Creativity: Business Writing's Special Sauce.
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Business writing is unlike most other kind of writing because it has to meet specific client needs and produce concrete results. Even so, writing a keynote speech, video script or radio ad can be every bit as creative as writing a thoughtful essay or stimulating story. All must contain an incandescent spark that attracts the eye and engages the mind. Call it style or some kind of creative alchemy, it's that special sauce that connects writer or speaker to the hearts and minds of the people they propose to enlighten or persuade. That's the kind of writing Brian Faulkner has done for his clients over the years. And will do for you. |
First Lines:
Sometimes the simplest ideas are the hardest to think up.
- new product brochure headline -
Stop by our booth and we'll print a piece of your mind on almost anything.
- trade show placard -
When Beauty met The Beast in the famous love story, the beautiful girl had no way of knowing that under that beastly exterior was a handsome prince ...
- garage door print ad -
Imagine a world that works perfectly. Where all your dreams come true. Where the sky is always blue and the sun always shines--and where everything stays clean and in perfect working order. That world does not exist. Instead, we've got a world filled with dirty wares and greasy equipment, a world where clean is only temporary ...
- sales meeting video intro -
Rumor has it that every once in a while, one of our customers goes astray, gets lost somehow on their search for a new Chevrolet. Well, since that's not how it's supposed to be, we've put up a big new sign on I-40 reminding them how to get to our store. It's really uncomplicated ...
- car dealer radio spot -
In case you hadn't noticed, demographics is very much in the news. It's a key driver of change. In fact, today's changing population mix impacts just about every business concern, from marketing new products to developing new ways of thinking within our companies ...
- presidents' conference keynote -
Some years ago, in a burst of creative craziness, Washington Post reporter Joel Garreau began looking at "America" with different eyes. He took the country apart in his mind and reassembled it into a new, more fluid pattern. He reinvented the map ...
- keynote speech -
One of the best things that ever happened to America was Russian. On October 4, 1957, the Soviets shot their Sputnik into Earth orbit, the first nation to do so. I can still remember how stunned the leaders of our country were and the "beep-beep-beep" sound their satellite made on the radio ...
- keynote speech -
Once upon a time, not really very long ago in the fix of things, early man came out of his cave and put on clothes ...
- sales meeting video -
There are all kinds of heroes ...
- keynote video -
Preston Tucker called himself and "imagineer." He reached out and grabbed the future by the eyes. He boldly designed his vision of tomorrow--not in some fancy office building but in a beat up old barn in back of his home ...
- president's keynote -
When people hear or see the name Wrangler, lots of good things come to mind, and this--today--is one of the most incredible and personally rewarding days of my life. To stand here and dedicate this building in the presence of an audience like this ...
- president's dedication presentation -
Ladies and gentlemen, I want to talk to you about developing the incredible ethnic market, a market that might be better described as a "notch" instead of a niche ...
- sales presentation for marketing consultancy -
It was sometime in the late 1960s or early 1970s that the economic world shifted its axis from the Atlantic to the Pacific ...
- keynote for multi-national president -
My objective for today is to do nothing less than change the way you think--about your education, about yourself and about your future ...
- client sales pitch -
This is the story of Dowd E. Dalrymple. On the surface, Dowd seems like an ordinary kind of guy, but underneath the surface is a man with a mission. For most of his day, Dowd travels his rounds with single-minded purpose. But then, every day at 2:15, while his associates divide the afternoon with a couple cups of coffee, our hero undergoes an amazing transformation. More about that after this message ...
- sales meeting product intro -
"I've got the Pantyhose Blues. I can't seem to find the ones that fit me! No, not my SIZE ... I'm a Miss Average. They've got to fit ME! The zingy, flingy sunshine me--give my legs something to shout about!
- match to sales meeting intro above -
Fashion is many things: set apart, distinctive, remote, singular. What has been described as "unattainably elegant."
- apparel company product intro -
Love blooms. Grace dances ...
- headline -
Put your money where your heart is ...
- another headline -
Nick Williamson's great adventure began several years ago in his own restless mind ...
- university business school article -
We'd like to go on record as saying that the business management specialist is as outmoded as the dial telephone ...
- tv spot -
The world was once a simple place. People were concerned with the basics. Most meals were served at home, leaving restaurants to the more affluent or an occasional treat for a working man's family ...
