In the old days, sales reps for drug companies were invariably middle-aged men, known in the trade as “detail men.” The average detail man wore a downtrodden appearance and demeanor, no doubt from years of shabby treatment by the M.D.s who were his prospects — and treated him as a second-class citizen.
Business Management
“False bonding” refers to advertising that seeks to create a bond with
the prospect, but does so in an illogical or insincere — and therefore
ineffective — way. A good example is the recent radio spot for Geico offering homeowner’s insurance to people who rent.
In an article in DM News, Tom Rapses, a creative director, divides marketing into two separate categories.
An article in Circulation Management (5/08, p. 12) states: “Your subscribers should be complaining about their subscription price. If they’re not, then you’re not charging enough.”
The June 2008 issue of Fast Company features a cover story on ad agency
Crispin Porter and the much-talked-about Apple campaign “PC vs. Mac.” On the cover is a photo of the agency’s creative honcho, Alex Bogusky,
doing his best to look smug, self-assured, and ultra-cool.
Social media evangelists are in love with Twitter, Facebook, and their
ilk because these networks enable continuous “naked” conversations. Robert Scoble, I believe, has stated that his goal is to have at least one naked conversation a day.
Now, if you are a new copywriter … or new to financial subscription promotion … you might think this is a good headline. But to anyone with experience, it’s fairly lame.
One possible future for magazines is to make them more like the Web — in particular, like social media and other Web 2.0 sites.
A radio spot for Web site developer American Eagle tells how the company created a successful Web site for a “business entrepreneur.” Business entrepeneur? As opposed to all those entrepreneurs who have nothing to do with business?
Critics often accuse direct marketing copywriters of hype and puffery, but I think the real B.S. artists in marketing today are wine and beer writers.
