Disqus - Latest Comments for MarkWanczak

Re: Ad Aged: Hemingway changes my copy.

Mark Wanczak — Tue, 14 Jul 2015 08:08:31 -0000

George, I'd never thought I'd see some of my favorite dialog (The Killers) re-created to so aptly portray copywriting. Thanks for making my day.

Re: How…you… are you on Twitter?

Mark Wanczak — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 15:44:07 -0000

Hey Andy, was just browsing the site and saw this post and my tweet. I agree with Will, the Tweet Paste do-hicky is cool. Nice post and I appreciate the shout out.

Re: Is Gen Y Suffering from Too Little Failure?

Mark Wanczak — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 16:08:48 -0000

"But we also need to realize that attempting something great is worthy of respect, and falling short is proof that you fought."

This is the messaging Gen Y has been receiving for our whole lives. It's an extension of the ridiculous reasoning behind eliminating competitive sports from phys ed classes. In short, it's complete crap.

Falling short is not proof that you fought. It is proof you didn't fight hard enough. I don't hire someone to try. I hire someone to do the job. We've been receiving 'A's' for effort since preschool and it's resulted in an entitled, bratty attitude complex that has defined our generation.

I feel as though my generation is very polarized. On one hand, you have the spoiled group, who expects the world be given to them, who think trying is enough. On the other, you have the overly motivated and driven group who works exceedingly hard to distance themselves from group one.

Is group two too hard on themselves? Possibly. But it's far better than waiting for one of your 'tries' to pay off. Too much or too little failure isn't the issue. It's how that failure is interpreted.

Re: Laura tumbles on the interweb

Mark Wanczak — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 23:06:31 -0000

Thanks for linking to my post, much appreciated!

Re: The FTC vs Green Marketing– Who Will Win?

Mark Wanczak — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 10:44:34 -0000

Good point, Mark. Many LEED buildings also make it a point to educate visitors beyond what the plaque notes. You often see signage in the entrances or lobbies pointing out the systems and improvements used to obtain the certification. I'm a big fan of these public educational call-outs.

Re: Green is a Go on Twitter

Mark Wanczak — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 15:32:09 -0000

Vik and Rich, thanks for the comments. I, too, have Twitter to thank for connecting me with you guys and allowing me the opportunity to write for Konstructr. No doubt about its potential.

Re: Falling Down the LED Rabbit Hole

Mark Wanczak — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 09:34:28 -0000

James, great break down on LEDs. For more info on CFL mercury content and how it compares to fish and other items containing mercury, check out this link http://science.howstuffwork....

It's odd that such a big deal has been made against CFL's via the mercury hazard, yet many other everyday items contain it as well.

Re: Review This Ad: Old School Advertising

Mark Wanczak — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 15:13:37 -0000

Harrison,

Thanks for your comments. The wife test is a great idea! Sometimes those completely removed from an industry or product will see something we never would. The honest feedback, as you said, is always nice, too.

I agree that there's too much to tackle on the page. Whether or not we're progressing towards shorter attention spans seem to be a non-issue here, as any generation would not spend this much time on an ad that's competing with dozens of others for your time.

As you say, everyone feels they have the best product, and rightly so, but that doesn't mean a manufacturer needs to give every reason why it's the best product. If you can't determine a key advantage or two that make your product stands out, then it may not be the best product in the first place.

Re: Review This Ad: Architect or Guardian?

Mark Wanczak — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 15:42:11 -0000

William,

This month's GreenSource has another ad from Kawneer (page 11) that takes a similar approach. It advertises that Kawneer's products have BIM models available on their site, but does not target any specific product or benefit. I'm not sure that I've seen a product-specific ad from Kawneer recently that promotes the advantages or benefits that filter down to the client.

Re: Review This Ad: Architect or Guardian?

Mark Wanczak — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 15:01:45 -0000

William,

You make a good point about this ad's purpose. Is it to get Kawneer's product specified? Or is more of sustainable branding attempt. I tend to think the latter. As Frank pointed out in his comments, there's seems to be a risk here on Kawneer's part by targeting architects so bluntly while their own products seem contradictory to the messaging in the ad.

Of course, the irony here is that ultimately it's the architect's decision to choose which products to use, and if an architect, such as Frank, recognizes the lesser-known (advertised) ecological hazards, then he or she won't use it if possible.

Frank, you're reaction is what I suspected from an architect who already understands his role as a 'guardian.' I think it's dead on and am happy to hear it come right from an architect.

Thanks for taking the time to comment. I hope you'll continue to add your input in future posts, it's much appreciated.

Re: Make your social media experiment useful

Mark Wanczak — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 09:36:02 -0000

So you don't think that there's any potential for a King twitterer to be creative, original and stand out? I feel if the right person was behind that character, and took it to a different level, it could be wildly popular. People wouldn't follow for BK news, info or customer service. Instead, by making the 'King' human through tweets, BK would be making their brand human.

Sure, they could have a marketing pro also on Twitter for the normal corporate function, but I view the King as an opportunity many other companies do not have.