- corporate presentation -
Before we begin this radio commercial, I'd like to ask you to take a few seconds to look over at your living room couch--or your bed. If you like what you see, turn your radio down. If you think there's room for improvement, listen up ...
- bedding product spot -
Planning how to run a company and its manufacturing facilities efficiently is a lot like organizing a child's birthday party. Timing is critical. You can't have a birthday party without partygoers, and when you're seven years old and waiting for your friends to show up, the fact that somebody failed to mail the invitations on time doesn't sound very reasonable ...
- MRP video intro -
Sue was mad! She'd been up most of the night worrying, and the noise she'd been so worked up about was getting worse. It seemed to come from the very ground her house was built on ...
- client story -
Welcome to the Pacific Rim, the most exciting market in the world and Sara Lee's next big opportunity ...
- keynote speech -
I must confess to being only slightly intimidated to stand up in front of a group like this to introduce the subject of technologically-based innovation. It's a bit like carrying ice to the Arctic given 3M's legendary reputation for fostering innovation ...
- packaging company client speech -
It's hard to know just when America began. It may have started as long ago as the 15th century in the eyes of the young Christopher Columbus looking out to sea, dreaming of what lay just beyond his vision ...
- marketing video -
The mountains call. Their voices whisper in the background of our busy lives, beckoning to families and individuals of all ages and outlooks. Saying "Come ..."
- real estate promotional video -
This was a watershed year for our company. More change occurred more quickly during the last quarter than in any other period in our history. Because we chose to undertake these changes--including some with short-term negative financial consequences, we are entering this new year with a sharper market focus, a more flexible, productive organization and a stronger management team ...
- information systems company, letter to Shareholders -
From day one, our company has focused on a single business purpose: making produce look more fresh and appealing so people will be attracted to our customers' produce department and buy more of their fresh fruit and vegetables. Today, our purpose is the same ...
- packaging company web story -
Memories of past successes die hard. In fact, they can cheat future success by inhibiting vital new thinking that may lead to tomorrow's next big idea. Comfortable old notions about customers, business and future may not be enough in today's time-based world of increasing product choice and heated competition ...
- article about leadership -
Most business education curricula are written in stone: "Do it by the book." At Babcock Graduate School of Management, our integrative approach encourages independent thought ...
- TV spot -
Quality: It's not an easy concept to get your head around. As guru Philip Crosby once said, "Quality has much in common with sex. Everyone is for it." ...
- client speech -
Bring us your most demanding, most complex, most time-sensitive and strategically important systems challenges ...
- headline for systems integrator brochure -
Nothing is more important today than getting more things done with fewer people--the right things. Because nothing is more critical than aligning people, purpose and profit ...
- introductory business letter -
The microchip, an extremely powerful miniature computer, its hundreds of components etched onto a thin wafer of silicon--a true electronic marvel that performs nothing less than minor miracles every second of every day ...
- telecommunications company video -
Much of what you've been hearing today has to do with change. I know from experience--in both my business and personal life--that change doesn't always come easy ...
- consumer products company sales meeting intro -
You walk into your favorite coffee shop anticipating a pleasurable experience. You may have awakened with that thought on your mind, and it's likely that you passed several other coffee shops on your way. But you chose this one ...
- business essay -
Brand is experience writ large.
- one of my talks -
Business clients have included:
artists...
battery manufacturer...
car dealers...
churches...
church renovators...
clothing stores...
consultants...
consumer products companies...
CPAs and attorneys...
schools and colleges...
computerized systems...
electronic systems providers...
fast food restaurants...
forklift manufacturer...
industrial cleaning provider...
industrial compressors...
industrial controls and transmissions...
industrial packaging...
interior designers...
jewelry manufacturer...
local and regional banks...
home improvement businesses...
major oil company...
medical instrument manufacturer...
medical practice...
medical product distributor...
millwork manufacturing...
municipalities...
music stores...
newspapers...
non-profit organizations...
parks & recreation...
photo lab...
piano stores...
plumbing supply distributor...
systems integrators...
political candidates...
power turbine manufacturer...
printing industry...
private networking provider...
produce packaging company...
public transit...
radio stations...
real estate sales...
restaurants...
retail shopping...
sock manufacturing...
telecommunications company...
women's wear...
worldwide plastic container manufacturer...
and others.