Granted, I wouldn’t be able to take more than 32 seconds of this guy in person, but the professional stationer in my soul can’t argue with his logic. A business card says/screams/whispers volumes about the quality one comes to expect from the person behind it. Great card? The impression is “great success.” Chintzy card? The impression is wobbly, or worse.
As for 60# Strathmore: Ick. Flimsy stuff. No disagreement there.
But the die cut, pop up, fold open personal extravaganza he uses instead? Well, let’s just say that’s the part of the video that garnered howls of laughter around here. It does prove the premise that cards are reflections of their owners…
…including those with mammoth egos. I’m just sayin.’
During my days as a retailer, it marked several things: realization that the next morning meant a new slate and endless possibilities; a chance to reflect on what could have been done differently and what was done perfectly; and an opportunity to relax into the most laid back day of our retail year (being a few doors down the sidewalk from a liquor store made that easy, given the number of brown bags that lined our cash wrap counter as folks shopped, post-champagne run).
I’m not sure what it is about the combination of human instinct and calender date, but for many of us, December 31 is “reboot day.” Which is good.
Heard in a radio spot advertising a local internet service provider:
According to a major consumer magazine (whose name I missed), “We’re the fastest internet provider or at least one of them….”
Did you catch that? They managed to make a statement then retract it in under three seconds. Not even a pause along the way. And no change in inflection. I seriously wonder how many listeners even hear the last part. But I’ll bet most would say the company’s reputation is stellar.
These days, with consumer dollars tight, reputations tie directly to information, and information is plentiful, thanks to the internet. As we’ve seen in the past four days (here and here), all it takes is a home studio with a blog, a stationery store owner who searches online, and another blogger focused on retail to shine light on a vendor’s controversial policy…and, by extension, onto the vendor itself. [click here to continue…]
At last-—good news. According to a national survey by the Institute for Self Reliance, independent retailers out-performed chain stores in 4Q 2008. The linchpin that garnered success? Well organized Buy Local campaigns.
While I have yet to see an internet-based BL program that delivers in financial terms, I firmly believe that grass roots programs utilizing local media, partnerships (financial and marketing) with local Chambers of Commerce, and groups of neighborhood retailers pulling together as one are home runs the majority of the time.
A good example of this comes from The Healdsburg Retailers-—Retailer Excellence Award winners in the Marketing category last August. [click here to continue…]
The end of the year.
Heard in a radio spot advertising a local internet service provider:
At last-—good news. According to a national survey by the Institute for Self Reliance, independent retailers out-performed chain stores in 4Q 2008. The linchpin that garnered success? Well organized Buy Local campaigns.
