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My short answer: stop doing something conventional.
Case in point: BOXPARK continue reading

Last fall I was hired to help jump-start marketing efforts for a service organization.
Let’s call it Acme Inc.
The goal: to get new business by reaching out more effectively to the business community.
In short, here’s what I did:
I studied their target audience.
I studied their product.
I studied their customer touch points.
(BTW, I was surprised how complicated and impenetrable their customer touch points were.)

One of my first goals was to simplify their brand’s language.
SIMPLIFICATION is one of my specialities.
Simple is smart. Simple is honest. Simple is engaging.
(Simplicity is not about dumbing-down or giving people a lesser experience.)

This past week (May 9 to 15 2011), I received a number of comments re a short story I wrote about a Swedish-based company that offers study abroad programs and language courses. The story was titled “The soul never thinks without a picture.”

Why did this short story attract so much attention?
Is it:
a. Because the message was so understated?
b. Because videos featured in it instantly change our mood?

My best guess is: b.
Why? 

“The hardest part about designing a car is keeping it simple. Through simple, functional, responsible engineering comes beauty. The 500 and 500c is everything you need and nothing you don’t. We didn’t start by “adding”; we started by stripping away what was not needed. The 500 and 500c are both beautiful expressions of simple, functional Italian design.” – Roberto Giolrto, the designer behind the reinvention of Fiat’s historic 500 nameplate.
_ _ _

My take: The new FIAT 500 is as fun and as iconic as the original. But that’s not all: FIAT’s long-anticipated return to the North American market brings the new FIAT 500 + the opportunity for a customer experience that is as unique as the FIAT 500 itself.

In short, the new FIAT 500—a modern take on a motoring icon—will be offered to the potential buyers in specially designated spaces called “FIAT studios”. This past Friday (May 6 2011), I had the pleasure of exchanging a few words with Paul Savoie of Studio FIAT in Saskatoon, about the FIAT 500 and the soon to be opened Studio FIAT in Saskatoon.

Jenan: Paul, what can you tell us about the unique FIAT studio concept?
Paul: The FIAT Studio concept will be different than your traditional dealership or car showroom experience.

One of my specialties is copywriting. (Offline, online…what line?)
Why is copywriting one of the most essential ingredients of any marketing project?
Because copywriting sits at the intersection where business meets people. Real people.

Copywriting is not a flashy tactic.
Copywriting is about articulating and sharing a purpose compellingly.
Copywriting is a commitment—a commitment to engage with people in a manner that they will value, and yes, perhaps even enjoy.

One night I was layin’ down,
I heard Papa talkin’ to Mama.
I heard Papa say, to let that boy boogie-woogie.
‘Cause it’s in him and it’s continue reading

“It was quite a sight to see people gently lined up around a block, patiently waiting to enter this bakery.” In a nutshell, that’s continue reading