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Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Monday, January 9, 2012
“Live Bait and Fine Art”
I saw these words on a hand painted sign in front of a rural general store years ago. The image contrast was as clever then as it is today. I believe that is common to things classic and unique.
While it may seem that these two opposites would be virtually incompatible, obviously the owner did not. And, if he were confronted with his ad as a cute gesture, he probably would not have found it the least bit humorous. He was running his business for a profit. He was trying to get attention…and sell something.
Let’s look at his marketing elements:
It was all about a Unique Selling Proposition (USP)
It was a General Store that had wide offerings…from “wigglers” to investment grade artwork and everything in-between
His claim was simple and clever (only 5 words to paint his picture)
It was advertisement in its purist form (a hand-painted sign)
He made no unbelievable claims (just a unique slogan)
Measured against Claude Hopkins’s classic book: Scientific Advertising (enduring for 85 years)… Hopkins paved the concept that advertising is simply "salesmanship in print" (looks like our entrepreneur captured that premise)
Author’s Note:
Today, we tend to let prevailing technology become the driver, not the unique (only what you can claim) key message. Why does that happen? Judging by sheer volume today, a software app is the easiest and quickest template solution. Caution: savvy audiences can see the difference between originality/uniqueness and cut/paste.
What is the take away? If you don’t have one this year, consider creating your own USP. Examples:
Hairdresser: “Perm for this Term?”
Insurance: “Perm with that Term?”
Politician: “Term is not Perm”
As always…You decide.
While it may seem that these two opposites would be virtually incompatible, obviously the owner did not. And, if he were confronted with his ad as a cute gesture, he probably would not have found it the least bit humorous. He was running his business for a profit. He was trying to get attention…and sell something.
Let’s look at his marketing elements:
It was all about a Unique Selling Proposition (USP)
It was a General Store that had wide offerings…from “wigglers” to investment grade artwork and everything in-between
His claim was simple and clever (only 5 words to paint his picture)
It was advertisement in its purist form (a hand-painted sign)
He made no unbelievable claims (just a unique slogan)
Measured against Claude Hopkins’s classic book: Scientific Advertising (enduring for 85 years)… Hopkins paved the concept that advertising is simply "salesmanship in print" (looks like our entrepreneur captured that premise)
Author’s Note:
Today, we tend to let prevailing technology become the driver, not the unique (only what you can claim) key message. Why does that happen? Judging by sheer volume today, a software app is the easiest and quickest template solution. Caution: savvy audiences can see the difference between originality/uniqueness and cut/paste.
What is the take away? If you don’t have one this year, consider creating your own USP. Examples:
Hairdresser: “Perm for this Term?”
Insurance: “Perm with that Term?”
Politician: “Term is not Perm”
As always…You decide.
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Truth or Lies? A Leadership Crisis of Integrity.
Overt or subtle, it’s all the same. A lie is a lie, and the truth is the truth (absolute opposites). It is a white hot issue, especially in the current climate of corporations, politics, world order and the influence on our individual freedoms.
Who can or will you trust? It is a vital decision.
If lying is a deliberate leadership strategy, why is it not more scrutinized, identified and consequential than is appears to be? Are some leaders taking advantage of our individual apathy, denial and complacency to the point of a subtle confiscation our liberties?
As a line extension of this dilemma, here is a short list of how many ways this MO (modus operandi) can influence you.
40 Synonyms for “Lie”
1. Bluff: a statement intended to deceive or confuse
2. Canard: an unsubstantiated story or report
3. Deceit: a deceptive statement
4. Deception: A statement or action intended to mislead
5. Distortion: a deviation from the true meaning, or an overstatement of proportion
6. Equivocation: a misleading or confusing statement
7. Exaggeration: an overstatement or overemphasis
8. Fable: a fictitious statement or story
9. Fabrication: a made-up fact or incident
10. Fairy tale: a misleading story, especially a simplistic one
11. Fallacy: a deceptive, erroneous statement or a false idea or a flawed argument
12. Falsehood: something untrue or inaccurate
13. Falsification: an alteration of facts in order to deceive
14. Falsity (see falsehood)
15. Fib: a small, simple or transparent lie
16. Fiction: a man-made invented statement or story
17. Half-truth: a statement with some basis in truth that nevertheless serves to deceive
18. Humbug: a false, deceptive, or nonsensical statement
19. Invention: a statement crafted to deceive
20. Jive: a deceptive, insincere, or nonsensical statement
21. Libel: a written or similarly presented lie that defames another person
23. Mendacity: an act of lying
23. Misconception: a poor understanding, perhaps deliberate, of the facts
24. Misinformation: a purported fact presented with the intent to deceive
25. Misinterpretation: a deviation from the facts or from a reasonable analysis of them
26. Misreport: an inaccurate account
27. Misrepresentation: an erroneous, deceptive or unfair interpretation of facts
28. Misstatement: an inaccurate or erroneous comment
29. Myth: a perpetuated notion, belief, or tradition that is doubtful and unfounded
30. Obliquity: a deviation from the truth to conceal or confuse
31. Perjury: a lie presented under oath
32. Pose: a false or deceptive position or self-representation
33. Pretense: an unsupported claim, an insincere purpose or false intention
34. Prevarication: a deviation from the truth
35. Slander: an injuriously false statement about a another person
36. Story: a lie, or a rumor
37. Tale: a false representation
38. Taradiddle: nonsense (also, see fib)
39. Untruth: an absolute deviation from truth or the facts
40. Whopper: an outsized lie
Full article Posted: December 30, 2011
Original Post: 40 Synonyms for “Lie”
Daily Writing Tips [info@dailywritingtips.com]
And then there is this Biblical advice:
Pro 14:5
A faithful witness does not lie, but a false witness will utter lies.
