ZURB--True Value

Bryan Zmijewski is a pretty clever guy. He does things with pixels that make wannabe designers like myself drool. He 'gets' marketing and branding and combines them in a way that marries the best of images, words and technology. He's a brand engineer.

Can you tell I think he's pretty cool? Anyhow.

Bryan's one of those guys who doesn't say, 'Yeah, I should do that.' He does it. So when he started talking to me about doing a newsletter (aptly titled 'ZURBnews') on a monthly basis, I knew that it wasn't just idle chatter.

Since January, Bryan and I have worked to develop the voice of ZURBnews. Certainly, the voice is uniquely his. But being a good writer/editor means that you can set aside your own voice and let the voice of the author shine through.That's what maven communications does with ZURBnews. Bryan and I discuss the content. We do research. We talk about what kind of feedback he received the prior month. We talk about what aspect of his business he wants to focus on this month.

To Bryan, I think I serve three main functions:

• To tell him if I think something truly stinks, is too far 'out there', is too salesy or is too similar to something he's done before.
• To correct his 'almost' clichés. He knows the gist of many clichés, but the actual words tend to escape him.
• To make sure that there's true value (not True Value™the hardware store) in every newsletter.

How's it going? So far, very well. With every newsletter we've worked together on, Bryan has received at least one opportunity for new business. Sometimes it's an old client who has a new project. Sometimes, it's a new contact who was referred. Either way, when the newsletter goes out, work comes in. And we don't think it's just coincidence.

(back to a-musings)