The Cisco Smart+Connected Life Pavilion at the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai China is one of the most exciting projects that I have ever been part of.

Two things came together to make this a unique project. First, is the Shanghai 2010 World Expo itself, “the biggest show you never heard of”. From the opening May 1 through October 31st, 2010 some 70 million people will come to Shanghai to tour the Expo, which is themed Better City, Better Life.

The theme set the stage for six months of exhibits and events about the rapid urbanization of the planet. Hundreds of new cities will be built by 2050.

Which brings us Cisco Systems and their concept of the Smart+Connected Community (S+CC). S+CC is a community or city designed from the ground up to be wired. By providing a common platform to connect private, public and semi-public agencies, extraordinary things can be accomplished.

It is a fascinating subject, but one that is not easily explained to the government officials, private developers, service providers and CXOs who are being personally invited to tour the Pavilion.

ckwrites.com was commissioned to develop an internal document for everyone who would be escorting clients and prospects through the Pavilion. The document is titled The Smart+Connected Life Guide.

The Smart+Connected Life Guide took two months to research and write. Principal research included hour-long interviews with 45 Cisco employees and partners, each of whom was selected for their knowledge of a specific aspect of S+CC.

In addition, I conducted extensive online research, reviewing articles in the business press as well as websites of consulting groups, government agencies, foundations and businesses.

The project has a lot of spin-off elements. I wrote five invitations, each targeted at a different audience segment, and ten, twenty and sixty minute scripts for the Solution Center presenters, a dedicated demo space with a lot of nice touches.

The Guide also serves as the “Bible” for the multiple PR agencies supporting the project. Portions are being used for the website, and the 125 page Guide is being cut down as a gift to visitors.

I have excerpted Part 6: Showcase Cities for you to download. I have also included my original concept treatment which for me is still the most satisfying explanation of S+CC. It was later shortened for use as the pre-show video featured here.

I was the copywriter and creative director This proposal was for an integrated marketing communication program to launch the new Ford F-150.

Since 1948 the F-Series has epitomized everything that Ford stands for. The best-selling vehicle in the US for 33 years, the F-150 is one of Ford’s crown jewels and accounts for some 50% of the company’s profits.

A bold design, the new F-150 was certain to be news in driveways and dealerships across America. Our clients at Ford wanted to give it a big time introduction – one that would ensure that the new model exceeded all previous sales records.

It was a classic David and Goliath contest, my client – an event agency – pitted against Ford’s agency, JWT.

Our solution was an integrated marketing strategy  that used online activities and events to leverage Ford’s existing partnerships including NASCAR and the Susan G. Komen Foundation. In addition we used music as a hook for a grassroots local marketing program to drive dealer showroom traffic.

Our approach presaged the new understanding that advertising may be what inspires the conversati0n, but it is the combination of all the elements that yields the superior result.

To dramatize the potential of our concept, we wrapped the whole proposal up as the Time Magazine Machine Of The Year. This is one of the most interesting pieces that I have ever written. If you do new business proposals I recommend that you download it.

Written for Campos Creative Works

In 1990 Boeing’s Board of Directors gave the go-ahead to develop the Boeing 777. In classic Boeing style it was a $4 billion “bet the company” move. The 777 was a twin-engine plane designed for transoceanic routes – a smart but unusual approach that would appeal to customers… but that had the potential to turn into a nightmare if Boeing was unable to secure the necessary certifications for extended overwater flights (ETOPS).

To keep things interesting, Boeing designed the entire plane using a 3D modeling program called CATIA. CATIA enabled everyone on the project to see exactly how the 3.5 million parts would fit together. With this bold stroke, Boeing eliminated the need for a full scale mock-up, minimized profit robbing rework and sped up the ETOPS certification process for their two engine design.

To make the most of the 3D tools, Boeing created integrated teams. Traditionally engineering “threw the plans over the wall” to manufacturing; now the engineer who designed the assembly, the purchasing agent who would buy it, the contractor who would deliver it and the customer maintenance representative who would maintain it all “worked together” on the design. It was a radical departure and idea that was central to the future of the company.

CEO Phil Condit knew that with the right creative approach, the event would provide a golden opportunity to move the collaborative “Working Together” model into the mainstream of Boeing culture. Under his direction, we made the 777 Roll Out into an emotional celebration of Boeing and Boeing values.

We staged the event in the 747/777 final assembly building in Everett, WA, a building that is big enough to make its own weather. We built and installed a 280′ projection surface for pani projection and 35mm film projection. We hung enough truss to light the plane with 1.5 million watts of theatrical lighting; and we installed a megawatt JBL sound system specifically designed to work in the huge space.

