#1 A Business Built on Four Weird Words

Issue #1 — Wednesday, April 11, 2018

A Business Built on Four Weird Words

Posted by Denny Hatch

When you’re doing 70 on I-95, you have maybe 3 to 4 seconds to catch the above headline on a billboard—or on one of many such Singer messages around Philadelphia.

You remember it. You ponder it.

What is it?

An angry ex-wife or girlfriend?

Forty years ago—pre-Internet—this ad would be financial folly.

Today you can Google the Singer website and instantly find his slightly ribald sales pitch.

Two years ago Peggy and I moved to 2BR apartment in Center City across the street from Steven Singer’s jewelry store. It is the largest store in the Jeweler’s Row block.

And the busiest.

At age 17, Singer took a summer job with a jeweler and in 1980 he opened a small jewelry shop in Philly. After 10 years of so-so business, he started an advertising relationship with notorious radio shock-jock Howard Stern. He never looked back.

‘Steven Singer, Philly’s celebrity jeweler,

prefers shock over class’ — Inquirer Headline

Singer discovered how to talk to young Sout’ Philly Eagles fans. There’s a lot more of ‘em than uppity Tiffany buyers across town.

Mayhem Over Eagles Super Bowl Win

With three 24/7 all-sports radio stations—Philly is sports-crazy. When the Eagles won the Super Bowl, schools closed and 700,000+ fans turned out for the parade.

Singer cashed in. He borrowed and displayed an actual Lombardi trophy from a prior Super Bowl. Lines were around the block waiting to see the real deal—and to be photographed with it!

Takeaways to Consider 

• Avoid the “hard-to-grasp” headline—the headline that requires thought and is not clear at first glance. —John Caples

• Some headlines are “blind.” They don’t say what the product is, or what it will do for you. They are about 20 per cent below average in recall. —David Ogilvy

• "I HATE STEVEN SINGER!" breaks these tried-and-true rules.

• Singer's business—and his non-upmarket niche—evolved over years of getting to know his customers and developing messages. 

• "Start by knowing the rules and absolutely following all the rules (except when they conflict... seemingly). Select the rule authored by the person with the most success in the market you are serving. Don't violate the rules without testing."  —Anver Suleiman

•  "Two roads to marketing success: (1) Know the rules and follow them better than everyone else. (2) Break the rules better than everyone else." 
—Bob Hacker

• Know your customers and talk to them in their language.

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Word count: 400

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Invitation to Marketers and Direct Marketers: Guest blog posts are welcome. If you have a marketing story to tell, case history, concept to propose or a memoir, give a shout. I’ll get right back to you. (Kindly stay within the limit of 500 words.) I am: dennyhatch@yahoo.com. 
215-644-9526 (rings on my desk).

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