After more than 26 months and 62,000 words, I’ve decided to give this blog a rest.

It may not be the end for A New Marketing Commentator, but it will be at least a short hiatus.

Thank you so much for your support, love and friendship. As much as you’ve given me, I hope I’ve given you even more in return.

Bob Cargill
Copywriter and Creative Director
May 10, 2006

Bob’s Bio and Contact Information
Bob’s Work History (Resume)
Bob’s Speaking History
Bob’s Commercial Portfolio
Bob’s Nonprofit Portfolio
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Tags: Bob Cargill copywriter creative director copywriting creative direction blogger direct marketing advertising marketing A New Marketing Commentator

Writing in the March 27 issue of Sports Illustrated, Chris Ballard notches a refreshingly candid, thoroughly modern story about his online brethren: the journalists, columnists, reporters and, yes, just plain bloggers who cover sports on the Web. From the lead-in…

The Internet is changing sports coverage. Columnists who seldom leave their couches hold forth. Athletes break their own “news” on their personal websites. Rumormongering is rampant. Don’t like it? Get rowdy. Start your own blog.

An insightful overview of how sportswriting has evolved over the years, this article is worthy of high praise and much attention not as much because – ironically – it’s published offline, in a magazine (what the snarkiest and most cynical among us might refer to as a dead-tree medium), but because so much of what its author has to say is relevant well beyond the realm of sports coverage.

Read it yourself and tell me if you don’t think it’s further validation that corporate America has taken notice of the blogosphere and the changes it’s already wrought on the way people like to receive their news and information.

On a personal note, I was delighted to see Ballard cite my idol and inspiration, ESPN’s Bill Simmons, as “a pioneer in the online sports community.” In the late ‘90s, when Simmons wrote for AOL’s Digital City Boston under the moniker, Boston Sports Guy, I read him religiously, and to this day I credit him as my motivation – indirectly, of course, and certainly from afar – to enter the blogosphere.

To read this article (”Writing Up a Storm” by Chris Ballard, Sports Illustrated, March 27, 2006), click here (free access to the complete story for magazine subscribers only).

Tags: blog blogs blogging blogosphere Chris Ballard Sports Illustrated Bill Simmons online journalism

A Big Lesson in Marketing

The success of any advertising or direct marketing campaign depends on a coalescence of elements, not the least of which are the motif of the creative and the timing of the launch. If you can tie those two together, you’re likely to be sitting pretty.

For example, take the Sunday newspaper insert I received recently from Target, which prides itself on selling quality, stylish merchandise at reasonable prices. Scheduled to arrive in-home about a week before the first day of school, it was obviously designed by the retailer to look like a classic composition notebook – ruled pages, marble red cover and all.

But the “back to school” theme doesn’t stop there. This bold, eye-catching, 8-1/2” X 11” insert is divided into three two-page spreads – one each for middle school, high school and elementary school – each of which features a selection of obligatory, age-appropriate school supplies, clothes and gear.

But wait – it gets better. We’re not just talking back packs, calculators, plaid skirts and denim blazers here. No, you have to give extra credit to Target for using this opportunity to cross-promote Take Charge of Education, its community relations and credit initiative which, since 1997, has donated over $100 million to schools across the country.

“Every time you use your Target Visa or Target Guest Card, Target donates up to 1% of the purchase amount to the K-12 school of your choice,” reads the plug.

And as if the creative team behind this masterpiece hadn’t already pulled out enough stops, they added one final flourish on the inside back cover: Above a picture of the ubiquitous Target Bullseye Dog are these three parting words – “See. Spot. Save.”

Wow! Clearly, the folks at Target know much more than just the A, B, C’s of promoting sales of their goods. In one small notebook, they teach a big lesson in marketing.

Marketing Miscellany II

Every once in a while, a growing legion of Seth Godin devotees, myself included, receive an email from the bestselling author, entrepreneur and self-proclaimed “agent of change” himself, reminding us that fresh, new content has been posted on his Web site. I’m there in seconds. And on my most recent visit, as always, there was the proverbial pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, as he had just announced the launch of his latest brainchild, ChangeThis, a revolutionary, new non-profit medium with the noble intention of facilitating the spread of manifestos – “thoughtful, rational, constructive arguments about important issues” – in order to “help people change their minds to a more productive point of view.” I don’t know about you, but any business model that can use one of my all-time favorite movie lines – Jerry Maguire’s “Help me, help you” – to describe itself, has my ringing endorsement….

