Equal opportunities for creative

I was going to write the third installment in a series about how you can increase response by dialing up relevancy in your creative, you can -  and I will. But this weekend I was reminded of something I wanted to share while it was still fresh.

When I was on the hunt for a staff position I would tell headhunters and perspective employers that it didn't really matter that I had worked on Harry & David creative for a million years, the techniques and strategies for direct selling are the same whether on-line or on the page. And I believed it. Sometimes we carry these truths around with us without ever really putting them to the test; they're still true, but haven't crossed into that absolute stage where you really feel it.

A few weeks ago I was offered a great opportunity to write a critique for Multi-Channel Merchant magazine, ( a trade pub and website for .. multi-channel...). I jumped at the offer and anxiously waited for the catalog to arrive so I could dig right in. The day arrived and I ripped open the fed-x package to find, (drum roll), Lady Grace! An intimate apparel catalog specializing in large, and in some cases huge bra sizes. Is this some new consultant hazing? Could it be a mistake.. a mix-up of some kind? Then I heard myself on the phone months back saying with the utmost confidence, "it makes absolutely no difference what you're offering, the fundamental strategies of direct selling apply!" Damn it! If there's something like mid-life-job-change instant Karma this was it in spades, in bras actually.

I procrastinated, tried not to think about the critique and busied myself with potential revenue driving activities. I said to my wife Janet on Friday, (it was due on the 1st), "this weekend I'm writing the bra book critique". I knew she wouldn't let me off the hook, "aren't you supposed to be writing something this weekend?" So first thing on Saturday I began by reading a letter from one of the owners of Lady Grace. It was a very nice note thanking me in advance and looking forward to my suggestions. After a lesson in bra shopping from  Janet, I began to see the book through the eyes of the shopper and it happened, the opportunities for applying those selling fundamentals began to show themselves, just like I said they would. I dug right in like a large breasted bra shopper with 20 years of direct response creative experience. By the end of the excersize I was satified that if Lady Grace leveraged the strategies I put out there, indeed their buiness would grow.. to a yet larger size.

We'll save relevacy for next time.