When Angry Birds Won’t Do

My editor and marketing chick (minion of Satan)(Goddess of Light) says every blog doesn’t need to be deep and cause birth pains, that I should just write. I took that to mean it shouldn’t pain me. You, she wasn’t as concerned about.

Words. They are at least 7% of how we communicate with each other, if you believe, as I do, that the other 93% is tone, visual, context, etc. Words are the sword, the weapon. A large part of the other 93% is the skill and nuance of using those weapons. And, weaponry makes advances.

• Genderalization: Generalizing regarding the attributes of a gender. Saying men can’t tell the difference between teal and green is a genderalization.
• Futilitarian: Believing that human hopes are vain and unjustified. “Hoping someone will put the dishes into the dishwasher is futilitarian.”
• Whobody: Like “anybody,” but a question. “Whobody there?” (Meaning “Anybody I’d consider a ‘who to know’ at the party?”)
• HTML:  To get ready to post on the web. “Can you HTML it?”
• Logorrhea: Incoherent, repetitious speech.
• Cluttertail: The detritus left behind as a 16-year-old boy moves through any habitat, typically consisting of dirty socks, iPods, chewing gum wrappers, and the disassembled parts of ink pens.

At least two of these words are solid (which means “real”). What words would you like to share?

PS: My English major sister-in-law itches as I make up words. She writhes in pain as the language shifts beneath her Scrabble board. She whacks teenagers on the street when she suspects they are texting LOL or using “u” for “you.” This likely won’t be her favorite blog. No matter. I think she’s futilitarian.

Is Marketing an Honest Profession?

Today’s word of the day (dictionary.com, which I highly recommend) is “prink.”  So much to say…so little space.   

 prink \PRINGK\, transitive verb:

1. To dress up; to deck for show.

intransitive verb:
1. To dress or arrange oneself for show; to primp.

In business, we call it branding.  And, there’s nothing about it that says anything about accuracy or honesty. It’s primping. 

I know this kind of primping is necessary, but I look forward to the day when marketers take a stand and insist that what they are pushing does what they says it does. I look forward to the day when a marketer, because he or she is a marketer, holds his or her work to a higher standard. I look forward to the day when marketers are held to the same reasonable expectation of telling the truth, or for signing off on a report from subordinates, as CEOs and CFOs.

The movement toward brand has been stunningly well-articulated in the last 20 years. Now we know what a brand is and how to use it. We know, that in the absence of a viable product or service, we can still create a brand. If we’re all that sophisticated, isn’t it time our industry began to regulate itself, even informally, to protect our target audience? If we don’t, do we  run the risk of becoming as poorly thought of as, gasp, lawyers?

So now I am left wondering… is the legal profession, in spite of its poor public persona, more honest than marketers?  At least in law, everyone knows the rules: the lawyer works for the client, regardless of rightness or wrongness. In marketing, there is a lingering suspicion of potential honesty. What’s your opinion?

Fundraising Incentive Programs: How Many is Too Many Product Choices?

Oh, the controversy! For the last several weeks, Turnkey’s sister blog, Nonprofit Tools, has been tossing questions to the blogosphere about incentive program products found in fundraising events.

We launched this expedition because we know that when it comes to fundraiser gift programs, there are two distinct philosophies. (Read my Why a Nonprofit Incentive Program Debate? post for philosophy summary.)

The last question has launched, and it could be said to be our most controversial. We ask: Is it more effective to offer a fundraiser several gift choices, or a limited number of incentive products? We liken the comparison to offering the fundraiser a shopping expedition vs. the choice of only a few meaningful items.

For those folks like me who build programs for nonprofits every day, the answer to THIS question in many ways represents the program’s fundamental philosophy. Please let me know what you think. Enter a comment in the incentive product discussion and you are automatically entered to win a gift in our giveaway.

Share your opinion, visit Turnkey’s Nonprofit Tools site today. And thanks for your feedback!