A little lesson in Content Packaging thanks to the Fab Four

Earlier today I was alerted to this video from Carlton Books giving what they term a "Sneaky Peek" at their upcoming book celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Beatles' first hit record.

As both a Beatles fan and scholar, I knew that this great looking book was destined to join my Fab Four research library (as I'm working on an idea for another Beatles related book proposal).

Then I started thinking about this video from a Publishing and Content Strategy perspective.

Anyone whose heard me speak on digital publishing will know I often repeat the phrase that "pixels and print are not mutually exclusive." In other words it isn't an either/or decision between digital and traditional print publishing, in most cases a book can exist equally in both and often help each other. - Which is definitely the case with my own Beatles book where Kindle sales have driven increases in print sales.

However there are some things that each medium does better than the other, and I strongly believe that print will flourish for publishers who figure out how and why print is special. In my view there is one advantage that print has over digital - reading a printed book is a tactile experience that engages the senses of feel and smell as well as sight.

A book like the one in the video above could not be done on a digital platform. Yes the written word and the photos could be reproduced, maybe even the video from the DVD and the sounds  included in a multi-media enhanced eBook - But the way it is packaged and presented is as a interactive tactile experience, and that's what will make it special. You can only do that in print.

The packaging of the book is also a great example of re-purposing existing content to be consumed and experienced new ways. Instead of a photograph of a concert poster or ticket, why not recreate them? Move interaction with the content from a passive one to an interactive one.

As well as the book itself and its refreshing content packaging, there is also the smart way that the content, and the idea of the book, is being promoted via the use of other media such as video and social networks.

Smart move Carlton Books - you've got my $$ already - and I just helped you spread awareness a little further.

How a Great Story Can Help Your Brand

Yesterday evening I spent a couple of hours interacting with other local business people and entrepreneurs at this month's Network In Austin event. As usual it was an excellent opportunity to meet and learn about a whole new bunch of local businesses.

In the space of two hours I must have heard about at least a dozen new businesses, what they did, and what they were called. That's a lot of information to take in in a short time.

As I drove home I did a quick mental review to see if I could recall the salient points from each conversation. I managed to recall something about everyone, but what struck me was that the first two businesses that came to mind were the two that had stories attached, and one in particular that had a story attached to the brand name.

The lady who ran the company had told a fun short story of how the company name came from an expression her father used to use a lot.

Brand names with a story behind them stick.

Several years ago I used to write a regular marketing newsletter that included the stories and histories behind some of the most well known brand names. That section was always the most popular part of the newsletter. It gave me the idea of maybe writing a book on the subject - but then I found out that someone had already done it...


And Evan Morris' fun book "From Altoids to Zima" is now one of the most thumbed books on my marketing bookshelf.

There is a story behind most company and brand names. I've worked for companies named after bags of chips, science fiction villains, a historical event, and even one that got it's name from a typo.

Discover your story - work it in to your pitch, put it on the website, and people will remember it, and they will remember you.

Truth in Marketing is not an Oxymoron

“I’m a writer; I take the truth and give it scope.”

– Paul Bettany as Geoffrey Chaucer in A Knight’s Tale (2001)

If I have one underlying tenet that I try to live by, it’s to tell the truth. It’s a philosophy I also apply to my writing. Most of my published work to date has been non-fiction, and by its very nature involves a lot of research and fact checking to make sure that what you are presenting is the “truth.”

The problem with doing research based on historical events, and particularly in the case of biography, is that the “truth” is often what the person telling the story believes to be true. For that reason, as much as possible, I try and go back to original sources and documentation. The same thing applies when I’m writing fiction, I always try to stay truthful to the established rules of the fictional world I am working in. With a licensed property that also means doing a lot of research into the facts that other writers have established.

So what has this got to do with corporate communications?

Most of the corporate writing I do these days is marketing communications. From blog posts, to Twitter, white papers, product literature, websites, and press releases. And, as with my other writing, I always try to tell the truth. Sure, as the quote at the start of this post mentions, I sometimes take the truth and give it “scope.” Yes I’m perfectly happy saying that 10% is “double digit growth” or that 51% equates to “most,” or “the majority,” because beneath the spin they are still verifiable facts.

Where I have problems is with marketing spin that uses absolute terms like unique, best-ever, ultimate*, or first. if you want to use those terms, that’s fine – but do some research and some fact checking to make sure that you really are the “first to market”, or that what your product does really is “unique,” and if what you are offering really is the “ultimate,” are you really intending to never improve it.