Speaking of nobility: Remember those Lance Armstrong yellow wristbands we talked about here nearly a month ago? In a direct mail fundraising appeal I had received from the Lance Armstrong Foundation last month, Lance was quoted as saying, “Ultimately, we want five million people worldwide to wear LIVE STRONG yellow wristbands.” On July 27, I wrote: “That’s a lot of wristbands, sure, but you won’t find me betting against Lance.” Well, sure enough, the August 15 edition of the Boston Sunday Herald reported that the wristbands have “become one of the hottest fashion trends this summer” with about eight million sold so far. Mine, along with who knows how many others, is on back-order. D’oh….

And finally, my wife, Barbara, and I just realized that the neighborhood block party we host annually just happens to fall this year on the three-year anniversary of that awful, ill-fated day that will live forever in infamy – September 11. So while writing our invitations, we decided to add a request for donations to Heroic Choices, a nonprofit organization originally founded as The Todd M. Beamer Foundation in memory of Todd Beamer, one of the heroes aboard United Flight 93 on September 11, 2001. I didn’t think of it till now, but I guess you could say that in a very small way, this is our own little manifesto, our own personal way of helping people change their minds to a more productive point of view, one neighbor at a time.

Viral Marketing Gone Good
 
Wednesday, July 21, 2004 – Chances are you’ve already seen the Flash parody of the Woody Guthrie folk song, “This Land Is Your Land,” that’s been racing its way across the Internet this week at lightning-like speed.  My good friend, Michael Chinnici, emailed it to me a few days ago, and initially I didn’t think twice about it.  Spoofing President Bush and his Democratic challenger, John Kerry, it’s amusing, sure.  But at first glance, I though it was just another joke du jour encumbering my Inbox.  However, on second thought, turns out this clip (produced by the Los Angeles-based animation studio, JibJab) is an instant classic, the perfect example of viral marketing gone good.  So good, in fact, that JibJab is getting so many hits on its Web site that its principals, brothers Gregg and Evan Spiridellis, are practically crying “uncle” in their blog, The JibJab Times, writing:  “You people dang near blew the lid off our server yesterday!  Slow down!  There’s enough to go around for everyone.  We promise.”  Talk about a good problem to have on your hands!  Coincidentally, the phenomenal success of this satirical cartoon-cum-promotional vehicle for JibJab couldn’t be more consistent with Nate Elliot’s point in his recent article about viral marketing on The ClickZ Network, where he argues, “The real conduit for viral campaigns, when they are noticed, is the media.  Reporters get the message out, drive the interest and traffic.”  After all, in just the last few days alone, the brothers Spiridellis have made appearances on FOX News, CNBC’s Squawk Box, The Today Show and who knows how many other television news shows, not to mention the countless articles that have been written about them across this great land.  The rub lies, of course, in how much all this fame will translate into fortune.             

The Law of the Name

Tuesday, June 22, 2004 – On page 73 of their incredibly insightful book, The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding, celebrated marketing strategists Al Ries and his daughter, Laura Ries, couldn’t be more succinct — and sagacious — in writing that “the most important branding decision you will ever make is what to name your product or service. Because in the long run a brand is nothing more than a name.” Of course, it takes much more than just a catchy name to succeed in business, but the Ries’ point is well taken. And they do expound on this law, reminding their readers not to “confuse what makes a brand successful in the short term with what makes a brand successful in the long term. In the short term, a brand needs a unique idea or concept to survive. It needs to be first in a new category. It needs to own a word in the mind. But in the long term, the unique idea or concept disappears. All that is left is the difference between your brand name and the brand names of your competitors.” Not surprisingly, here at Yellowfin Direct Marketing, we’re asked all the time about the origin of our moniker. Unlike Ries & Ries (the world-renowned marketing consultancy named after its founders), or Lorrie Morgan-Ferrero’s Red Hot Copy (the acclaimed copywriter, author and marketing professional), our brand name is metaphorical, not literal, designed to pique your curiosity and stick in your mind. It’s as unique as our ideas and concepts, an extension of our corporate personality. Our brand name means a lot to my boss, David (he and his wife once caught 32 Yellowfin tuna off the coast of Cabo San Lucas, Mexico), but it likely means even more to our clients, given the trust they place in us as a small, entrepreneurial direct response advertising agency. And that, when all is said and done, is why the law of the name is so immutable.

Before I “Break Camp”

Tuesday, June 8, 2004 – Before I “break camp” in the evening and call it a day, I’ve always made a habit of going over my to-do list, backwards and forwards. What I’m not able to put behind me simply gets carried over to the next day, so what I end up with in my cramped, bulging Day-Timer (call me old school, but I’ve never used a PDA) is a long, eclectic list of not only all my commitments, but also my goals and ideals — each one to be acted on (hopefully) in the near future — trailed by and an even longer history of what’s (thankfully) been put to bed. At Yellowfin Direct Marketing, this habit remains unbroken, and I can’t help but think that A Fine Kettle of Fish is the perfect place to air such a list. So without baring anything proprietary, here’s a quick rundown of just some of what’s on my plate — and, also, what’s top of mind, across the agency – in the busy weeks ahead.

