clemans on marketing: confessions and misdemeanors

Trench Marketing.

A bunch of us were waiting in line for cabs outside the Palace Hotel in downtown San Francisco. 

Late for dinner at the Elite Cafe. 

A limo driver pulled up and gave us a deal. We jumped in, along with a stranger going our way. She turned out to be the international marketing manager for Bare Escentuals cosmetics. 

After querying us about the make-up products we currently use, she offered to send us samples. 

"I am always looking for new customers to try the brand and give us feedback".

 We readily agreed. 

True to her word, a big box arrived on Tuesday with four "bareMinerals Get Started Kits" ($59.98 each) and Buxom Big and Health Lip Polish – matched to our individual skin types. 

She now has 4 new customers, one of whom, unbeknownst to her, is a blogger who's telling the world.

Is this just a girl thing? Nope. This is a very smart marketing thing. Adopt and replicate.

Bottle it.

 Because we are launching a handcrafted hard cider, we taste tested (poor us) six competitors. One from France. One from the UK. Four from the US. Hornsby's bested the pack. Why? Most distinctive scent, color, and apple flavor. To be honest, I wasn't rooting for them because they are a subsidiary of Gallo, use artificial flavors, and aren't organic. But, their hard cider, combined with distinctive packaging and a parent company with deep pockets, is thriving.

Everything matters: price, package, product, patience, plan.

She has yellow teeth.

Gotcha! 

This headline for a teeth whitening ad on the American Music Awards home page will surely get click throughs. Know your audience. Place targeted advertising where they congregate. Give it all you've got from the get go.

Clean up your language.

Like the White Rabbit in Alice in Wonderland, we don't have time. Marketing content, no matter the medium, should get to the point. Refine your message to its essence. Revisit 10th grade English. Read Hemingway.

Content Pointers:

• Summarize at the start

• Use shorter words

• Write in the active voice

• Avoid insider idioms

• Jettison stale phrases and metaphors

• Abandon wordiness

• Be clear

• Grammar still matters

• Punctuation sometimes doesn't

• Edit. Edit. Edit.

• Proofread

• Wrap it up