“Sam has the uncanny knack for capturing the essence of the communicated word in a way that’s global in its thinking, no-nonsense in its approach and laser-like in its focus.” – John Cavanaugh, President, Burke Communications
“Sam’s ability to take a complex subject, or a simple topic, and craft a strong, interesting, easy-to-read – and grammatically perfect – piece is not only amazing but, more importantly, it’s consistent.” – Steve Hammack, Director – Corporate Communications, Qwest, Inc.
Over the past 20+ years I’ve written more things for more employers and clients than I can readily recall – ad copy (for print and broadcast), press releases, internal communications, feature stories, business reports, marketing plans, sales collateral and proposals, interactive training scripts, SMS entertainment, and the list goes on.
Whether the task is to make the complex simple, to infuse pedestrian subjects with some verve or to provide readers with the insight they need to make better decisions as employees or consumers, success has always been a function of understanding the audience deeply and finding the vocabulary and tone required to organically align their concerns with the client’s defined business goals. This isn’t always easy, but it is always essential if a campaign is to meet and exceed its objectives.
So, below are some examples of my work. Hopefully they’ll suggest ways I might be able to help you meet and exceed your own goals.
Custom Home Pubs (Advertising): The goal here was to embed the product in a clearly defined lifestyle, placing the customer at the center of a vibrant community experience. The client was extremely happy and business is doing quite well. (Download PDF)
Wake Forest Babcock Graduate School of Management (Takeaway Collateral): In 2006 WFU’s graduate business school launched a new program, the one-year MA in Management, targeted at graduating seniors who wanted a better business grounding but who weren’t interested in the MBA. Copy for the program’s collateral had to speak directly and persuasively to the concerns of the Millennial audience, emphasizing the challenges they faced and providing a clearly defined solution. (Download PDF)
NCFI Polyurethanes (Corporate Brochure): NCFI came to us in need of a full suite of advertising, marketing and PR services, and one of the first steps was an overhaul of their corporate identity. The corporate brochure needed to define the company in terms of the many benefits it afforded its customers and its long heritage of community-friendly operations. (Download PDF)
NCFI Polyurethanes (Case Study): NCFI has a simply fantastic suite of products, but since not everyone in the market is familiar with Spray Polyurethane Foam insulation it’s important to tell some success stories in a way that both persuades and informs. (Download PDF)
NCFI Polyurethanes (TV): We also developed some television ideas for NCFI. Here are three script concepts we proposed. (Download)
Telecom Act Special Report (Internal Communications): In 1999, implementation of the Telecom Act of 1996 wasn’t going as Congress had planned, and this was creating tremendous frustration for the former Bell operating companies. Employees of these companies were often confused as to why their employers were taking such a beating – in the marketplace, in regulatory environments and in the press. In this series, I tell the BellCo’s story in a way that attempts to make the complex more accessible for those who weren’t sure what exactly was going on with their company and the volatile communications sector. (Download PDF)
Burke Communications (Web): I’ve really enjoyed working with Burke and its clients over the past couple of years, and was especially pleased when they asked me to handle the copy for their site relaunch. The task: align the firm’s strategic capabilities, tactical excellence and an unrelenting commitment to client service with their clients’ perceptions of their brands and their own business potential. (View site)
RazzberrySync, Inc. (Web): There aren’t many harder things to do than write effectively for your own business. You know too much for your own good and want to say everything, and that’s usually a bad idea. So it was a particular challenge trying to strike the right tone with this, the site for the mobile content and consulting partnership I’ve been involved in for two years now. We managed to become profitable in our first full year of operations, so maybe that means our marketing approach is doing something right. (Visit site)
RazzberrySync, Inc. (Collateral): As you’d imagine, we also developed a lot of handouts for potential clients. In a world where SMS content is usually treated as a commodity and the actual quality of work is an afterthought, we wanted to make clear why we’re different from other providers. (Download PDF)
Regional Bank Client (Public Relations): Most press releases that hit a reporter’s desk quickly hit the trash can (or the reporter hits the delete key, depending on the medium of delivery). The reason is that too many PR writers, agencies and clients fail to understand what makes a story interesting and relevant for the publication. Short version: the story can’t be about you, it has to be about their readers. Here we had a client with a really good program, and the key to telling the story was to focus on the customer as much as possible. Note how far in you are before you even encounter the name of the company – trust me, reporters and editors notice these things. (Download PDF)
ATG (Vertical Marketing Collateral): In 2004 ATG, Inc. undertook a significant overhaul of their Web site and associated marketing materials. Recent developments in several key target markets, along with significant enhancements in their product and service offerings, meant that they new and engaging stories to tell potential customers in the retail, telecom and government sectors. We had a lot of information to pack into a relatively small space, so we had to make sure the details and benefits were presented with a reader-friendly fluidity. (Download PDF)
SSI Schaefer (Direct Mailer): When you’re sending people direct mail, you have to get their attention immediately. A big part of that has to do with the visuals, and in this campaign I had the good fortune to be working with the design team at Burke Communications. So I was going to have the customer focused for a second or two – now we needed to sell the giveaway and insinuate the value proposition. Quickly. (Download PDF)
At Black Dog, we help our clients better understand themselves and their audiences (both internal and external). Then, using every tool in the kit, we help them communicate their value to those audiences in ways that are transparent and intuitively compelling.