Show-day came early. Starting at 6 am we ran the show for 7,000 people every hour. Sixteen in all. Each ran flawlessly. The event garnered worldwide television coverage and was a fixture in the world business press for months.

Enjoy the award winning ten minute documentary video along with the video script.

Produced by Dick Clark Productions
Winner: Grand Prize, New York Film and Television Festival

BMW viewed the new product launch of the Z3 Roadster as an opportunity to experiment with non-traditional marketing techniques. In 1995 this meant anything other then mainstream advertising. Leaving no stone unturned, they solicited bids from thirty companies including advertising agencies, PR firms and event marketing companies like Dick Clark Productions.

The campaign was to be part of an integrated marketing effort that BMW was doing with MGM on the James Bond film, GoldenEye . You might remember that GoldenEye was the  first time that James Bond drove anything but an Aston Martin. Adding to the interest was a new Bond, Pierce Brosnan.

The challenge was that the Bond film was set to open in November, but the car was not going to arrive at the dealers until April. Our assignment was to fill that gap and drive pre-delivery orders, after which a traditional advertising campaign would kick-in if needed.

Creative elements included everything but the Internet which at the time was not yet being utilized for much more then product brochures. That said, our strategy of “influencing the influencers” was a precursor of a now familiar social media tactic.

The creative campaign that we developed included:

• A ride and drive event in Central Park which gave the press the chance to experience the car the day of the World Premiere.
• A radio DJ promotion in which we gave DJs the car for the day to create their own contests and promotions.
• A theatrical film trailer that was the precursor to the highly acclaimed “made for the web” film series.
• A music video placement which featured a Z3 product placement in the music video for the encore Hootie and The Blowfish album.
• A limited edition Z3 in the Neiman Marcus Christmas Catalog. 100 units sold out in 48 hours – kicking off an avalanche of press interest, and beginning a relationship between BMW and Neiman Marcus that continues to this day.
• An “image” program includinga 12 minute direct marketing film which placed  the Z3 in the American landscape. Stills and b-roll reinforced this theme in showroom displays, brochures, training materials and tradeshow exhibits.
• Discussions with the Aspen Design Conference which have since featured BMW head designer Chris Bangles.

For an extensive analysis, please register and download the Harvard Business Review Case Study

Produced by Dick Clark Productions
Winner: Super Reggie Award

Business Objects (now a part of SAP) began life as a French enterprise software company in 1990. They are credited with pioneering the concept of Business Intelligence, a class of software that puts a user friendly front-end on SQL databases. At the time of the proposal, Business Objects had some 35,000 customers and 3,000 channel partners.

Business Objects had issued a fairly standard RFP with a specific set of questions to be addressed. My client was one of a number of companies responding to an RFP to becone Business Objects agency, with a new business proposal.

My assignment was two-fold. First, to do market research to provide the new business team with background on the business intelligence space and Business Objects’ competition.

Second, I was asked to suggest creative concepts for the campaign theme. My client took these ideas and integrated them into their new business presentation.

Written for The George P. Johnson Company

Cisco is constantly seeking new opportunities to fuel its growth. At the time of this proposal, Cisco was exploring ways that they could use to position themselves and their channel partners in the small and medium business market (SMB).

One of the concepts that they were interested in was partnering with American Express to sponsor events targeting the SMB market.

As their strategic event partner, my client was asked to develop this concept. This is a portion of the presentation that we made.

Chronologically the presentation was made before the advent of social media. It is noteworthy for the push-to-pull strategy which I believe will be increasingly utilized to integrate social media with traditional marketing tactics.

American Express went on to evolve this idea into their very successful OPENforum.com social media campaign.

Written for The George P. Johnson Company

In 2008, my client had the opportunity to present a new business proposal to Volvo Trucks for their National Dealer Meeting.

This script sample is for the Opening Evening Gala, which was to be held outdoors on Treasure Island in San Francisco Bay.

The purpose of the meeting was to introduce the Volvo truck dealers to the new 2010 Volvo tractors. These tractors utilized unique technologies to meet demanding new EPA standards. The highly theatrical son et lumière opening was created to remind dealers of Volvo’s global leadership which set the stage for a dramatic product reveal of the new tractors.

To strengthen the relationship between Volvo and their dealers, we recommended the theme of “Driving Success Together” as a play on their tagline, “Driving Success”.