1John 2:21
I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and that no lie is of the truth.
The obvious questions to this brand of leadership:
Are these perpetrators self delusional, or do they dispute that their actual documented “on platform” evidence is edited and altered, and therefore invalid or it never took place.
With the techno-capacity for individuals to discover, conduct due diligence and search for truth, do these detached leaders still believe that info-mining is what it was only 5 years ago? Hello iPad/iPhone with apps.
How deep does it run with these villains? Is it to the point where their trust/believability is completely gone in all other fronts?
If this is a legitimate leadership strategy, then their truth becomes relative and ultimately meaningless…and this track of leadership can lead to chaos, disorder and confusion. This is where herd mentality breeds (see: http://zilliondollarthinking.com/discovery/will-you-join-a-herd/).
In all, this is a dangerous and growing crisis of integrity.
Author’s Note:
As a counter strategy, should we adopt at least a screen, filter or baseline (of believability) for these perpetrators? Our future may depend on it?
See “The Believability Quotient:”
http://zilliondollarthinking.com/discovery/the-value-of-a-believability-quotient/
Adjusted slogan and potential mantra:
Who can or will you trust? It is a vital decision.
If lying is a deliberate leadership strategy, why is it not more scrutinized, identified and consequential than is appears to be? Are some leaders taking advantage of our individual apathy, denial and complacency to the point of a subtle confiscation our liberties?
As a line extension of this dilemma, here is a short list of how many ways this MO (modus operandi) can influence you.
40 Synonyms for “Lie”
1. Bluff: a statement intended to deceive or confuse
2. Canard: an unsubstantiated story or report
3. Deceit: a deceptive statement
4. Deception: A statement or action intended to mislead
5. Distortion: a deviation from the true meaning, or an overstatement of proportion
6. Equivocation: a misleading or confusing statement
7. Exaggeration: an overstatement or overemphasis
8. Fable: a fictitious statement or story
9. Fabrication: a made-up fact or incident
10. Fairy tale: a misleading story, especially a simplistic one
11. Fallacy: a deceptive, erroneous statement or a false idea or a flawed argument
12. Falsehood: something untrue or inaccurate
13. Falsification: an alteration of facts in order to deceive
14. Falsity (see falsehood)
15. Fib: a small, simple or transparent lie
16. Fiction: a man-made invented statement or story
17. Half-truth: a statement with some basis in truth that nevertheless serves to deceive
18. Humbug: a false, deceptive, or nonsensical statement
19. Invention: a statement crafted to deceive
20. Jive: a deceptive, insincere, or nonsensical statement
21. Libel: a written or similarly presented lie that defames another person
23. Mendacity: an act of lying
23. Misconception: a poor understanding, perhaps deliberate, of the facts
24. Misinformation: a purported fact presented with the intent to deceive
25. Misinterpretation: a deviation from the facts or from a reasonable analysis of them
26. Misreport: an inaccurate account
27. Misrepresentation: an erroneous, deceptive or unfair interpretation of facts
28. Misstatement: an inaccurate or erroneous comment
29. Myth: a perpetuated notion, belief, or tradition that is doubtful and unfounded
30. Obliquity: a deviation from the truth to conceal or confuse
31. Perjury: a lie presented under oath
32. Pose: a false or deceptive position or self-representation
33. Pretense: an unsupported claim, an insincere purpose or false intention
34. Prevarication: a deviation from the truth
35. Slander: an injuriously false statement about a another person
36. Story: a lie, or a rumor
37. Tale: a false representation
38. Taradiddle: nonsense (also, see fib)
39. Untruth: an absolute deviation from truth or the facts
40. Whopper: an outsized lie
Full article Posted: December 30, 2011
Original Post: 40 Synonyms for “Lie”
Daily Writing Tips [info@dailywritingtips.com]
And then there is this Biblical advice:
Pro 14:5
A faithful witness does not lie, but a false witness will utter lies.
1John 2:21
I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and that no lie is of the truth.
The obvious questions to this brand of leadership:
Are these perpetrators self delusional, or do they dispute that their actual documented “on platform” evidence is edited and altered, and therefore invalid or it never took place.
With the techno-capacity for individuals to discover, conduct due diligence and search for truth, do these detached leaders still believe that info-mining is what it was only 5 years ago? Hello iPad/iPhone with apps.
How deep does it run with these villains? Is it to the point where their trust/believability is completely gone in all other fronts?
If this is a legitimate leadership strategy, then their truth becomes relative and ultimately meaningless…and this track of leadership can lead to chaos, disorder and confusion. This is where herd mentality breeds (see: http://zilliondollarthinking.com/discovery/will-you-join-a-herd/).
In all, this is a dangerous and growing crisis of integrity.
Author’s Note:
As a counter strategy, should we adopt at least a screen, filter or baseline (of believability) for these perpetrators? Our future may depend on it?
See “The Believability Quotient:”
http://zilliondollarthinking.com/discovery/the-value-of-a-believability-quotient/
Adjusted slogan and potential mantra:
“Lie to me once, shame on you…lie to me twice, shame on me.”
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