Quick Portfolio

Quick portfolio

Every client is unique, so nothing we show you will be exactly what you’re after. So rather than bore you with endless pages of stuff I’m proud of, I’ll bore you with just one or two samples from each category. Just enough, I hope, to show you that I know how to strategize and execute. To discuss your specific project, Contact contact me.

The curious case of
the dirty envelope

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I received an envelope laden with footprints, spills, and tire tracks, and spent time trying to divine its travels. I wondered what would happen if I made an envelope look worse for wear on purpose. Click here to see what happened.

Test your intuition:
Which sold more?

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Here’s a test I did for Skeptical Inquirer magazine. Can you guess which version sold more? After you make your guess, click here for the answer.

➤Beating “the control”
(long form direct mail)

This is long-form direct mail—a LOT of copy. Free Inquiry challenged us to create a direct mail package (the “Test”) to attract more subscribers than the package they’d been using for years (the “Control”). I had the idea of a sales letter over the signature of a reader instead of the usual editor or publisher. Results? The new package sold 150% of subscriptions sold by the old package.

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➤Newspaper ad

Some people feel born to fly. This pair from a campaign for Westminster College shows how to turn that emotion into action. Click image to enlarge.

➤Magazine ad

A popular ad for Altius Health Plans. The exercise bike actually gets used. We added dust and “spider webs” to make it look otherwise. Click image to enlarge.

➤TV

This national spot has a little of everything: hard sell, claim support, animation, a compelling offer, and a great hostess. We tested several offers, and “four rooms for the price of three” performed best. We produced the spot on a shoestring—under $15,000 including test versions.

➤Radio

We pulled this one from the archives—1997 to be exact—because of the challenge it met: convincing Californians to open an account with a Utah bank they’d never heard of. We chose plain talk, no music, nothing fancy. It outperformed its more entertaining predecessor, produced by a competing shop, 7 to 1.

➤Website

My company went through one CPA firm after another in its early years. (The owner of one firm that I fired is in jail as I write.) Finally, I lucked into Grant Strickland. I have been with them for over 20 years and recommend them without reservation. Creating their website was an honor.

➤Outdoor

There are two secrets to an effective billboard. Secret 1 is to remember that drivers have only a second or two to read your board, so you need a headline that conveys your message in as few words as possible. Secret 2 is to add a visual that enhances the headline’s message. It’s possible to succeed using only a headline, but when a headline and a visual complement each other, you get synergy. Click on the image to enlarge.

➤5-foot-long “dimensional” direct mail

One of our more outlandish “dimensional” (or “lumpy”) mailings. Inside this 5-foot box, personally addressed to the decision maker, was a pair of stilts. It took a while for GE Money’s marketing manager to convince the higher-ups to go along with the idea. Results: Better than $60 million in booked annual business. That, and senior execs began challenging each other to race. To read the copy (which reveals the strategy behind mailing stilts), click on the images below.

➤Jumbo postcard

Postcards are cost-effective and results-effective. We created this oversized postcard (6"x11") for a California credit union. Click image to enlarge.

➤Classic format direct mail

One reason classic direct mail comes loaded with so many contents: When you ask for people to commit to spending an ongoing $20 per month, you need to provide plenty of information, answer every conceivable question, and build in multiple calls to action.

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