Tagline for Yellowfin. We’re not there yet, but we’re close. I’ve been running suggestions by David for a few weeks now, and we’ve whittled it down to the following:

Better Net Results

Good Catch, Great Results

Cast a Wider Net

Make a Big Splash

(and, my personal favorite…)

Direct Marketing out of Water

Florida State University. Mike and Sarah left yesterday for Tallahassee, where they’re meeting with the FSU development staff today to present our direct mail creative (three packages) along with strategy and ideas for a series of alumni fundraising events in the fall.

Newsletter. Gave David a rough outline of the Yellowfin e-newsletter we’re planning to launch in just a few months. We still need to flesh out the proposed content, but a tentative TOC for the premiere issue includes articles on variable data digital printing and direct response fundraising in the higher ed marketplace, a case study, a client profile and more.

The Public Broadcasting Co-op. We’re introducing two new direct mail packages at next week’s big R&D meeting, which is being held at UNC-TV in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. Expectations are high for this one. So is our confidence.

Spay-Neuter Assistance Program (SNAP). Over the course of the next few days, will be putting the finishing touches on a new raffle package for this organization, which dedicates itself to stopping the destruction of healthy dogs and cats in animal shelters due to the pet overpopulation problem.

Summer CAMMP. Preparations have begun – in earnest – for our participation in the Council of Alumni Marketing and Membership Professionals conference, to be hosted by the University of Connecticut July 28-30 in Windsor, Connecticut. We’re already working on our two-minute “infomercial” (which I will be presenting), along with all the marketing-related accouterments you’d expect (and some you wouldn’t) we’d bring along to such an important conference.

The Ad Club Mentor Program. Made it to the kick-off breakfast yesterday morning, hosted by Digitas, to learn that my responsibilities as a mentor are to meet with several Ad Club interns over the course of the summer and introduce them to potential opportunities in this field. My pleasure!

18-Month Yellowfin Calendar. It’s practically all hands on deck for this initiative, which is in the design phase right now, and should be good to go – as a token of appreciation to clients, prospects and friends – sometime in July.

Intern. Met with Melissa Rodriguez, our new intern, yesterday afternoon, to review some of her responsibilities – and quickly realized just how big an asset she is going to be our operations this summer. We’re lucky to have her on board.

Blog. Got some good advice about A Fine Kettle of Fish from Jennifer Rice, who publishes an excellent blog called What’s Your Brand Mantra? – she was very kind and generous in dispensing some invaluable feedback.

Either Then or Never

Tuesday, June 1, 2004 — If I were to look back on my career so far, a defining moment in time for me was the summer of 1990, when I decided to fly solo as a creative director and join the ranks of the self-employed. For the next seven years, I kept myself busy defining and developing my brand as a direct marketer — not just writing copy, but working closely with a pool of designers and even closer with my clients, all the while realizing, like a parachutist about to jump, that this is what it’s like to look destiny in the eyes. But having emerged from the experience far better for the wear, I can’t help but wish for every entrepreneur — for every budding professional, really — such an incredible odyssey, such a rare opportunity to challenge your will and test your mettle. Cargill Creative was a “virtual” agency with unlimited potential but resources that were only so deep. Schooled as a creative, I recast myself out of necessity as an account executive, a traffic manager, a salesman and an accountant, too. Occasionally I had enough money in the coffers to employ an additional writer, but for the better part of this gig it was just me, myself and I, the accidental principal who wore all the hats, the chief, cook and bottle washer. The hours were long, the responsibilities were endless, but the upside of being my own boss was the autonomy and freedom, and my professional inhibitions ran wild. It’s no coincidence that during this stretch of new found glory I explored options that might otherwise not have been available to me, throwing myself into three organizations — Toastmasters, The New England Direct Marketing Association and The MetroWest Leadership Academy — that, collectively, would have a long-term impact on not just my career, but also my growth as an individual. Call it ambition. Call it survival. Call it biting off more than I could chew (well, almost). But clearly I was refusing to be intimidated by any unfounded fears of failure, knowing full well that much of what I was doing I was doing either then or never.

