Welcome to WRITING MATTERS, celebrating the value of good
writing in the business world.
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VOLUME 3, ISSUE 4 – DECEMBER 2009
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
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This Month's Case Study – Petaluma Performing
Arts Theater
The Petaluma Performing Arts Theater was a local theater
group which produced several plays and musicals each year. A non-profit organization, the theater was
popular in the community and typically generated enough income to exist
comfortably.
Unfortunately, due to the economic downturn, the last two
years had been quite challenging. The
theater’s director, Charlie, had admirably kept things afloat and was in the
process of planning the annual Christmas play.
The previous year’s Christmas play received critical acclaim, but the
lack of adequate publicity led to disappointing ticket sales. Charlie was determined to make this year’s
play a successful one in all aspects.
Charlie’s goal was to promote the event well in advance,
beginning with soliciting theater subscriber members, and then branching out to
the rest of the community. Charlie’s
assistant, Linus, suggested they develop some professional marketing materials
– at the very least a professionally-written letter to subscribers, and an
article in the local paper.
Unfortunately, Charlie didn’t have a writer on staff, and past attempts
to author his own promotional materials were met with mixed results.
Not knowing where to turn, Charlie asked Linus for
advice. “What about your neighbor, Mr.
Snoops?” Linus asked, “Isn’t he a writer?”
“That’s right,” Charlie exclaimed, “He is a writer – I always see him
typing away up on his roof.” Charlie
and Linus, however, weren’t sure what kind of writing he did. “I think he writes novels,” Charlie
remarked, “but I’ll send him an email to see if he can help us out.”
Just as Charlie was ready to send the email to Mr. Snoops,
Lucy, the fundraising manager, marched over to his desk. “I just heard you’re going to hire Mr.
Snoops to write our stuff!” she said, “How do you know he’s any good? All he does is sit on his roof all day and
type – I’ve never even heard him say anything!” “Don’t worry, Lucy,” Charlie said, “I’m going to find out
everything I can – I won’t hire him unless he can really help us.” “You better not mess this up, Charlie,” Lucy
said, “This is no time to be a blockhead!”
After contacting Mr. Snoops, Charlie learned that he only
wrote novels in his spare time – he was, in fact, a full-time copywriter. As they conversed via email, Charlie
explained the project at hand and the challenges involved. Charlie felt the letter to the subscribers
and the newspaper article would be sufficient.
Mr. Snoops offered his input, took all factors into consideration and
provided Charlie a quote the next day.
Charlie felt the quote was fair and decided to hire Mr.
Snoops. He asked if a meeting was
necessary, but Mr. Snoops assured Charlie everything could be done by
email. “I guess I could always drop by
and see you at home, “ Charlie said. “I
can’t believe you didn’t know what he did for a living,” Linus remarked, “He’s
lived right next door to you all these years!”
Mr. Snoops worked with Charlie and Linus and they were
impressed with his professionalism – even Lucy was complimentary of his
efforts! He was flexible and very easy
to work with; for example, when Mr. Schroeder, the theater’s musical director,
wanted something added to the promotional materials, Mr. Snoops responded to
his inquiry in a timely manner.
Furthermore, when Charlie wanted some graphics work added, Mr. Snoops
recommended his graphic designer friend, Mr. Woodstock, whom he had worked with
for many years. By tapping into Mr.
Snoops’ creative network, Charlie’s job had become a lot easier.
Within a few short weeks, the promotional materials were
ready for distribution. After reaching
out to the theater subscribers and the general public, response was
excellent. Ticket sales for the
Christmas play were brisk and it seemed like it would be a happy (and
profitable!) holiday season after all.
And best of all, Charlie now had a copywriter he could use for future
projects.
Only one task remained to make the holiday complete . . .
the theater needed a Christmas tree in its lobby. Charlie offered to pick one out, and asked Linus to accompany him
to the nearby tree lot. As he was
leaving, Lucy warned him, “Make sure you pick a good one . . . a nice aluminum
one will do!” Charlie glanced back at
Lucy and rolled his eyes. “Aluminum?”
he muttered to himself, “Good grief!”
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The next issue of WRITING MATTERS will be out January 4,
2010.
Have a safe and happy holiday season!
John Paul Tancredi, Copywriter/Consultant
Spectrum Copywriting Services
Subscribe to WRITING MATTERS at: www.spectrumcopywriting.com/ezine.html
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2009 Spectrum Copywriting Services. All Rights Reserved.