2. ―WHEN THE NEED ARISES for a creative, professional, and reliable
copywriter, Scott is the one to call. I have always been impressed not
only with his superior work but his overall understanding of advertising.
Scott delivers quality on every job, above and beyond the expected. Top
qualities: Great results, on time, creative.‖
- Jim Doll, Former VP and studio art director at Publicis Dialog
3. Know thy customer and honor thy brand
Old Navy fashion retail
T oo often in advertising we forget our customers and ignore
our brand position. That is especially common in fashion
retail, where the quest for cleverness leads us astray. Old Navy,
for its part, never strays from its image of unique energy and
quirky fun. And the retailer always remembers its customers:
America’s value-conscious mommies.
My role
As a contract copywriter at Old Navy my assignments ran from
weekly circulars, to packaging and labeling, to billing inserts and
press releases. You see here examples from a holiday press kit,
a denim hang tag, and an in-store poster. Everything stays on
brand and always remembers the customer.
Press kit: Romance the press editors by adoring the products.
All images are
links. Click to
see more.
Fun copy for Old
Navy's denim made
from recycled materi- In-store poster
als. The client loved inspired by a
this—not a word was real boxing
changed. promotion.
4. Tease prospects with new information
Gentiae direct response ensemble
A bsent an offer, how do you motivate prospects to call?
The pharmaceutical testing firm Gentiae dropped that
challenge directly in my lap. The targets were high-level
pharmaceutical executives. Success meant six figure
contracts.
Solution
The solution was a direct-response ensemble. Start with a
postcard alarming prospects with information about a new
FDA regulation. Then promise answers at a Gentiae splash
page. Follow that by a fact-filled splash page with a strong
call to action. Back it up with banner ads and a Q&A page.
My role
Splash page My role ran from strategy and concepting, to writing to
locating web coders and hosting. This winning combination
pulled 17 high-money prospects (a 3.4% response rate).
Postcard front
Postcard back
5. How to warm the cold hand of IT
Riverbed pitch work
A dvertising for IT always faces a challenge: how do you
humanize the products? With that in mind an
advertising agency asked me to prepare a pitch campaign
for Riverbed’s Steelhead server products.
Solution
I created a series of print ads in which real customers
shared their stories. They explained how Riverbed let them
devote more to their core missions. The reader was then
invited to ―Devote more to your own mission.‖ Interactive
elements asked them to share their success stories.
My role
First ad I acted as Creative Director and copywriter on this project.
My designer Gregg Boot and I decided to parlay Riverbed’s
customer loyalty into an engaging, emotional message. The
pitch work was a huge success in a tough industry.
Second ad
Interactive element
6. No stock photos here
Prialto brochure
H ow do you advertise a business with people as its main
product? Meet Prialto Personal Outsourcing, a company
that assigns highly trained personal assistants to business
executives. Prialto presented two challenges: (1) explain
what Prialto does, and (2) build an emotional connection
between prospects and Prialto’s assistants.
Solution
As creative director for this brochure I see much to note. Art
director Gregg Boot's burnt orange color treatment really
pops. The photographs are actual employees—no stock
photos here—an ideal way to connect on a personal basis.
The three inside spreads arrange 937 words in small,
digestible bites.
Front
The headlines, always important, lead prospects through an
emotional, yet fact filled, buying process. I even borrowed
from direct response techniques for the YES! call to action on
Inside spread the back cover.
Back cover
7. Give „em the old one-two punch
WebEx two-stage campaign
P remiums pull—that advertising truism was proved once
again in my WebEx project. WebEx wanted business
executives to agree to an in-office sales presentation.
Solution
The solution was a two-stage direct response campaign with
two premiums. The first mailing comprised a sales letter
and a high-quality US map. The copy explained that WebEx
lets teams meet in any geographic location. If they agreed
to the in-office presentation, the sales person would present
them with a Garmin GPS.
My role
I conceived of the strategy, wrote and edited the copy, and
even picked the premiums. WebEx loved this campaign so
much they ran my second concept (involving BOSE Noise
Garmin package Canceling Headphones) six months later.
BOSE package
8. “And the smiles for free”
PayPal direct response emails
D oing everything right! These emails for PayPal read like
a clinic in good advertising. Begin with headlines that
promise customers real benefits along with a dash of
delight. Add images with story appeal that prompt readers
to ask, ―What do we have here?‖ Include multiple calls to
action to get things rolling. And stick with benefits-driven
copy that is heavy on facts and light on claims.
Inspired by Cosmo
As an aside, I modeled these headlines from a Cosmopolitan
magazine cover I spotted in a supermarket checkout line.
(After all, the Cosmo headline writers sure know how to sell
magazines.)
Series
9. Demystifying wine to drive sales
Clos du Bois website content
T he key, often-ignored rule for web content is to focus on
your customer. For Clos du Bois’s new website the
customer was 24–34 year-old women a few years into their
careers. What do they care about? Knowledge about wine:
tasting, purchasing, pairing with food, enjoying wine
country.
Solution
I prepared a series of web articles to demystify wine
culture. Start with day trips in California’s wine country.
(Hence sunrise balloon rides and a wine-country town
square.) Follow that with practical wine how-to’s to bring
wine drinking down from the heavens and into customers’
dinner parties. Four years later and these winners continue
to run.
What activities would the target consumer enjoy?
The how-to’s of
wine
10. SCOTT PLAMONDON / PORTFOLIO
Prepared October 2009 in San Francisco, Calif.
See more work at speditorial.com.