After a refreshing 4-day weekend (and yes, I am planning to plant a tree today for Earth Day 🌱), I’m diving head-first into a week of back-to-back meetings and presentations—and thinking about just how much creativity plays into what we do every single day.
Characters, Creativity & Car Dealers
Yesterday was World Creativity and Innovation Day, and it got me thinking back to when I managed the marketing for my husband’s car dealership—back when floppy disks were still a thing. He had a monthly newsletter that went out to all his customers. Saturn, the brand he represented at the time, had very specific brand guidelines… but I pushed the envelope.
I created cartoon characters of the team—a tire, a spark plug, and a few other little characters who made regular appearances in the newsletter. Customers LOVED it. They'd come in and call the team by their cartoon names. It was silly. It was fun. And more importantly—it made people remember the dealership and the people.
Creativity didn’t just make marketing fun—it made it work.
Sell the Solution, Not the Product
People don’t buy your product or service—they buy the solution it gives them. They want what you help them do better, faster, easier, cheaper, or with more confidence.
That’s why creativity in marketing matters more than ever. It's not about flashy gimmicks—it’s about showing your audience that you understand their problem and offering them a solution in a way they’ll remember. Even if you sell shoes (some people want comfort, some want style, some want orthotics, some want all three - sell the comfort, or the style - that is what will make your customers buy.
Yes, we really did send out LEGO bricks mentioned in the blog below. Yes, we sent a monkey from Barrel of Monkeys. And yes, we’re now using a hexagon-shaped puzzle —our brand shape—to tie messaging to something meaningful and memorable.
Get Creative—But Keep It Strategic
Creativity without a purpose is just noise. Creativity that connects your offer to a specific problem your customer is facing? That’s strategy.
If you want to test some ideas, start with a landing page. This week, we’re sharing Zoho LandingPage, a brilliant tool to create campaign-specific pages that convert, with trackable metrics and simple drag-and-drop design. It even has a free trial to get you started. 🎯
And one more thing—Happy Earth Day! 🌍 I’d love to hear what you’re doing to celebrate. Me? I’m buying a tree. Let’s all grow something meaningful this week—creatively and literally.
L🧠 week I’m reading Last week, we launched a new Book Club feature - check out The Resilient Enterprise by Yossi Sheffi—fascinating parallels to what's happening today. History, patterns, and business survival.
Enjoy! Have a great day and if you have a question or comment - email me!
Be Bold. Do Different. See Results.
Until next week,
Debi
TUESDAY MARKETING TIP
Be Memorable
Creative marketing sticks—not because it's loud, but because it connects your solution to what your customer actually cares about.
A not-so-gentle nudge to push past "we've always done it this way" and rethink how you communicate with the people who matter most: your customers. Learn more.
Want to see examples of landing pages built in Zoho LandingPage. email me. I'll send you a few.
Business Accelerator Advisory Board
The Business Accelerator Advisory Board (BAAB) is an exclusive peer advisory and business growth program designed for small (non-competing) business owners ready to scale strategically. APPLY!
Your website is the hub of your marketing - is it a Silent Seller or Just Silent? It should be generating leads for you. If it isn't - Book a call or meeting - we would be happy to have a conversation!
And that's all she wrote folks! I hope you received valuable information in this issue, please feel free to share with a friend or colleague.
Check out our marketing resources, and some of the websites we've built for our clients. Call us any time - we're always happy to help.
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