We all know about the elevator pitch — the 30 second positioning statement that is supposed to capture the minds and business of people you are trying to court (of course, I’ve never seen anyone talk in an elevator, so I’m not sure why it is called an elevator pitch, but…)

Anyway, Mark LeBlanc offers a new twist on this pithy statement. In a speech at the Minneapolis convention center to the Minnesota Small Business Conference and Expo, the marketing legend said you can position yourself in three ways — and two of them stink.

You can position by title, like “lawyer” or consultant.
You can position by product, like “financial management” or “retirement planning.”
You can position by concept, like “I help you achieve a retirement without financial worries.”

Not only don’t the first two tactics not work, LeBlanc says “They actually repel people.”

The third tactic clearly paints a picture of the benefits of the service. When LeBlanc realized this point many years ago, he turned his entire business around.

We conducted an in-depth interview with Mark in January on “How to have your best year ever” and it included many of his ground breaking marketing strategies and tactics that will help you grow your business. You can order the transcript for $10 at:

Click here for transcript.

You can order the CD for $30 at:
Click here for the CD

Frank Perdue’s legacy to marketing is undeniable.

Not only did he show the world how to turn a commodity product (chicken) into a brand, he also ushered in the era of the CEO as spokesperson.

By doing so, he gave the company a face and a voice.

If you ever heard Perdue’s commercials and saw his face or heard his voice, you’d know that his ad people probably tried everything possible to talk him out of this strategy.

But it worked.

The sight of a real person (who resembled a chicken) gave the company a face and a personality that was unique at the time.

He was followed by many other CEOs touting their products on the national and local TV cameras. These people became celebrities in their local markets and built amazing brands by following Perdue’s tracks.

That’s something to squawk about!

The passing of Johnny Cochrane this week highlights one of the most skilled wordsmiths since Shakespeare.

With his famous sound bite: “If the glove does not fit, you must acquit.” he redefined the essence of the trial and gave large segments of the nation and possibly the jury a rallying cry.

Let’s anaylze why this sound bite worked.

1. It is memorable
2. It rhymes. While this isn’t essential for each sound bite, it certainly makes the bite more memorable.
3. It is reapeatable because of 1 and 2.
4. It contains a call to action (You must acquit). Most bites don’t have this feature. That’s what made Johnny a genius. And if you look at all three words, each is important. But the most important choice of a word is “must.” He didn’t say, you should acquit, you might consider the possibility or acquitting, or “you should debate the issue to the full extent of your moral dimensions.” Johnny nailed it.

Good luck with your sound bites. When you need inspiration, think of Johnny.

Did you notice Rev. Jesse Jackson mugging for the cameras in the Terry Schiavo case this week?

He’s a little late to the game. But no matter. He got his 15 seconds on prime time.

I suppose if he really cared about the issue, he would have been at the beck and call of the family years ago. But no matter. Better late than never. He found that on a slow news day, the cameras will whir in his direction anyway.

The media rules work differently for celebrities,

This week’s “Subversive Marketer of the Week Award” goes to the head of Papa John’s pizza for producing two commercials and placing them in the middle of this week’s Apprentice TV program in which the contestants made pizza for Dominos!

Everyone this side of Jupiter knows “The Apprentice” is a clever product placement show that has produced new-style infomercials for the likes of Home Depot and M*+&Ms among other products.

But it took the genius of Papa John to figure out what the wizard was up to and outflank the competition.

The commercial featured s new pizza that is made by “professionals’ not an “apprentice.” That was another nice twist. It played to the scene.

Hats off to Papa John for seizing a trend and running with it!