The Black Door

Monday, May 17, 2004 – People who know me know how highly I speak (no pun intended) of Toastmasters International, a remarkable organization that truly empowers its members to achieve their full potential and realize their dreams. There are Toastmasters clubs in more than 80 countries — about 200 Toastmasters clubs are “doing business” in Massachusetts alone — and in each one people like you and me are developing their communication and leadership skills, and finding the courage to change. Back in the day, one of my dreams was to hone my public speaking skills to the point where I could lead seminars and speak at conferences and industry events about direct marketing and creativity. At the time (in the late ‘80s), the extent of my public speaking opportunities was only a couple of wedding toasts — admittedly, fair to middling “best man” mumbo jumbo — so if I was ever going to make it to the big leagues, I knew I needed to take more swings of the bat. I knew I needed Toastmasters. That was then. Now, looking back, I can unequivocally say that more than five years of experience as a Toastmaster — including two stints as club president and more than several rounds of speech contests — went a long way toward changing my life, instilling in me the confidence and skills necessary for all the speaking I do nowadays part and parcel of my career. Over the last dozen years or so, I have made countless formal presentations before audiences of all kinds — such as the meeting planners and suppliers that I spoke to recently about The Shoestring Secrets of Well-Heeled Direct Marketers, or the continuing education students at Bentley College, for whom I presented a class on The Principles of Copywriting, from Direct Mail to Email. And occasionally, I will talk to anyone who will listen (staff, colleagues, friends, relatives, readers of A Fine Kettle of Fish) about something that’s more than a small challenge to many of us in this day and age — the concept of change and risk-taking and moving outside of our own little comfort zones. I will stress the importance of grabbing the bull by the horns, reaching for the brass ring and seizing the day (carpe diem) before I launch into the following Christian-based parable about opening The Black Door:

This is a story about a spy who had been captured and sentenced to death by a general of the Persian army. The general, however, permitted the condemned person to choose between the firing squad or the black door.

As the moment of execution drew near, the general ordered the spy to be brought before him to receive the doomed man’s decision. This was not an easy decision, and the prisoner hesitated, but soon he made it known that he preferred the firing squad. Not long thereafter, a volley of shots in the courtyard announced the grim sentence had been fulfilled. The general turned to his aide and said, “You see how it is with people; they will always prefer the known way to the unknown. It is characteristic of people to be afraid of the undefined. And yet I gave him his choice!”

“What lies behind the black door?” asked the aide.

“Freedom,” replied the general, “and I’ve known only a few men brave enough to take it.”

There are two messages to this story. The first, of course, is that we will often choose the familiar, even if it is undesirable, over the unknown, which might represent a wonderful opportunity. And second, that few people are brave enough to choose freedom.

I’m not saying we should reject the familiar — not by any means. But we should question the familiar. Just because it is familiar doesn’t make it good, best, or even the right thing to do.

Right now you are probably saying to yourself, “I would have chosen the black door. I would have had nothing to lose; the firing squad was certain death.”

But actually faced with the choice, would you really? How many doors to freedom have we passed up during our lives because we tend to cling so fiercely to the familiar?

How many times have frightening events come about that later proved to be gainful? Each of them was a black door through which we eventually passed to greater freedom. But at the time, we may have chosen to keep things as they were.

It’s good to remember that it is often those things we worry about and fear most that turn out to be blessings in disguise.

I’m sure many of you might be reluctant to take (such and such risk). But once you do, will it not add greater freedom to your lives? For many of you, I’m sure, (such and such risk) will open doors to once-in-a-lifetime opportunities.

So I urge you, all of you, do not be afraid to choose the black door.

All Ryze

Monday, April 26, 2004 – I’ve always been smitten with the power of online communications, so when I read an article recently about the latest Web craze, social and business networking, I couldn’t resist the urge. I became a member of Ryze. Of course, I perfectly understand if you’re pleading ignorance right now. I didn’t know anything about Ryze, either, until about a month ago. But today I have my own home page there, which serves (quite conveniently, might I add) as a portal through which I can hook up with industry brethren, kindred spirits and like-minded souls. It’s all about viral marketing, really, e.g., Ryze makes it easy for users to connect with their own list of contacts, then extend that reach outward — exponentially — to their contacts’ contacts, and so on and so forth. Everybody wins. On my page, I simply list what I (on behalf of Yellowfin) have — integrated direct marketing solutions — and what I want — nonprofit and for-profit clients as well as strategic partners and allies. I also include separate hyperlinks to the Yellowfin Web site and A Fine Kettle of Fish (yes, this very blog — speaking of online communications). But this is no destination site. It’s only as effective as the time I put into it. So every once in a while, I’ll invite a few people to visit my page, hoping they’ll dispense with any skepticism, add their names to my official list of Ryze friends and, ultimately, open up their own Ryze account. It’s up to me, not Ryze, to create the buzz. And the more I’m evangelizing for me, the more I’m evangelizing for them. (Like I said, think viral — all around.) The bottom line? I see it as a way of not just organizing my network online, but also as a way of introducing my list of contacts to each other (can you say matchmaker?), creating one big, continuous loop of mutually-beneficial relationships.