Box Scores: July 13-19 – Poets, multitasking and killing cowboys
In order to keep up with the ever-rising trend of “transparency” in the social media world, we’re going to be transparent here. Box Scores are late this week. The reason? Mike immersed himself entirely in some heavy duty research on brand loyalty and brand engagement with an active case study of Dave Matthews Band at Alpine Valley in East Troy, Wisconsin last weekend.
(It was glorious.)
Now that he’s back in action at the Deep Bench office, here are some great posts from last week (July 13-19) that we feel are worth reading up on, learning from, and commenting about. So share your thoughts after you give this a read and know that Box Scores will be back on schedule next Monday morning for you.
-“The Killer and the Poet: How to Get Rich as a Copywriter”
This post from Sonia Simone at Copyblogger covers the difference between flowery language and businessy language, as well as how a combination of the two can be a lethal weapon in the hands of a copywriter. One or the other might not make a sale, but the two combined are pretty tough to defend against. Relying heavily on the always applicable insight of David Ogilvy, the post is worth a read if you want to be sure you’re worth a write (or if you’re any type of industry creative, really).
-“The Myth of Multitasking: Focus or Fail”
Adam Singer discusses multitasking on his blog “The Future Buzz” and shares his thoughts on why the concept itself might not be the best way to approach a work day. As he puts it, “Multitasking is a myth, really you are accomplishing nothing even if you are getting work done because it will be sub-par.” Do you agree with Adam? Disagree? Read up on his post and let us know what you think.
Seth Godin lays out why “facts” aren’t always the best way to make a sale or close a deal (by asking a question he already knows the answer to…so sneaky…). In his words, “Great brands and projects are built on real value and a real advantage, but great marketers use this as a supporting column, not the entire foundation.” So, how do you tell a story that takes your product from great on paper to great in the consumer’s mind? If you don’t know, it’s probably worth thinking about.
Although we’ve seen a post or two along these lines before, this Drew’s Marketing Minute post from Drew McClellan is a good kick in the pants for people, companies, or agencies afraid to spend their own time and money on marketing efforts in this current economy. As he puts it, “You’d better figure out how to market your business in this brave new world, or you might as well close up shop. Your marketing budget (both dollars and time resources) should be more robust than ever before. Because the stakes are higher.” Good thoughts on an important subject.
Micah Baldwin isn’t a typical “marketer, PR rep or social media professional,” but he is a solid businessman with a voice that says what needs to be said (not necessarily what people want to hear) when it comes to start-ups and small businesses. In this post from his blog, “Learn To Duck,” Micah discusses how to get things done, not just talk about the vision. In his words, “Startups, especially young startups spend too much time worrying about things that don’t matter. Logos, names and what their t-shirts will look like.” Truth is, it’s not just start-ups that go through those issues. Lots of businesses do. Read his post for some ideas on how to get past those phases. You’ll be glad you did.
So there you have it. As far as clichés go, we’ll say “better late than never,” so hopefully you were able to get some insight from these posts (because, really, good content should be timeless anyway). Let us know what you think (or if we missed any great stuff last week) by leaving a comment in the comments section below, tweeting us at @deepbench, or giving us a piece of your mind on Facebook.
Photo by kuba425