General rants Archives - Page 21 of 28

AUTOMATIC RESPONSES AREN’T ALWAYS SOUND

October 30, 2013 by Scott Flood

I’ve railed before about automated email marketing campaigns that lack common sense. For example, when I buy products from a particular office supply store, it tries to resell me the identical product a couple months later with the message that it’s time to refill my order. No, I don’t need another shredder, thanks.

Just as annoying are the companies that send emails asking you to complete reviews of your recent purchases. A case in point was the email I received today from a major hardware retailer. While working on a home repair a few days ago, I needed to replace some rusty bolts, washers, and nuts, so I stopped in and bought a few new ones. I swiped my customer loyalty card when I made the purchase.

LEGIBILITY FIRST, THEN BEAUTY

October 9, 2013 by Scott Flood

Two new retail businesses opened up just down the street. I passed them for a couple weeks with no clue as to what they offered. Then my curiosity got the better of me, so I walked over to see. One’s a hair salon and the other is a photographer.

Their signs are absolutely beautiful — and completely unreadable from more than ten feet away. That might be okay if their businesses were located on a quaint street in a tourist town, where visitors ambled back and forth at a slow pace. But they’re on a busy U.S. highway where the traffic often blows by at 40 mph.

SHOOTING YOURSELF IN THE FOOT WITH A PIZZA WHEEL

October 2, 2013 by Scott Flood

Sometimes, companies are so focused on addressing a perceived shortfall or problem that they miss more important messages, or even send the wrong message to their stakeholders.

The newest commercial for Domino’s Pizza floored me because it’s a perfect example. Domino’s has been running a series of spots in which they admit that they haven’t been perfect in the past, but golly, they’re working on getting better. Most of the spots have been okay.

USE SINGLE OR DOUBLE QUOTES?

September 18, 2013 by Scott Flood

I don’t know whether to blame the Internet for something I’ve been seeing more of lately: the use of single quotation marks (‘) where double quotes (“) should be used.

Many issues related to punctuation are a matter of style, syntax, or personal preference. But the rules on quotation marks are pretty clear-cut.

COPYCATS ARE AMATEURS

September 11, 2013 by Scott Flood

Ever tried to be cooler than a teenager? It just doesn’t work. By the time you hear and learn the meaning of the latest expression or newest tidbit of slang, it’s ancient history. The first time you try to use it in front of said teenager, you’ll get a withering look that will add decades to your age.

The same holds true for advertising concepts. When a major national campaign captures the public’s interest, it’s usually because of an amazingly clever or innovative approach. Unfortunately, many company decision-makers are too lazy or unimaginative enough to come up with their own clever or innovative approach, so they simply copy the popular approach.

LOOSE LIPS (AND POSTS) SINK SHIPS

August 21, 2013 by Scott Flood

That headline comes from warnings issued to Americans during the World Wars of the last century. It was a reminder that sensitive data that was discussed publicly could be overheard by those working for the enemy. Military and diplomatic history is full of tales in which a careless remark doomed a battle or other operation.

The same holds true for the business world. In my ad agency days, I remember working on a hard-fought effort to keep a large client. Several people in the organization’s marketing department disliked my agency’s team and hoped to replace us with another shop that employed their friends. The run-up to the selection involved weeks of late hours and anxiety, because job cuts invariably follow the loss of a large account.

CONSISTENCY IS CRITICAL

August 7, 2013 by Scott Flood

For some reason, consistency gets a bad rap from many people. You may have heard some brush it aside with a quote: “consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds.” In other words, consistency is valued only by people who aren’t bright or creative enough to value variety.

Well, not quite. That’s a misquote of Ralph Waldo Emerson, who actually wrote, “A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines.” Note that the word “foolish” appears before “consistency,” changing the whole meaning.

LESSONS ABOUT COPYWRITING FROM MY DAD, THE SALESMAN

July 24, 2013 by Scott Flood

I said good-bye to my father for the last time a couple months ago. His death wasn’t a surprise; his health had been increasingly poor for many years, and despite his doctors’ best efforts, his body just wore out.

Dad was a straight-commission salesman for nearly all of his adult life. In fact, he continued to sell well into his late 70s, when his health got in the way. He sold chemicals for industrial processes and maintenance. When a refinery needed to clean up after an explosion or a steel mill needed to degrease a rolling mill, he got the call. In his later years, most of his competitors were chemical engineering grads, but his customers placed more trust in his practical knowledge, despite the fact that he barely made it through high school. He was an extraordinary salesman, and that’s not just a proud son singing his praises — he received a constant stream of job offers right up until his retirement. (In fact, a salesman from a competitor once told Dad that his boss had instructed him to check the obituaries every morning, and if Dad’s name appeared, he was to target every one of his accounts. That’s praise, disturbing as it may be.)

JUST WHAT KIND OF WRITER ARE YOU, ANYWAY?

July 17, 2013 by Scott Flood

Although nearly everyone knows what writers do, it’s amazing how few people really understand how business writers earn a living. When people find out that I write, most make certain assumptions about what I do and why I do it.

For example, many people start talking about novels and writing books, and assume I must be furiously at work on a novel. When I explained that the writing I do is more prosaic and less about prose, they don’t understand. To many of them, writing isn’t legitimate unless it’s fictional or destined for entertainment.