This is even more important when you are marketing to an audience whose daily job revolves around words and the use of language. Say the wrong thing, use the wrong word and they will go check. If what you claim isn’t true – they will call you out on it. That will undermine every other marketing message you put out.

One perceived falsehood can undermine the credibility of everything else you do.

Oh, and one more little thing that drives me crazy, if in a press release, article, or whatever, you refer to another company by name, or one of their products – make sure you get the names right.

In this day and age, fact checking has never been easier, all it takes is a few clicks of the mouse.

There is no excuse for any marketing material not to tell the truth. Sure your readers may have to read between the lines, or decipher the spin, but the foundation of what you are saying should always be verifiable.

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* The misuse of the word “unique” is one of my all time pet-peeves. Every time my wife watches one of those house buying TV shows and I here the presenter talk about a “unique feature” that we’ve seen 100 times before, it makes me want to scream.

How far do you spread the message?

Yesterday afternoon I spent some time posting sample art from an upcoming comics project on my personal blog as well as in a publicly accessible Facebook photo-album, and making sure I mentioned it on Twitter.

Part way through the exercise my wife asked me "Why are you doing that. Shouldn't the publishers be doing it?" On the face of it it seemed like a fair question, but experience has quickly taught me that publishers with hundreds of books to promote can only focus on a select few, and you can't count on yours being one of them. The more marketing you do for yourself the more advance interest you can build and, hopefully, the greater the sales.

Switch to this morning at the WebWorks office, and after reviewing some figures I sent an email to one online distributor of software asking them to remove our product listing from their website.

The two events didn't seem related, but over lunch today I began to think about it.

Last night my underlying philosophy was that "the more marketing the better." The more online exposure I could get for my upcoming project the more awareness it would build for both the project and myself as a writer. So more is good? - Yes

This morning, when I looked at the product listing online at the site in question I saw that the product and company descriptions were years out of date. They obviously had no real understanding of our market, or what business issues our product helped solve, never mind its actual features and functionality. When I looked back at the records I found that they were one of a large group of on-line software distributors who had been signed up "en-mass" several years ago. The philosophy had been the same as mine the previous night "the more web presence the better." So more is good? - In this case - No.

So many distributors had been signed up that no-one was (or could practically for our size of company) manage them all and keep track of how we, and our products, were being represented. The ones that produced steady strong results got noticed and managed. The ones that only produced occasional sales didn't. The result is that those neglected listings were soon sending the wrong messages.

So what's the connection? Having a philosophy of spreading your message far and wide over the Web can be a great one. In today's Web2.0 world viral marketing is one of the strongest marketing tools available. BUT.. you can should only spread the message to places that you can manage. If the message gets inconsistent and diluted it doesn't take long to become worthless.

Be It Ever So Humble..

What’s the hardest working corporate document you publish?
What document has the longest circulation and “shelf life.?
What document style has withstood literally centuries of technology changes and is as familiar today as it was 400 years ago?

Don’t know?

Look in your wallet, or on your desk. I bet you can easily lay your hand on an example.

The answer – your business card.

The business card has been around since the 17th Century. The first “trade cards” were developed in London and were used as advertising and also as maps, directing the public to merchant's stores, as there was no formal street numbering system at the time. By the 19th Century the concept had become combined with the French “carte de visite” (or visiting card) that also first appeared in the 17th Century, to produce the modern business card that we all recognize.

(More on the history of the business card can be found here.)

So why do I consider it the hardest working document you produce?

Just think of all the thinks a business card must accomplish:

• Say who you are.
• Say what your job is.
• Let people know how to contact you (and as technology increases so does the number of contact choices.)
• Give the company name (and maybe a division name)Let people know what the company does.
• Project the company’s culture and values through use of design, color and maybe even the type of card stock

All in a space just 3 ½ x 2 inches.

The business card can be a great marketing tool. And with relatively cheap production costs it’s easy to produce a set for almost every occasion.

Personally I carry around four different designs.

• One for the 4Js Group,
• one for my role at Quadralay,
• one as a freelance writer,
• and ones designed for when I do events related to specific book related events like signings and conventions.
  

Take a look at your business card, what does it say about you and your business?

In future posts I’ll examine some of the cards that I’ve accumulated over the years and take a look at what works and what doesn’t.