Virgil Winston:Marketing Guru
As a life long word aficionado, I was ebullient when I discovered that Dr. Goodword of AlphaDicitonary.com fame, had published a list of the 100 most beautiful words (sound and meaning) in the English language. I agreed with many of his picks and even used a few of them in this blog as a way of paying homage to his greatness, but as is often the case, there were a few choice words I found questionable. For example, I love the word missive (a message or a story), but for the life of me cannot understand his reasons for including pelagic (related to the sea or ocean), which is neither felicitous in meaning or in sound. It reminds me of the noise my childhood cat made when hacking up a particularly stubborn fur ball. I was also dismayed that he left out the word festoon (to decorate with a string of flowers), because not only is it fun to say, but it is unquestionably lovely when actualized. I also adore the word conundrum (a difficult problem), which is such a beautiful word; it has a wine named after it.
I could go on but to do so would be jejune, so I won’t. It’s enough that you know that I could, yet chose not to. The point is, the list started me thinking about the power of words to inform, infuse and infect the imagination. A word can change a mind, a life or a brand. Which brings me to today’s simple, yet carefully considered, marketing lesson: Choose your words carefully, especially if you plan to imprint them on a promotional item to give to your most important clients. I adumbrate you to spare the rod and spoil the picture by choosing a gift like the Bamboo Digital Photo Frame, which has ample room for your logo or message and can display numerous pictures at the same time. Since each picture is worth 1000 words, you (and your clients) will get the best of both worlds.
I am off to cash in my chips—Las Vegas was good to me this time. Until next time, remember, “Every customer appreciates a lagniappe,” so be generous and don’t forget to “put your name on it.”