Staying True to Your Brand...

The conference room door slid open. I completed a meeting with a potential client. He represented a young financial firm ready to print a new marketing piece. His company wanted to capture more leads and stand out from their competitors.

I couldn't agree with him more...

Because most of these firms blab about how good they are, what they specialize in, why their goals are important, and include a default menu of all their plans. Their cub copywriters attempt to impress you with their college vocabulary and are involved in a diabolical scheme to control your mind through keyword dumping. If they repeat certain words enough timesit will finally sink in after the twelfth time, a light bulb goes off inside the prospect's head, and then they will take action.

That doesn't fly.

If I wanted a Pepsi and you kept suggesting Cokethat's not enough to get me to buy a Coke. But if you said FREE Coke, that's different. You've changed the emotional triggers.

Back at the office...

I stipulated I'd do the project on one condition: I would transform their corporate drivel into client benefits. (Ahem, not in those words.) I explained it would be a disservice to his company if I repeated the sterile announcements written about their company. Their response rates would stay the same and I wouldn't remain true to my brand.

My brand falls into the category of direct response marketing. I didn't want to be known for creating corporate fluff. And I'm not afraid to turn away projects that require that.

How can I turn away money? Just do what they want and get paid. Am I nuts?

No.

I believe my reputation and brand are more important than getting paid work. If I get branded as a utility writer, then clients who want a pure, direct-response copywriter wouldn't hire me. And they are the ones who write the big checks.

That's why I didn't want to commingle my brand. I didn't want to be painted with the same brush as those utility writers. That would be costly.

Here's an illustration:

Luciano Pavarotti is known for his dynamic operatic tenor voice. If he decided to make waves into Country Western music, he'd gain some new Country Western fans, but he'd lose a greater deal of opera fans. And eventually, music fans wouldn't know what to make of him because he has tainted his brand.

What about you...

What is your brand? How do people label you? What are you known for? Are you a princess at one skill, or a pauper of many?

Do people say, "Oh, Sandra's an accountant. She's great with numbers. Her reports are always neat and timely. And she's speedy with the ten key."