A Creative RIOT

Relevant, original and impactful: that's what my friend Creative Director Jim Mountjoy says that effective creative must be. With apologies to Jim, I have my own acronym because I think ROI is only 75 percent of the way there. Effective creative is a RIOT: relevant, impactful, original and true.

Let's say you are a personal injury attorney who represents the people. Do you think that a blue collar worker cares if you have "protected North Carolinians since 1975," or would a message like "fighting the system for you" resonate more? The first is chest-thumping, the second is more relevant.

A campaign we once did for Verbatim data storage products is a great "impactful" example. Everyone else in the industry was doing technical feature ads, but consumers told us they didn't care how the products were made, they wanted to know their data was safe. We took that relevant message and brought it to life. A comet streaks toward earth and a cartoon bubble from the planet says, "We may not live but at least the data will survive. Verbatim. Your best defense against data loss." Sales leads increased by more than 300 percent. Impactful? I think so.

Original is hard. How many times have you seen lame creative that steals from the successful "Got Milk?" creative? That doesn't mean you can't use things from popular culture in an original way. In a branding campaign I worked on for First Federal of Charleston, we took the Hal computer imagery from the movie "2001," turned it into an ATM, and let it be a surrogate for the big, impersonal banks.

Truth, however, is the most important element. What if you had an ad that said: "Remember when a small business had access to the bank president; when you could talk with a loan officer who understood your business and when the bank would actually send a courier to pick up your deposit? No? We don't either that's why..." Now, would you believe that ad from Bank of America? I don't think so. But from my client, the start-up Bank of Commerce, it is true and believable.

There you have it. Now, what's keeping you from starting a creative RIOT?

Harry Hoover is managing principal of Hoover ink PR. He has 26 years of experience in crafting and delivering bottom line messages that ensure success for serious businesses like Brent Dees Financial Planning, Levolor, New World Mortgage, North Carolina Tourism, TeamHeidi, Ty Boyd Executive Learning Systems, VELUX, Verbatim and Youth Link USA.