Written for Extraordinary Events

Chris VenHaus turned his passion into a screamingly successful small business. His brand, VH Audio is one of the most respected e-tailers in high end audio.

I got to know Chris as a customer, then began consulting with him. When the time came for Chris to launch a new line of capacitors he asked me to work with him to develop the positioning and tone for the new website, and to help ensure that it carried into his email and press communications.

I invite you to visit the site and encourage you to order the new caps if you are at all handy with a soldering iron.

In addition, you might enjoy downloading the interview I conducted with Chris for future use on one of his sites.

Its always fun when I have a chance to do creative writing about a topic I am passionate about.

This is one of those projects. I have been a consumer electronics nut since I got my first record player. I’ve worked for both audio manufacturers and retailers. I’ve spent hundreds and hundreds of hours in recording studios. I’ve become an expert on using computers as high-end audio sources. I’ve learned soldering. I’ve gotten immersed in home theater. And I am writing about the convergence of media and networks.

When I drew the wiring harness for my latest home theater installation, I realized how much things had changed… for instance I now have a 4 port Ethernet splitter in my rack. And I use four HDMI cables where I once would have used 40 RCA and component cables to connect all of my components.

Home Theater Insider

This article is about how to choose between a plasma and an LCD display. If you’re trying to decide, I suggest that you download it.

Written for ckwrites.com

In 1981, Helen verDuin Palit developed the concept of neighbors feeding neighbors while managing Yale University’s Dwight Hall Soup Kitchen. The idea of   is simplicity itself. It is about harvesting (salvaging) good prepared food that would otherwise go to waste and using a fleet of trucks and trained drivers, to immediately distribute it to local shelters.

I have worked with Helen as a creative director and a copywriter for many years. I have written speeches, grant requests and marketing materials. In 2008 we decided to do a website to build on the interest created by her nomination for the 2009 World Food Prize so I wrote the web page content.

Please visit AmericaHarvest.org and make a donation to this worthy cause.

Written for ckwrites.com

The most complex project I have ever worked on as a copywriter was a series of regional tours for Dr. Craig Barrett (CRB) when he was the CEO and later the Chairman of Intel. Every year, Craig traveled to some thirty developing nations to communicate the importance of technology (literally “why IT matters”) to the future of the people and especially the children of each country.

At many of his stops, Craig hosted sophisticated  hour-long business theater presentations for leading members of the government, business and educational communities.

Each presentation was developed from scratch with the in-country Intel team. The creative assignment was identify local examples that were relevant to the audience. The shows included video case studies, on-stage software demonstrations and celebrity guests; as well as Craig’s keynote which integrated all of the elements.

In many ways Intel’s approach mirrors current social media strategies. We built a relationship with each audience by recognizing their accomplishments and inviting their leaders into a public dialogue. While the event was clearly Intel branded, it was never an Intel sales pitch.

My primary job was the development, preparation and post production of the video case studies. I would help the Creative Director to collect and assess the potential case studies nominated by the local team, do market research to prepare briefings for Craig and his team, and develop the question sets for our location video teams. When the team returned I would lead the editing effort.

For this Latin American tour the team produced 14 videos on various topics in four countries, taking them from initial concept to final approval in about five weeks.

The video script sample demonstrates how an Ecuadorian rose grower uses technology to grow better roses and to expand their international customer base.

If you register, you can  follow the step-by-step development of this story through a series of work documents leading up to the final script.

Produced by Campos Creative Works

One of the best things about B2B copywriting is being part of a new product launch. There is nothing like the buzz, the energy, the tangible crackle, the palpable enthusiasm as a product is readied for its debut on the world stage.

In 2001, the entire aviation community knew that Airbus planning to use the Paris Air Show to present their double-decker A380.

Fierce competitors, Boeing wanted to steal some of their thunder. More importantly they wanted to shift the discussion away for the Airbus hub and spoke model, to the benefits of the point to-point strategy they were committed to.

Hot of the drawing boards came the Boeing Sonic Cruiser, a long range, high flying sci-fi speedster that exemplified the benefits of a point-to-point approach. It was a seriously futuristic looking plane. (Some of the technology later found its way to the 787 Dreamliner.)

Working with the client and our IPG sister agency McCann, our assignment was to introduce the Sonic Cruiser to the world aviation press.

The idea was to set the stage with the Opening Video; then immediately reveal an 8 foot model of the Sonic Cruiser. This script did not come easily, but it remains one of my favorites to this day.

Written for Jack Morton Worldwide