Case Studies

The Need for Strong Interdisciplinary Branding Teams & Copy That Zips, Zings & Sells

A small agency landed a new account in the HR consulting arena and was charged with the simultaneous development of a web site, a trade campaign and a capabilities brochure…all with looming deadlines.  Scott Silverman’s skills were sought both to help create a dynamic B2B strategy and to lead the concepting and copywriting for all materials.  While many address their B2B communications to businesses, Scott was quick to point out that “buildings” don’t make purchasing decisions, people do.  Only a novel campaign that spoke to personal, emotional interests would give this company the juice to stand out in a crowded marketplace. Unified by a shared vision, common objectives, and a mutuality of respect and interest, agencies and business-direct clients reap the benefits of working with a proven, bottom-line, brand-centric copywriter.

The measurable result:  the happy client, relishing its Category of One marketplace presence, and cognizant the investment was paying enormous near and long-term dividends, has remained with the agency these past three years, resulting in tens of thousands of dollars in new agency billings.

The takeaway:  the sooner you get to an effective, coordinated strategy, the more you will save.  Sound blueprints underpin sound business development efforts.

Accelerated Power Positioning Helps Shift Companies Into Hyper-drive

The timing was right in this emerging market to position a design shop not simply as ‘another creative resource’ but as THE source for authentic design – a clear distinction between design as a simple aesthetic exercise and a professional discipline that utilizes a principled approach to solving business problems and seizing opportunities on the competitive landscape.  Scott Silverman’s Category of One positioning formed the foundation for a new web site, a new tag line and a new business proposal.

The measurable result:  numerous new business wins, a launch pad for years of campaigns, and an unassailable leadership brand in the marketplace that will forever render design and this hot shop as synonymous in the hearts and minds of prospects.

The takeaway:  nothing is as (commercially, profitably) powerful than a (selling) idea whose time has come.

The Value of Unconventional Wisdom

A Vice President of a major multinational, a marketing powerhouse in her own right, aware of Scott Silverman’s reputation as the copywriter’s copywriter, sought his assistance in the development of her own entrepreneurial endeavor, one she had engineered to meet the unique needs of a niche market.  When working with small companies and emerging businesses, Scott encourages people to see their personal strengths as brand assets awaiting leverage, in the same way larger companies would look at other product lines or large cash reserves.  In this case, through focused inquiry and debate, they began to see how niche positioning would actually be more limiting than it would be beneficial. The same talents and skills which were so evident in the principal’s successful background could be positioned for larger contracts sooner than was expected, all while actually reinforcing the sale to the niche group.  Additionally, a tag line was developed that not only highlighted her uniqueness but also resonated with a target-base deeply cynical about the value of consultants.

The measurable result:  years saved and tens of thousands in near-term revenues booked.

The takeaway:  conventional wisdom’s good.  Unconventional thinking gets you ahead, further and faster.  Rules and guidelines may be good, but most of us need an objective supporter to help us wade through the endless details and prioritize competing truths.  Every business is unique, thus requiring someone who can rapidly immerse himself into the complexities of your model and circumstances and one who is equally adept with business strategy as he is with copywriting and managing the creative communications process.  Having a Brand Plan in place or a Brand Advisor on call enables you to direct your initiatives and channel your energies in the directions most likely to accomplish your dual (but not dueling!) objectives:  to grow revenues while simultaneously building the brand.  In the realm of business, that’s not just an important thing.  It is the one and only thing.  Silverman calls this “optimizing the brand at the retail level,” an expression he’s lobbying to replace the clunky and ferrous “Y pluribus unum.”

Emotional Branding Yields Tears of Joy

While freelancing under the tutelage of copywriting legend Bruce Broder, AT&T needed a new campaign for it’s college-marketed UniversalCard.  To differentiate and add value to the card, the client’s team had already packed the product with great features and benefits.  After looking at what everybody else was claiming, Scott saw an opportunity to transform the manner in which the Big Company was communicating with cash-strapped, marketing-jaded youths.  A campaign was developed that actually relegated all of these benefits to backseat, supporting roles, and sought instead to capitalize on the available emotional space.

The measurable result:  a too-good-to-be-true 40% increase in sales and an industry benchmark for positioning brands not solely on rounds of self-discovery but on opportunities for emotional resonance with targets.

The takeaway:  laundry lists and me-centric claims of things like “first in service leadership” are clichéd, passé and other French things.  Save yourself tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars in marketplace time and marketing expenditures by first figuring out how to emotionally resonate with prospects and current customers.  Opportunities are everywhere; to know what may be possible for you, set a course for unencumbered creative exploration.

Brand-mapping As A Proactive Tool, A “Possibility Preserver” and A Hedge Against Time Spent Running In The Wrong Direction

Emerging Hollywood talent, a pair of nationally recognized experts in their industry, was eager to develop a new web site.  Upon closer examination, Scott Silverman explained how their business model revealed several vertical markets, each with their own communication needs and relative importance to the business.  While most marketers, transactional by nature, readily accept checks for assignments as stated, Scott pointed out that their long-term interests would be better served with a brand that took their business needs into greater account.  After a few input sessions, a Master Brand was developed, a distillation Scott calls the “absolute brand value” strong enough to support the needs of all of their various initiatives and markets, not just for today but for many of tomorrow’s unknowns, as well. 

The measurable result:  not just a rave-winning web site, but a platform upon which to further develop all potential income streams.

The takeaway:  branding may have been born of Marketing, its experiential virtues extolled and exploited by Design, but brand strategy offers businesses a value far and away exceeding all of that.  It serves as a powerful operations roadmap and a sorely needed compass/measurement tool, as well.  In the right hands, it is developed perfectly in-synch with your budget and business development goals.

An ability to link creative strategy and execution with business development goals. A multitude of voices. No hand-holding required. A track record of getting it right the first time. These constitute four of the key reasons why agencies, design shops and businesses turn to brand-centric copywriter Scott Silverman. Expert brochure copywriting, case study copywriting, print copywriting, broadcast copywriting and SEO web site copywriting is only a phone call away. Of course, if you have a need for brand strategy and marketing consulting, we do that, too. Exceedingly, tell-your-mom-about-it well.

This next part here is designed to make sure your brand consultant search and local copywriter search or local marketing expert search yields the kind of results most want. On the West Coast, Scott Silverman’s Articulated Brands offers Los Angeles copywriting and brand strategy consulting, Santa Monica copywriting and brand strategy consulting, as well as Orange County copywriting, San Francisco copywriting and brand strategy consulting. Courtesy of his extensive marketing experience and the web, he’s now your first choice in Las Vegas copywriters, Phoenix copywriters, Dallas copywriters and Houston copywriters. In the Midwest, Scott Silverman is available to serve as a Detroit copywriter, an Ann Arbor copywriter, a Chicago copywriter, a Madison copywriter, a Milwaukee copywriter, a Toledo copywriter and an Akron copywriter. In the East, he’s listed among the best New York copywriters, Boston Copywriters, Pittsburgh copywriters, Baltimore copywriters and D.C. copywriters. Of course, his demonstrated ability to offer concepts and copy on call also make him a Miami copywriter, an Atlanta copywriter, a Raleigh copywriter, a Denver copywriter, a Boulder copywriter, a Tulsa copywriter and, for that matter, an Anytown copywriter and brand strategy consultant. Scott Silverman’s Articulated Brands also fields international requests for London copywriters, Sydney copywriters and Toronto copywriters.