In The News:
table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://blogs.ft.com/management/2008/10/10/podcast-kellogg-on-analysis-paralysis-in-marketing/cid=1256121249ei=DDzwSPizJaCQ6AO2qMGiAwusg=AFQjCNF5ldDT3SRrhcP-J7YmDx6xg8pU2QPodcast: Kellogg on “analysis paralysis” in bmarketing/b/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fFinancial Times,nbsp;UKnbsp;-/font nobr11 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1Now, thanks to the internet and other advances, the opposite is true: many bmarketing/b departments have access to so many facts and figures that “analysis b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table
table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D93NR8O83.htmcid=1256209672ei=DDzwSPizJaCQ6AO2qMGiAwusg=AFQjCNFdv2GzWXHETFxUSw1XQiOtG9tOIwWachovia settles bmarketing/b case for $163 million/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fBusinessWeeknbsp;-/font nobr9 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1Wachovia Corp., completing a previously announced settlement, will pay an estimated $163 million to settle federal allegations that it failed to stop b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table
table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd width=80 align=center valign=topfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifa href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1131ap_mccain_angry_crowds.htmlcid=1254438696ei=DDzwSPizJaCQ6AO2qMGiAwusg=AFQjCNGl-mIqKiaqMu3COjQNSCEEEF7tJQimg src=http://news.google.com/news?imgefp=wSTW2VDvqmgJimgurl=seattlepi.nwsource.com/dayart/aponline/54941.22McCain-2008.sff.jpg width=80 height=58 alt= border=1brfont size=-2Seattle Post Intelligencer/font/a/font/tdtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.straightupsearch.com/archives/2008/10/obama_uses_sear.htmlcid=1254438696ei=DDzwSPizJaCQ6AO2qMGiAwusg=AFQjCNFS3FfnDNVyce5t4gMw2V1h_QVxwQObama Uses Search Engine bMarketing/b for Reputation Management/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fStraightUpSearch,nbsp;MInbsp;-/font nobr12 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1I am just making an observation, and giving credit where it is due for the creation of a well thought out and well managed search bmarketing/b campaign. b.../b/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DEgKYQD-siqEcid=1254438696ei=DDzwSPizJaCQ6AO2qMGiAwusg=AFQjCNHAA5OKnifMiK7-aYZbaaFMImEORQVideo: McCain Links Obama To Ayers/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrCBS/nobr/fontobject width=448 height=356param name=movie value=http://www.youtube.com/v/EgKYQD-siqE/paramparam name=wmode value=transparent/paramembed src=http://www.youtube.com/v/EgKYQD-siqEtype=application/x-shockwave-flashwmode=transparentwidth=448height=356/embed/objectbr/fontfont size=-1a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5jIU4tDVoytG2Xt6P0Q5KCns6GcuAcid=1254438696ei=DDzwSPizJaCQ6AO2qMGiAwusg=AFQjCNGiNYNuOZZwMOcFA4HEbknSci3kHAObama rebukes McCain for divisive politics/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrAFP/nobr/font/fontbrfont class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclientie=ISO-8859-1rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-22,GGLG:enncl=1254438696hl=ennobrall 6,364 news articles/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table
table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd width=80 align=center valign=topfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifa href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.wnct.com/nct/news/science/article/hawaii_tourism_chief_resigns_in_e_mail_scandal/20686/cid=1255603110ei=DDzwSPizJaCQ6AO2qMGiAwusg=AFQjCNFPLRoPwT6mG2mpCWHKPGvtYu4UjQimg src=http://news.google.com/news?imgefp=KINQ2GXz0nIJimgurl=media.wnct.com/wnct/img-story/images/uploads/Email_AP.jpg width=80 height=60 alt= border=1brfont size=-2WNCT/font/a/font/tdtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.bizjournals.com/pacific/stories/2008/10/06/daily55.htmlcid=1255603110ei=DDzwSPizJaCQ6AO2qMGiAwusg=AFQjCNGWyNTwKacF07dqzpZYgWRUf4QH2gHawaii allocates $2 million more for tourism bmarketing/b/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fBizjournals.com,nbsp;NCnbsp;-/font nobrOct 9, 2008/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1That increases the HTA’s fiscal 2009 budget for bmarketing/b to $55.5 million. The $2 million will be reallocated from other, as yet unspecified, HTA funds. b.../b/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.starbulletin.com/business/20081010_HTA_approves_2M_in_marketing_funds.htmlcid=1255603110ei=DDzwSPizJaCQ6AO2qMGiAwusg=AFQjCNFQYCLp79yxMw_RzjgqvTd9Bz6f5wHTA approves $2M in bmarketing/b funds/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrHonolulu Star-Bulletin/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.khon2.com/home/ticker/30729849.htmlcid=1255603110ei=DDzwSPizJaCQ6AO2qMGiAwusg=AFQjCNGXE-uR3iMEiyHex1n8Vab89VlnZwHTA Names Interim Leader/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrKHON2/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.bizjournals.com/pacific/stories/2008/10/06/daily52.htmlcid=1255603110ei=DDzwSPizJaCQ6AO2qMGiAwusg=AFQjCNHk8SaNgP8YOGeFV8yGluox9Pt1BQHawaii Tourism Authority names interim chief executive/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrBizjournals.com/nobr/font/fontbrfont class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclientie=ISO-8859-1rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-22,GGLG:enncl=1255603110hl=ennobrall 212 news articles/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table
table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://business.smh.com.au/business/tough-times-call-for-aggressive-marketing-20081010-4yg3.htmlcid=1256110199ei=DDzwSPizJaCQ6AO2qMGiAwusg=AFQjCNEVY3xhr81Z78EaAPmmchd1Hu-30gTough times call for aggressive bmarketing/b/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fSydney Morning Herald,nbsp;Australianbsp;-/font nobr15 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1bMarketing/b goals need to be specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and timely. Changing economic circumstances call for goals to be re-evaluated to b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table
