Take A Number


Virgil Winston:
Marketing Guru

My grandmother had a saying, “Poetry in advertising is as dead as a cockroach at a square dance.” She certainly had a way with words, not a fluid or flowery way, but she got her point across. What she meant was, symbolism and metaphors are not the best way to convey your marketing message. To truly make an impact, you need to simplify. Which is partly why, as much as she liked words, Grandma had a real love affair with numbers. Words can be twisted and convoluted but numbers never lie. Two plus two is always four. Simple. As much as I am a fan of pithy phraseology, I appreciate Grandma’s point of view. Numbers are, quite simply, the universal language.

Are you in the numbers game? Remind your clients that when it comes to numbers, you are the go to guy or gal. Suduko is the latest craze in mind games and this electronic version comes with five difficulty levels with more than 10,000 number puzzles per level. It also includes a game editor function that allows you to create new puzzles for endless enjoyment. For those folks who cannot resist writing down a word or two, the imprintable storage case contains a notepad and pen. Even if your business isn’t about crunching numbers, this game is so addictive that your clients won’t be able to put it, or your name, down. Which makes it the perfect way to say “Happy New Year” to your clients and gives you your very first tax write off of 2007. Grandma would say that’s a pretty smart way to start off the year and since her other favorite phrase was, “you can’t win an argument with a corpse,” I’m inclined to agree.

Well, I’m off to the Detroit Auto Show where I’m taking several super top-secret meetings with auto executives from around the world. Naturally I’m taking along Electronic Suduko Games with my name imprinted on the cover as gifts to remember me by because as my daughter likes to say, “keychains” are so last year.”