Creating Effective Newsletters

A Dummy's Puppet's Ramblings - from Chip Martin, Mannequin American

Creating More Effective Newsletters

I've been editor of Brown & Martin's award winning publication for almost 20 years. The newsletter is edgy, informative and entertaining ... in other words, it's an extension of me.  We produce similar publications for service companies, manufacturers and associations.    

A few years ago Dale was interviewed by Candice Bergen for a segment on 60 Minutes. Ms. Bergen focused on Brown & Martin, Inc.'s success in using humor as an effective communications tool in corporate environments.

(Candice Bergin, me and what's his name.)

Dale's interview sucked. But after he was finished Ms. Bergen decided to interview me.  Here's how I remember the conversation going.

CB: Thanks for giving me this interview Chip.

CM:  Dale told me to do it.  Something about 60 Minutes being the most successful program in TV history, a record five-time number-one program, a record top-ten program 23 times, and blah, blah, blah.  And you would be ... ???

CB:  I'm Candice Bergen.

CM:  Bergen ... Bergen .... I know that name.

CB:  My father was Edgar Bergen.

CM:  Charlie McCarthy! Of course. I didn't know Charlie had a sister.  Imagine that.  And you're with 60 Minutes?  That's great.  Mike Wallace, Morley Safer and Ed Bradley were all way past their prime, anyway.  Glad to see that the show is getting new blood.

CB:  Actually they're all still with the program.  I'm just a contributing correspondent.

CM:  Oh. You can edit that last remark out, right?

CB:  We'll see.  Let's talk about B&M's notoriety for using puppet characters as editors of company publications. What's behind this success?

CM:  The most successful communication happens on a personal level.  Like you and me talking right now ... even though I'm not really talking.

CB:  Okay???

CM:  Our newsletters are written on a personal level. They're edited by individuals ... characters as you call them.  People relate more to individuals than they relate to corporations.  People trust individuals more than they trust corporations.  People develop a bond with individuals more than they do with corporations. 

CB:  But these editors aren't individuals.  They're puppets.

CM:  That makes it even better. People are held to a higher standard than puppets.  Our newsletters are written in an extremely personal voice ... and the more personal a newsletter, the higher the readership, the deeper the loyalty, the greater the pass-along and word of mouth.  Plus human editors aren't as clever, insightful or entertaining as puppets are.

CB:  In other words, you can "say" things that people editors may not be able to say and by doing so, you engage the readers?

CM:  Absolutely.  We provide both serious information and not-so-serious information.  Sometimes we provide serious information in a humorous manner.  Mostly we just tell the truth in a style that people find entertaining.

CB:  It's amazing that serious businesses use you to communicate to customers, distributors, employees, and other groups. 

CM:  The great thing is that Dale could suck as a ventriloquist and we'd still be effective because of the unique writing format we've developed.  It's similar to your dad being a ventriloquist on the radio. Great gig, by the way. Millions of people related to Charlie and Mortimer as real individuals even though they couldn't see them.  That's what we do on paper with our "character" editors.

CB:  Does Dale suck as a ventriloquist?

CM:  Dale sucks at everything. Ever see him drive a racecar?  Sucks at it.  Ever hear him give a convention keynote?  Sucks.

CB:  But he's talking for you right now.

CM:  He's not smart enough to talk to you himself.  He sucks.  Wanna go to lunch?

CB:  I guess, so.

CM:  Great!  By the way, how was it growing up with Charlie?

CB:  It sucked.

CM:  I can relate.

Indoor Twister Gains Attention

Mercedez-Benz gained some significant publicity for its museum by tricking out the building's HVAC system to produce the world's largest artificial tornado.

"The twister takes around seven minutes to materialize," Autoblog explains, "and is generated by 144 jets and 28 tons of air. It is also more than 100 feet tall-making it the official record holder for the World's Largest Artificial Tornado.

You should head down to the facility room in your office, do some re-wiring, and see what you can create in the way of a natural disaster.

What's Behind a New Label?

Campell Soup has received a lot of publicity over its announcement that it used neuromarketing to help redesign its iconic soup label.

 Will changing the soup label really help drive sales? Campbell Soup spent two years trying to figure that out. Now, it's not unusual for a company to do market research to try to figure out what will appeal to consumers. What is unusual is that Campbell Soup publicized that they had turned to "neuromarketing," a fact they shared in an interview in the Wall Street Journal.

The artwork below gives you an idea of some of the thinking behind subtle design changes.

Remember When "Slim" Wasn't "In"?

"You sure are popular since you put on that curvy weight!" Huh?

Today we may be focusing on childhood obesity and have an infatuation with "skinny," but in the 60's things were a bit different ... as this ad for Wate-on demonstrates. Even Raquel Welch couldn't "afford to be skinny." (see below.)

Why We No Longer Need Wate-On

You Get What You Pay For

When you need a logo designed, pay the extra to get it done by a professional. Otherwise you could well end up with the circumcision parody like the one above.