So said the great Apollo Creed in the first \u201cRocky\u201d movie.<\/p>\n
The context:<\/p>\n
Apollo cooked up a PR stunt that involved giving an unknown a shot to commemorate the country\u2019s 200th anniversary. And so he and his team went at it looking for the perfect fighter for him to compete against. They looked and looked and looked\u2026 everyone being rejected by Apollo for one reason or another, with his promotor guy Jergens finally asking:<\/p>\n
JERGENS: Exactly what are you looking for, Apollo?<\/p>\n
APOLLO: … This man. ‘The Italian Stallion’ — He’s my man.<\/p>\n
JERGENS: Rocky Balboa — His record’s poor —<\/p>\n
APOLLO: Don’t matter — That name. ‘The Italian Stallion,’ it’s right on. (laughs) Who discovered America? An Italian, right? So, man, what could be better than to get it on with one of his ancestors.<\/p>\n
TRAINER: He won’t last one round.<\/p>\n
APOLLO: Listen, I gonna carry this boy three rounds, then drop ‘im like a bad habit.<\/p>\n
TRAINER: I don’t like you messin’ with southpaws — They do everything wrong.<\/p>\n
APOLLO: Southpaw, nuthin’ — I’ll drop ‘im in three — ‘Apollo Creed meets the Italian Stallion.’ Shhiii \u2014 Sounds like a damn monster movie!<\/p>\n
And the rest is, quite literally, history\u2026<\/p>\n
Rocky got a shot at the title not because of talent or experience or track record or industry \u201cpull\u201d or even deserving to \u2014 no, he got it because of his… BRAND. Which then led to a totally different life than he\u2019d had otherwise.<\/p>\n
If you think that doesn\u2019t happen in marketing, I don\u2019t know what to tell you.<\/p>\n
People buy all kinds of things \u2014 even expensive things \u2014 because of a title.<\/p>\n
i.e., a brand<\/p>\n
And no other reason than they think it sounds cool.<\/p>\n
So what do probably 99% of direct marketers do? They copy cat. They swipe. They \u201cprompt.\u201d They look at what someone who is superior to them does then just copies what they do, thinking that is the way, the safe way, to go about it \u2014 when, in reality, it is the cowardly and intellectually weak way to go about it.<\/p>\n
There is nothing unique.<\/p>\n
No spark of individuality or novelty.<\/p>\n
No reason to buy from them other than \u201cbEneFItS!\u201d a million other offers share found with a Google search.<\/p>\n
All right, hopefully the message here is clear.<\/p>\n
If not, put it on the shelf, I guess.<\/p>\n
Otherwise:<\/p>\n
If you want to see how to start writing emails that can help you with this branding and marketing and engagement and sales business, go to:<\/p>\n