Tag: Duane Jones
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Repeating Dewey’s mistake
Duane Jones was frustrated when his ad agency was hired by the Dewey campaign in 1948. He was assigned to run national radio advertising for RNC. Jones understood the Electoral College and wanted to concentrate his firepower on the six swing states. The RNC insisted on spending money equally across all states. They also understood…
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The fad of messaging
I see a resurgence of the idiotic Messaging theme again in politics and science and “journalism”. First, it’s fake. Evildoers issue these pleas for better advertising on occasion, then don’t change their actual advertising. They continue insulting and mocking and deriding the lowly peasants. Second, even if they meant it, it wouldn’t work. When conditions…
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Sales and service
Philco was an interesting company, showing an attitude that no longer exists in big business. They needed customers, not shareholders. Their slogan was Sell merchandise that doesn’t come back to customers who do come back. A newly added 1937 Philco catalog shows their attention to both sales and service. Philco made a full line of…
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Great proverb
Ran across a fine bit of advice. Don’t bring data to an emotion fight. Most online activists make this mistake. They delve miles and miles down endless caves of ever-multiplying details, with ever-fancier names. They think hammering the opponent with endless fancy names and long precise numbers and evidence will destroy the opponent’s argument. Nope.…
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Reprint on black upperclass
Linked in previous item about the black upperclass, worth a reprint. This shows that the current trend in business and politics and “journalism” isn’t brand new. = = = = = START 2017 REPRINT: As US businesses continue to INTENTIONALLY REJECT HALF OF THEIR CUSTOMERS, it’s worth remembering a time when the trend was reversed.…
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More basic sales rules
Speaking of physical vs virtual…. I randomly noticed a substack thread of Dem campaigners. They’re tired and discouraged because nobody will listen. They’re mainly worried that Trump will implement Project 2025 which is a world-ending apocalypse in their minds. Phone banks are simply useless, but door-to-door CAN bring results if you’re clearly offering something that…
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Basic rule of sales
I’m gradually spending more time at Quora and less at Substack. An elementary rule of business says that a display, whether it’s a store window or a magazine cover or a social media feed, should offer a variety of items. A variety gives each customer a chance to find something he likes in his current…
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Back to 2008
From a Duane Jones viewpoint politics is back to 2008. Before Biden was kicked out, both sides were running defective products. They had to rely on cult behavior to get any buyers at all. The first rule of honest business and honest politics is to start with a product that people feel they can use.…
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Another old rule breaks
Along with switching to the Euro campaign method, this sudden change also breaks another long-time “rule” of politics and corporations. For 40 years both monstrosities have been IGNORING the millions of human customers and SOLELY serving the dirty dozen billionaires. Basic rule of business AND government: If you want to make money from humans, you…
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Mong
Cute note seen on Substack. Five things you can mong: Cheese, war, fish, hate, iron Got me thinking about the root. Previously active suffixes tell a story. How did they lose their activeness? Etymonline says: = = = = = START QUOTE: Old English mangere “merchant, trader, broker,” agent noun from mangian “to traffic, trade,”…
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It’s all in the TEST DRIVE.
Listening as usual to the auto dealer training films at night. They always emphasize the crucial importance of the TEST DRIVE. Persuasion and advertising might bring the prospect into the office, but only the TEST DRIVE can sell him the car. Duane Jones made the same point for soap and food products. SAMPLE the product…
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Makes more sense
Today I learned! On Quora a car dealer tells a story about a Karen who got violent and got a day in jail. He finished with “The customer isn’t always right!” Several commenters clarified that the original saying was, In matters of taste the customer is always right. That makes a LOT more sense than…
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Metaupflation
Bloomberg does a good job with brief Features describing an interesting trend in business. Here they discuss upflation, which is a new name for a VERY OLD tradition. Packaged grocery items, in the ad or on the package, suggest new ways to use the biscuit mix or soup or tomatoes or scouring powder. These suggestions…
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