Why NFC is the Next Big Thing

Get set for yet another marketing revolution.


NFC will change the way customers discover your content.


NFC (the acronym for "Near Field Communication") is a form of short-range wireless that bridges the gap between the real and virtual worlds.


The technology allows anyone with an NFC-ready mobile phone or tablet to access your content by touching the device to a comparable one—or to a "smart poster."


Thanks to the manufacturers, nearly one-third of new phones are NFC-ready right now. Three years hence, all will be.


With NFC, customers will be able to touch your sales reps' and ambassadors' phones and instantly download anything you now deliver on line. Videos. PowerPoint slides. Spec sheets. White papers. Price lists. Discount coupons. You name it.


Sales rep not around? No worries. Customers can do the same thing by touching one of your smart posters.


But wait, there's more.  


Provided the nearest cash register is NFC-ready, your customers will be able to pay for your products with a touch of their phones.


The marketing revolution NFC will usher in isn't pie in the sky.


It's underway as we speak.


That's the reason CNN has labeled 2012 "the year of NFC."


Take time today to get smart about NFC, if you want to stay ahead.


Disclaimer: I'm the marketing director for ITN International, which provides NFC apps and solutions to event producers worldwide.

A Writer to Remember

Walter Lord was a copywriter at J. Walter Thompson when he started to write A Night to Remember, a slim 200-page book he'd publish in 1955.


Moment-by-moment, A Night to Remember recounts the courage and craziness of the crew and passengers aboard Titanic.


I remember devouring Lord's book when I was 10.


Hundreds of thousands of other readers do, too.

From the opening sentence, the book gallops through the three-hour horror.

Imagine if Spielberg, not Cameron, had made the 1997 film, and you get a feel for A Night to Remember.

Lord's 2002 obituary in The New York Times cited one reviewer's take on the writer's technique. He called it, "a kind of literary pointillism" so fashioned "that a vividly real impression of an event is conveyed to the reader."

The success of A Night to Remember—rave reviews, on the best-seller lists for months, a Book-of-the-Month Club selection, and TV and film adaptations—allowed Lord to quit his copywriter's job for full-time authoring.

He used the same "you are there" technique to retell stories like the attack on Pearl Harbor, the battle at the Alamo, and the integration of Ole Miss.

But none of those books quite compare to his first blockbuster.

HISTORY BUFFS' NOTE: Next month marks the 100th anniversary of the sinking of Titanic.

Officially Awesome

I am delighted to announce that I am now officially awesome.


I have attended South by Southwest.


Not since my days in the Cub Scouts have I tried so hard to earn a badge.


"South by" is, without doubt, among the rockingest events you could ask for.


Lots of people have tried to describe it, with limited success.


Now I understand why.


During my visit, I had the privilege of participating in a closed-door meeting with South by Southwest's executive director, Mike Shea.


Shea described South by Southwest as "dozens of micro events under one tent," plus dozens of micro events "outside the tent."


And not only are there dozens of out-boarding events, there's a swelling crowd of attendees refusing to pay the registration fee.


This so-called "Badgeless Movement" thinks of itself as anarchist. But in my book it's really just a collection of cheapskates.


I feel a bit sorry for them.  


Yes, they may be awesome.  


But they're not officially awesome.

A Tagline is a Terrible Thing to Waste

Because they have to work in many ways, good taglines are hard to write, says Branding Strategy Insider.

But a tagline is a terrible thing to waste.

A tagline must not only convey your brand's unique value, but must do so credibly, memorably and tersely, Insider says.

The most common mistakes marketers make with taglines are:

• Claiming something trite (for example, "excellence")
• Saying something catchy, but without meaning
• Communicating only the brand's product category
• Touting a benefit any brand in the category must deliver
• Making promises indistinguishable from competitors'
• Using too many words

Insider cites these examples of crummy taglines:

We’re glad you’re here (City of Chicago)
We get you there (Delta Airlines)
A good place to sit and eat (Denny's)

And some good ones?  Insider cites:

Don’t leave home without it (American Express)
A diamond is forever (DeBeers)
A mind is a terrible thing to waste (United Negro College Fund)

What's your favorite tagline?

Does Opening Your Mouth Put You behind the Eightball?

If you can't sum up your idea in eight words, you'll find yourself behind the eightball, says executive speaking coach Allison Shapira.

Writing in The Boston Globe, Shapira recounts a conversation she had with a venture capitalist.

The VC told her he cuts business people who want his attention no slack.

“Within the first eight words, I’ve decided whether or not to keep listening,” the VC said.

If the individual's "core innovation" isn't stated in her first eight words, "it’s probably not there."

The VC's take-no-prisoners rule-of-thumb points to the need for good opening lines, Shapira says.

But how do you develop one?

First, Shapira suggests, decide what you want your discussion to accomplish.  What do you want your listeners to know or do?

Next, brainstorm possible opening lines.  A good opener is simple, unusual, concrete, emotional or storylike.

Last, but not least, write down the products of your brainstorming and put the list aside for a few days, so you can consider it at liesure.

"Good openers are part preparation and part inspiration, and you need time for both," Shapira says.