From the Mouths of Babes

June 1, 2010

At HenkinSchultz, we think our building is pretty cool: a little bit industrial, a whole lot creative. We take pride in our work space, and we like to have fun. But we looked at it a little differently after hearing what one fifth-grader had to say about it:

“It looks like a toy chest threw up in here.”

The Pomp Room

Ladies and gentlemen, we have a future copywriter on our hands.

By amie

Filed Under Post Haste, Criticism, HenkinSchultz

On How NOT to Request Attention on the Internet

December 9, 2009

One of the first marketing mistakes I ever made happened early. It had to do with this blog, Post Haste. And, it had to do with my naivety in regards to other people’s time.

I had convinced our partners that we should develop a company blog. Very few other marketing agencies in our area had blogs, and it was time to take a dive into the ever-expanding world of Internet marketing and social media.

Searching for an audience – and looking forward to a jaunty dialog with our naturally intelligent readers – I developed a “Look At What We’ve Done!” e-mail. I sent it to every marketing and advertising blogger I could find. I said, essentially, why I thought our blog was great.

I gave them a look at something new. But I failed on one major level.

I never told them why it mattered to them.

Of the 100+ e-mails I sent out, I received only a handful back. Some were congratulatory. Some were dismissive.

One really stood out. The name doesn’t matter – I can’t remember it, anyway – but the tone was distinct.

It chastised me for asking people to care without offering a benefit. It hounded me for blindly grasping for attention - not by participation and discourse, or by giving anything of substance (because, at this time, there was very little on the blog), but by the assumption that I deserved it.

It taught me an important lesson: no one cares until you give a reason to care.

Fast forward to today.

A magazine I’ve never heard of sends me an e-mail. They assume I’m willing to help them pre-promote an upcoming issue. They open with a salutation of “Dear Blogger.” There is no mention of what I’m getting out of the deal, or why I should care.

I see this e-mail, and I see a little of myself that first time around, when I was promoting Post Haste by sidestepping relationships and blindly throwing darts, hoping some would stick.

It’s the same as sending out press releases that make more work for a journalist, or – even worse – assume a store promotion is real news.

It’s the same as blanket spamming a thousand Twitter users with a new e-commerce site.

It’s the same as knocking on my door, asking me to tell all of my friends about your product, and then leaving without even acknowledging my time.

And I know from experience. It’s not impressive. And it doesn’t work.

By Corey

Filed Under Technology, Marketing, Post Haste, Criticism

A Web Message From HenkinSchultz

September 17, 2009

The New HenkinSchultz Web Site!

(And now a message from the corporate sponsor…)

We’d like to take a moment to re-introduce www.HenkinSchultz.com.

What? Re-introduce? Huh?

Well, yeah. We’ve re-designed the site. It’s been up for a few weeks, but this is the official launch, my friends, so let’s rock this joint.

But it’s more than a re-design. It’s a re-imagining of what our Web site is here for: namely, providing content to current and potential clients and the community as a whole. Our clients wanted more access to the awesomeness we’re providing, and we were happy to oblige.

So we’ve got constantly updated portfolios, HenkinSchultz’s Greatest Hits, easy contact to all of our other outlets – Facebook, Twitter, Post Haste – and the same devotion to our people.

It works because we’re all in on it. Every employee has a chance to update as necessary. It’s crowdsourcing at its best: when it works together for one common goal and not against each other for a cheap fix.

So welcome. We like what’s going on over at www.HenkinSchultz.com. And we hope you do too.

(We return you to your regularly scheduled Post Haste post.)

By Corey

Filed Under Advertising, Technology, Post Haste, HenkinSchultz, The Process

E-mail Subscribers…

November 3, 2008

If you used to subscribe to the site via e-mail, you will need to resubscribe using the link to the right.

We have updated our e-mail script to FeedBurner, and unfortunately there’s no way to transfer the subscriptions.

Sorry for the trouble. You know how these Internets work sometime.

By Corey

Filed Under Post Haste

New. Improved. And all of that.

August 7, 2008

The New Site.It’s been a while, but we think the wait is certainly worth it.

Introducing the new HenkinSchultz Web site - a new look, with easier navigation and prettier pictures of, say, yours truly. Copywriter extraordinaire. Guitar Hero champion. All around great guy. Etc.

We’ve freshened up, cleaned out the corners and given you what you’d need in an agency Web site - the people, the work, the ideas and the philosophy. In the immortal words of Outkast, We’re “so fresh and so clean. (Clean.)”

And, we’ve even given Post Haste a facelift. Hooray blogs!

If you’re new to the site, go ahead and click the RSS feed and get Post Haste updates whenever we make them. Or, enter your e-mail for e-mail updates. Whichever you prefer. The choice is up to you.

And if you’re a seasoned veteran of Post Haste and HenkinSchultz, well, we hope you like the new look.

By Corey

Filed Under Technology, Post Haste, HenkinSchultz

A quick introduction

August 31, 2006

An agency needs a voice.

This is ours.

Welcome to Post Haste. We’ve been up and running for a few weeks, but it’s time we made it official.

Our purpose is simple: to comment on our industry for the benefit of our readers – readers who may or may not be clients, contemporaries, and competition. Whether casually or intensively, we’re here to bring you content.

Modestly speaking, this is our attempt to carve out a small niche in the blogosphere – to create a place where our ideas, commentary, and criticism of advertising, marketing, and design can be tapped. To create visibility and to contribute back to the industry’s wheel.

Regardless of whether you’re in an agency, sitting on the home computer, or someplace unimaginable, we hope you’ll find us interesting. We’re Post Haste; backed by HenkinSchultz Communication Arts, written by copywriters and designers, account managers and support staff, fueled by the ever-changing world of marketing.

More on that later, though. Contact us with your thoughts, your concerns, your ideas: corey@henkinschultz.com.

By Corey

Filed Under Post Haste