The power of a life behind a brand

The most beautiful bird just flew in front of my office window. A Cardinal: bright red, yellow beak, that sharp tuft of hair on his head. He’s still out there and I’m watching him flit around the trees. And, I’m thinking, he doesn’t look real, he looks like a cartoon, he looks like a drawing.

Which is when I realized that my thoughts made perfect sense. I grew up looking at a drawn, caricatured Cardinal because I’m from St. Louis. The majority of my childhood, until the football Cardinals were sold and moved to Arizona in 1988, was entrenched in Cardinal sports. My family is full of die-hard fans. St. Louis is one of the greatest sports-fan cities in the country.

I’ve been branded, people – by a brand. Those baseball and football Cardinals have been so firmly entrenched by TV, sports uniforms, t-shirts, hats, billboards, the Clydesdales, etc. that my addled brain actually thinks that’s what a Cardinal looks like. It’s in my blood, part of my DNA.

I realize this example is a sports team – but it has a logo, a song, horses. It’s selling seats and hot dogs and beer and hats and….The impact is so powerful because there’s real feeling and countless sensory experiences behind the brand: family, summer, hot nights, bright lights, the thwump of the ball in the catcher’s mitt, the crack of the ball off the bat, the taste of the nachos, the roar of the crowds – doesn’t matter whether we’re winning or losing, never has. And they’re called to life every time we see that bird – the logo or the real one.

Proof: I started crying just watching the Clydesdale videos…as I tried to pick one of the thousands that exist.

Are there brands in your life that have had this kind of powerful impact on your world? And how can you make your brand, or the brand that you’re writing about, that full?

If we take our cue from the Cardinals, then we realize that we have to give a total experience. It’s not just about a tagline or a cool package. It’s about interaction, conversation, the senses, the meaning, the life that happens around the product.

Image credit: Ian Turton

Filed under How To, Marketing | Tags: baseball, brand, branding, copywriting, Julie Roads, Marketing, product branding, st. louis cardinals, Writing Roads | Comment (1)

what does good copywriting have to do with online social networking and PR?

Everything.

Online social networking is built on written correspondance. To some degree,  every time you appear online, you are partaking in social networking – or even more true – you are engaging in online PR. Every blog post, all web copy, each left comment, any contact requests, all correspondence – these are all expressions of yourself and your business. They leave an impression, set a tone, present a brand. If you use online networking to grow your business, you need to think about this every time you open your ‘mouth’ online.

Now, you may not believe this, but it’s true. Just like not all people are funny and not everyone has a good sense of style, not everyone can write well. If you can talk up a storm, but can’t put together a few coherent, well-written sentences (let alone a whole website or post), get help. That’s why copywriters were created.

I think that because we are all capable of physically writing the alphabet and typing on a keyboard, people think they should be able to write. Designers have it a bit easier  – because Photoshop isn’t taught in elementary school.

So, whether you’re on myspace or facebook, talking to an old friend, making a new business connection, conversing with one of your online groups, writing your site, blogging, commenting…wherever you are! Think about these things:

1. spelling and punctuation (write it in Word or Pages first and spell check!)

2. proofreading/readability (read everything OUTLOUD before you send or publish)

3. tone (be respectful, be nice, do unto others)

4. brand (are your logo and contact info, including the link to your site, clearly visible and positioned attractively?)

5. message (is that really what you want to say? how will you feel about that in 3 years? depending on the situation – do your research)

6. value and information (whenever possible offer value and information to whoever it is you’re talking to – it’s what people crave)

7. forgive your mistakes (we all make them, try your best and keep moving forward)

Filed under Critical Copywriting, Networking, The Business | Tags: brand, copywriting, Facebook, online pr, proofread, social networking | Comments (2)