Demand Creative Excellence
by Scott Waltz
A modest investment in delivering quality creative will separate your work from the also-rans and pay big dividends by improving response. Take a look at your direct- marketing efforts. Do they stand out? Does the work beg to be read? Is the concept single-minded and compelling? Does the content entertain and inform. Is the information personally relevant? Does it speak to the reader's interests, rather than your own? Have you taken some emotional approach (other than boredom)? Does the effort leverage some connection to a past action, interest, or correspondence? Does it cause you to smile, think, feel empowered, or act? If your creative isn't personally relevant and doesn't establish some emotional connection, it isn't working hard enough.