table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/story/127819cid=1256238593ei=DDzwSPizJaCQ6AO2qMGiAwusg=AFQjCNFuNQFYIY8sqRwlahMX7Dd5dlYnvwTempe sales and bmarketing/b company hiring 230/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fEast Valley Tribune,nbsp;AZnbsp;-/font nobr7 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1Direct Alliance, an outsourcing provider of sales and bmarketing/b for companies, plans to add 230 new employees to its current 700-member workforce at its b.../b/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://ktar.com/%3Fnid%3D6%26sid%3D972361cid=1256238593ei=DDzwSPizJaCQ6AO2qMGiAwusg=AFQjCNHr41T_Y2BlMVBOlo5NffKfaHiKgQTempe business adding 230 new jobs/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrKTAR.com/nobr/font/fontbrfont class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclientie=ISO-8859-1rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-22,GGLG:enncl=1256238593hl=ennobrall 2 news articles/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table
table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.thestreet.com/story/10441505/1/the-marketing-guide-to-understanding-men.html%3Fpuc%3Dgooglen%26cm_ven%3DGOOGLEN%26cm_cat%3DFREE%26cm_ite%3DNAcid=0ei=DDzwSPizJaCQ6AO2qMGiAwusg=AFQjCNEaPTUOZuGLqL_Yjwy2_EHJf3PUFQThe bMarketing/b Guide to Understanding Men/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fTheStreet.comnbsp;-/font nobr13 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1b.../b including quot;Guerrilla bMarketing/b on the Front Lines: 35 World-Class Strategies to Send Your Profits Soaringquot; (Morgan James Publishing). b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table
table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd width=80 align=center valign=topfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifa href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.healthnewsdigest.com/news/FDA_Approval_240/FDA_Licenses_for_Marketing_New_Therapy_for_Rare_Genetic_Disease.shtmlcid=1256232470ei=DDzwSPizJaCQ6AO2qMGiAwusg=AFQjCNEZQU2wLfqPCVNFVtx1Lps8gf14ngimg src=http://news.google.com/news?imgefp=mTxINna0zvwJimgurl=www.healthnewsdigest.com/artman/uploads/1/fda_mast_3_136.jpg width=80 height=54 alt= border=1brfont size=-2HealthNewsDigest.com/font/a/font/tdtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.healthnewsdigest.com/news/FDA_Approval_240/FDA_Licenses_for_Marketing_New_Therapy_for_Rare_Genetic_Disease.shtmlcid=1256232470ei=DDzwSPizJaCQ6AO2qMGiAwusg=AFQjCNEZQU2wLfqPCVNFVtx1Lps8gf14ngFDA Licenses for bMarketing/b New Therapy for Rare Genetic Disease/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fHealthNewsDigest.com,nbsp;NYnbsp;-/font nobr8 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1By The Food and Drug Administration (HealthNewsDigest.com) The Food and Drug Administration today licensed for bmarketing/b the first product in the United b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table
table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/smartcard-marketing-systems-inc-pinksheets/story.aspx%3Fguid%3D%257BA3220162-4108-40EF-8608-021AFB70E503%257D%26dist%3Dhpprcid=1256121265ei=DDzwSPizJaCQ6AO2qMGiAwusg=AFQjCNG2J2rdNlgt_eAR5gVapcjixMbn_gSmartCard bMarketing/b Systems Inc. (PINKSHEETS: SMKG) Velocitymoney b.../b/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fMarketWatchnbsp;-/font nobr14 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS, Oct 10, 2008 (MARKET WIRE via COMTEX) -- SmartCard bMarketing/b Systems Inc.(PINKSHEETS: SMKG) CEO Massimo Barone Stated quot;We are b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table
table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd width=80 align=center valign=topfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifa href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.themedguru.com/articles/labcorp_s_ovarian_cancer_test_illegal_fda-86113675.htmlcid=1255575432ei=DDzwSPizJaCQ6AO2qMGiAwusg=AFQjCNETCHA6zW2W-EwfPR8I_r1x6EKdVwimg src=http://news.google.com/news?imgefp=qjocz6I819AJimgurl=www.themedguru.com/files/ovarian%2520pic.jpg width=80 height=80 alt= border=1brfont size=-2TheMedGuru/font/a/font/tdtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.bizjournals.com/triangle/stories/2008/10/06/daily39.htmlcid=1255575432ei=DDzwSPizJaCQ6AO2qMGiAwusg=AFQjCNHTYI7qth-2bXy2DMBEykvemLU9gQFDA: LabCorp’s bmarketing/b of ovarian-cancer test violates law/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fBizjournals.com,nbsp;NCnbsp;-/font nobrOct 9, 2008/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1“Because you do not have bmarketing/b clearance or approval from the FDA, bmarketing/b OvaSure is in violation of the law,” the letter states. b.../b/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.chattershmatter.com/2008/10/09/fda-says-labcorp-is-illegally-marketing-their-ovarian-cancer-test/cid=1255575432ei=DDzwSPizJaCQ6AO2qMGiAwusg=AFQjCNGBEtltr58pESW3XxZGbyk8xU1vAQFDA Says LabCorp Is Illegally bMarketing/b Their Ovarian Cancer Test/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrChatter Shmatter/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://chattahbox.com/health/2008/10/09/fda-says-labcorp-is-illegally-marketing-ovarian-cancer-test/cid=1255575432ei=DDzwSPizJaCQ6AO2qMGiAwusg=AFQjCNGr1O1GANw8-yewD3cC-RrivK9trAFDA Says LabCorp Is Illegally bMarketing/b Ovarian Cancer Test/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrChattahBox/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.topnews.in/fda-cancer-test-failed-get-its-approval-274819cid=1255575432ei=DDzwSPizJaCQ6AO2qMGiAwusg=AFQjCNEFlEOjMieJrqXpkEHrQQLG8rpyagFDA - Cancer Test Failed to Get Its Approval/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrTopNews/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1 class=pa href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.efluxmedia.com/news_FDA_Warns_LabCorp_Over_Illegal_Sales_Of_Ovarian_Cancer_Test_26167.htmlcid=1255575432ei=DDzwSPizJaCQ6AO2qMGiAwusg=AFQjCNHOOUmOgtnwr2cfTf3taPkH8qLcCwnobreFluxMedia/nobr/anbsp;- a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/124818.phpcid=1255575432ei=DDzwSPizJaCQ6AO2qMGiAwusg=AFQjCNEkHtw4m2w9MaQ2goSagv2Z7mlCLgnobrMedical News Today/nobr/a/fontbr/font class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclientie=ISO-8859-1rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-22,GGLG:enncl=1255575432hl=ennobrall 76 news articles/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table
marketing - Google News

