAGLINE CONUNDRUM

April 10, 2013 by Scott Flood

I stunned a client recently by telling them that I didn’t think they needed a tagline. If you’re not familiar with the term, it’s a brief phrase that is supposed to crystallize what makes your business unique, different, or interesting. It’s similar to a slogan, and the best taglines tend to be on the clever side. Some even use wordplay.

There’s a belief out there that every business must have a tagline, and I’m not sure why. I suspect one of the reasons is the success that Nike had with “Just do it.” On many occasions, companies have asked me to develop taglines that will be just as impactful and memorable as Nike’s. Usually, I’ll politely turn down the work.

FOR SUCCESS, SPLIT THE DIFFERENCE

April 3, 2013 by Scott Flood

One of the most sensible strategies used by direct marketers is what’s known as a split A/B test. A split test offers a way to compare two different messages, or two different offers, and to determine which will produce a greater rate of return.

Suppose you’re thinking of sending an offer to a list of 100,000 prospects. You aren’t sure whether those prospects would prefer a discount or some kind of bonus offer in return for their business. So what you do is take a small percentage of that list… say 5 percent… and divide that portion in half.

ADJUST YOUR SCHEDULE TO CIRCUMSTANCES

March 27, 2013 by Scott Flood

When it comes to marketing and marketing communications, I’m all about schedules. As you’re working on concepts and ideas, unbridled creativity is wonderful, but when it’s time to execute, nothing beats good-old-fashioned discipline.

But having schedules doesn’t mean they have to be carved in stone, especially if you face unexpected factors or if your target audience is experiencing some kind of major problem. For example, if you’re about to roll out a limited-time special offer and Mother Nature surprises your community with the worst snowstorm in a decade, you may want to hold off on promoting it … or if it’s already out there, you may want to extend the deadline.

WHEN IN ROME, ADVERTISE LIKE ROMANS

March 20, 2013 by Scott Flood

Many advertisers — even large national ones — seem to be completely unaware of the environments in which they place their advertising. I don’t mean that in terms of the desired audience; rather, it’s in creating ads that will work with the audience and environment.

Case in point was Greatcall, the national advertiser offering a medical response system (ala “I’ve fallen and I can’t get up”). I found their ad on the back cover of the large-print edition of Reader’s Digest magazine. Given the demographics of the magazine — especially in its large-print version — the audience is well worth the extra money this company has shelled out.

MATCH THE TONE TO THE OCCASION

March 6, 2013 by Scott Flood

I was giving a talk to a business group a few weeks back, and after I stressed the importance of keeping marketing communications conversational, one of the attendees posed a question about how much of conversational tone is enough. It was a great question.

I responded that the answer depends upon the message-sender, the recipient, the medium, and the environment. For example, if you’re responding on social media to a longtime customer, you can be far more conversational and fun than you’d want to be in an initial message to a conservative prospect.

MAKE YOUR OFFER A REAL DEAL

February 27, 2013 by Scott Flood

One of the best ways to increase response for any type of marketing activity is to make some sort of special offer to the reader. That offer maybe a discount, special pricing, or some sort of bonus available if the reader takes the specified action right now.

Often, when a client is considering using a media outlet that they have not used before, I’ll recommend that they develop an offer to get a better sense of what type of response they can expect from that particular media outlet.

APPEARANCES ARE MARKETING, TOO

February 20, 2013 by Scott Flood

As I was being walked by my trusty canine, Wrigley, we saw a creepy-looking white van. It was extremely grimy and looked as though it would rot away within days. As it approached, I noticed that it was actually from a business, and I wondered what sort of business owner would allow his or her business to be represented in such a negative way.

Then I could see the lettering, and I was stunned. It was one of those mobile dog-washing services that have cropped up in recent years.

TODAY, I WRITE FOR SCANNERS

February 13, 2013 by Scott Flood

Many things have changed in the three decades since I started putting words to paper to earn a living. For one thing, I rarely put words to paper anymore. Sadly, nobody has created an equivalent saying that involves phosphors or pixels. But that’s not the point …

What is the point is that many of those changes have affected the way I write. One of the biggest changes is the result of two factors: an oversupply of information and a paucity of time. Thanks largely to the internet, we face an overwhelming amount of information, and our busier lives mean we have less time to sift through all of it.

WHY AM I SUCH A FUSSBUDGET?

February 6, 2013 by Scott Flood

Ah, there’s a wonderful old word one rarely hears these days. “Fussbudget” dates back to the turn of the century (the previous turn, not the most recent one) and refers to one who gets worked up about small matters that seem to have little importance. Many people would toss matters about grammar, spelling, punctuation, and usage into that category, and would brush aside my concerns as annoying at best, “anal” at worst. (And an aside — how many people who bandy “anal” about as a criticism actually grasp the underlying Freudian concept? But I guess that would be fussbudgety of me.)

Those who know me well know that I’m rarely serious. Why then do I have such a concern about the written word and the finer points associated with its use?