The Power of Good Writing
A Dummy's Puppet's Ramblings - from Chip Martin, Mannequin American
The Power of Good Writing
If you effectively describe something using a story, people will put more value on the item being described. Think "Well written, interesting case history." And here's proof.
Joshua Glenn and Rob Walker, both writers and authors, created The Significant Objects project with the simple hypothesis that "Narrative is a key x-factor influencing an object's exchange value."
To confirm their theory, they bought insignificant objects from thrift stores and garage sales, each costing no more than a few bucks, and had writers create fictional short stories about them. Then they posted the items and the stories on eBay, with a disclaimer emphasizing that the tales were fiction, and waited for the bids. They sold the first round of 100 objects, originally bought for $128.74, for $3,612.51. Not too shabby.
Their experiment (currently in its third phase) validates the power of well-written narrative to push sales and marketing. Good writing motivates people to buy.
And where do you find professionals capable of creating captivating narrative? Oh right ... at http://www.bmpr.com/
Why the Chicago River Was Green
Each year the Chicago River is turned green in celebration of St. Patrick's Day. This year, to promote its Shamrock Shakes, McDonalds provided Chicagoans with a potential source of the color. Simple promotion that generated adequate media coverage and a lot of pedestrian interest.
Signs and Lines by Stretch
In this part of the country just about anyone who owns a fleet of trucks, busses or other type of vehicles, is familiar with Signs and Lines by Stretch. For more than 25 years "Stretch" has offered graphic design services, vehicle wraps and interior and exterior signage. Their customers range from large national and international brands such as Harley-Davidson, Miller Brewing Company, MLB, NBA, NFL, Mountain Dew and others, to small locally-owned businesses.
Our crack design, IT and writing staff (pictured above) recently updated Signs and Lines' website.
If you live near Milwaukee it's fun to scroll through all of the photos on the Signs and Lines website to see how many truck, recreational vehicle and emergency vehicle graphics you've seen on highways all over the country. You'll be surprised how familiar you are with their work.
Photographed More Than the Statue of Liberty
What's the 28th most photographed built landmark in the world? According to a recent Cornell study, it's the Apple Store Cube. The Fifth Avenue Apple Store is the fifth most popular site in New York ... beating out the Statue of Liberty! The building has become an icon ... and an impressive marketing instrument.
The top built landmarks on earth? You probably guessed right: Eiffel Tower, Trafalgar Square, Tate Modern, Big Ben, Notre Dame, London Eye and the Empire State Building. New York was the most photographed place, with the Empire State Building, Times Square, and Rockefeller Center taking the top spots. (Download a PDF of the research paper here.)
Stuffed and Unstrung "Pitch" Video
Click here to see a 30 second video of "The Pitch" for Jim Henson's Stuffed and Unstrung. I love these guys! Via Muppet News Flash.
Terry Fator Adds to His Cast of Thousands
Terry Fator and his "Cast of Thousands" celebrated their one year anniversary in the Terry Fator Theater at the Mirage in Las Vegas with a Red Carpet event that included the introduction of a new character, Wrex, the crash dummy. (In February, Terry sang the National Anthem before the NASCAR Sprint Cup race in Las Vegas ... solo ... without puppets.)
Several of our friends were among the special guests at the event. Backstage at the far left is Clinton Detweiler, of Maher Ventriloquist Studios. Clinton and the Maher Ventriloquism Course are the forces behind the majority of ventriloquists performing today.
Terry said, "Meeting Clinton face-to-face was truly one of the highlights of my life. Clinton always helped me out of a pinch in the days I couldn't afford to have spare puppets around when one broke. I would overnight a broken puppet to Clinton and he would fix it immediately and overnight it back, saving my act many times. He had no idea who I was or that I would one day be a headliner in Vegas, but he treated me with the same amount of respect he would treat any star that contacted him. Having the Detweilers at my one year anniversary at the Mirage made it one of the most special days in my life."
Next to Clinton is ventriloquist Jay Johnson. Jay won a Tony Award for his one man show on Broadway, The Two and Only. "It was a fabulous show," said Jay. "It could be one of the best ventriloquist shows I've ever seen. Terry's musical talent and ventriloquism come together in a wonderful performance that can be enjoyed by anyone. He's charming and unassuming and his characters are distinctive. Terry gives ventriloquism a legitimate seat at the table of high-end entertainment."
Terry is in the middle. Next is Farffel the Dog with his owner, Jimmy Nelson. Jimmy's famous "Instant Ventriloquism" and "Ventriloquism 2" are now available on a digitally re-mastered two CD set collection. On the far right is ventriloquist and puppet manipulator extraordinaire, Dan Horn.
After the star-studded anniversary show there was a party at BB King's. Even after performing a fabulous show, Terry had the energy to get up and sing a long set with the band on stage at the club.
Congratulations to Terry. I wish we could have been there to share in the celebration and camaraderie.
As a side note, Jeff Dunham was appearing at Caesars Palace the following weekend and both Terry and Jeff were cover features in the press that week. Clinton said, "I never imagined I'd live to see the day when ventriloquists I knew personally would be the hottest acts in the Country. They've taken the art to entirely new levels."
(Dale and I will be back on the road this weekend, trying to bring ventriloquism back down to the level where we're more comfortable with it.)