4 Steps To Increase Your Job Sign Marketing

It's no secret that using a job site sign can... Read More

CRM: Strategic Engine or Just Another Tool?

CRM?strategic engine or just another technology tool? How would you... Read More

A Creative RIOT

Relevant, original and impactful: that's what my friend Creative Director... Read More

Private Practice Marketing: A Soaking Wet Marketing Marvel

Last week I took our two boys on an all... Read More

How to Turn More Referrals Into Paying Clients

60% of all small business owners, sales and solo-professionals claim... Read More

Free Publicity for Restaurants

One of the best ways to get a restaurant free... Read More

Client or Customer? There Really Is A Difference

Some people use the words "client" and "customer" interchangeably or... Read More

Marketing Lessons From Apples iPod

Apple Computer just announced that their earnings from the last... Read More

Marketing: Are You Focused?

In early 1992, President George H.W. Bush was riding high.... Read More

So You Want To Cut The Crap And Get Into The Money?

So, youve been around for a while, and maybe even... Read More

Using Demographic Data For Your Direct Mail Marketing Campaign

Targeting high potential markets with a direct mail marketing campaign... Read More

Target Marketing: The Bell Curve

Finally, Something You Learned In Math Class Makes Sense In... Read More

Full Color Postcard Marketing: 7 Reasons Why They?ve Become the New Direct Mail

The most crucial aspect of having a high response rate... Read More

A Guide to Brochure Printing

Brochure printing can be easy if you first identify your... Read More

Getting More From Your Customer

We are all customers of one product or another. How... Read More

First to Market Theory

AGE OLD QUESTIONBusiness scholars throughout the planet keep asking the... Read More

The Testimonial Writing Machine

Almost every small business marketer knows that they should gather... Read More

8 Secrets to Marketing Success

The profits of a business are totally dependent on marketing.... Read More

Meaning and Marketing - The Hurricane

I step outside my back door and look at some... Read More

Matrix Web Sites - Scam or NOT?

While I am not talking about the movie "Matrix", you... Read More

Take the Logo Litmus Test

Here is your C.I.T.T. (pronounced "kit")[Color ? Illustrate? Type ?... Read More

Free and Easy School Fundraisers | Elementary and High School Fund Raising Ideas

Parents are always looking for free and easy ways to... Read More

The Power of Thank You

Sometimes we loose site of the small things in life... Read More

The Value of a Customer

The Driver of All Marketing EffortsYou need to determine what... Read More

How To Get New Business

Market, Market and then market some more. So many small... Read More