Donald Trump, Johnny Depp, Benjamin Franklin, the media et al. Click to open.

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The Photography Market Landscape:
All photo retailer ads sell “commodity” products (Nikon, Canon, Sony, etc.) using tiny product photos and prices; only the retailer’s name distinguishes one ad from the other. None have an identifiable graphic look or personality.
M&M Photo Situation:
1/ This retailer’s “lowest prices” strategy is failing. Competitors B&H, Adorama, etc. are better known, deeper-pocketed. Limited budget also targets too many audiences.
2/ Unusual animal photos on client’s office wall (gifts from his pro photographer customers) spark idea: use them to create a distinct personality in ads to differentiate M&M from competitors and align with key target audience’s love of outdoor photography – affluent professional and enthusiast amateurs… the fastest growing market segment with the best ROI potential.
3/ Create M&M and photographer’s agreement/deal: for use of their animal photo and story in ad, photographer’s business receives plug – name (“abc” photo safari tours), photo of photographer, phone and contacts in prominent space of ad.
Implementation:
“Let’s Do Lunch” ad features photo of an owl with a lizard in its beak. The story: pro photographer spots a burrowing owl’s hole in the ground, sets up tripod and camera, waits 6 hours. Owl finally rises from hole, sees photographer, waddles up to him. Photographer freezes, doesn’t want to spook the owl. Owl stops at his feet, spits the lizard out, turns and waddles away. Suddenly it stops, returns, spots lizard still on the ground, picks it up, turns and waddles away. Stops again, comes back and spits the lizard at the photographer’s feet, again. The owl tries to share his meal with the photographer!
Results:
1/ Sales increase in first month of ad running. In 5 months, M&M hires more phone and fulfillment staff. Other pros see the ad, grasp the value of having their photo and business info in M&M ads. They call, offer use of their photos and accept same terms.
2/ Additional “photo-story” ads run. In 17 months, inventory triples. FedEx, UPS pick up packages several times daily, not just once at day-end.
3/ Payoff: manufacturers/distributors provide M&M with better terms. Higher sales volume increases M&M’s buying power.
4/ Customers willingly pay 3-5% more than competitors on many products.
5/ “Ultimate compliment” - competitor ads now include borders of foliage in attempt to emulate M&M’s outdoors excitement.
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Music Business Landscape:
Signing new music acts is the industry lifeblood. Who’s the next big act and which artists still sell?
MCA Music’s Market Situation:
New, aggressive management wants to change the company image to help sign up new acts. Best opportunity is the coming annual music trade show, MIDEM. Held at Cannes, France. Attended by small but key audience - music acts themselves, agents, attorneys and competitors.
New Strategy:
MCA Music’s parent company, Universal, owns rights to “Dracula”, “Frankenstein”, “Wolfman” and the “Creature from the Black Lagoon”. They now become cool MCA Music executives - “The Monsters of Music”.
Implementation:
In MIDEM pre-show magazine, tease ad shows the Monsters approaching Cannes, “The Monsters of Music are looking for some fresh blood”, i.e. talent. Neither a corporate logo nor company name is shown.
Results:
1/ Industry “buzz” is created. Everyone wants to know, “Who are these guys?”
Subsequent daily ads at the show reveal MCA as “The Monsters of Music”.
2/ New acts sign at the show and after. Including a new assignment to manage Michael Jackson’s extensive music rights (including Beatles’ music).
3/ “Monsters of Music” theme applied to T-Shirts, wrist watch faces, post cards, pins and new ads over next two years.
4/ Image transformation is music to MCA’s bottom line.
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Stern & Kennedy – NYSE Specialists (Click cover to enlarge and expand.)
Brochure demonstrates financial writing approved by the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) compliance departments. When new companies are listed on the NYSE, they’re referred to several Specialists (“Market Makers”) to choose from. Specialists represent publicly traded companies to ensure orderly and transparent trading, even if the situation calls for them to invest multi-millions of their own money. Stern & Kennedy used this brochure when pitching new clients to reflect their services, how they go that extra mile.
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Some tastes need not be changed!
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Strange names, cancelled/embarrassing names, questionable names and more.
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What it means to be fully committed: to the patients, to the physician.
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Click ad to enlarge. Heliopan was unknown to American professional photographers. How better for instant recognition than to associate, accurately, on a much better-known Bavarian neighbor?

Click to enlarge ad.
Heliopan professional camera lens filters had no name when introduced to the USA. To gain a faster, deservedly positive reputation, I used its Bavarian neighbor's logo (which had plenty of recognition) in a deservedly complimentary manner.
Specific technical reasons why Heliopan makes the best digital camera lens filters, made understandable.

Click to enlarge.
After the contents of this brochure were read by the client, they forwarded them to their attorneys for compliance with NYSE and SEC standards. After the attorneys completed their analysis, the client forwarded them to me. I read them several times and told the client to not publish the brochure at all if they followed the attorneys' version; that it so watered down the content as to be saying literally nothing. And that I would not charge them anything. OR they could send my original version to the NYSE and SEC compliance and wait for their comments. The original version, as shown, was approved by both organizations verbatim.