I spent the better part of two years learning business in a classroom. At night, my MBA program transported me to the corner office of a CEO. And every morning, I returned to the corporate cubicle of a B2B marketing copywriter.

I am not a CEO. I never will be a CEO. But I’ve had the ear of a number of CEOs, suits and assorted big shots as a business writer for Phoenix Magazine.

Over the next few weeks and months, I’ll share a few things I learned during these interactions. Up first …

Oregano’s Pizza Bistro: It’s hard to protect a good brand from the market.

When Oregano’s Pizza Bistro announced a $25.5 million merger with publicly-traded Restaurant Acquisition Partners last year, many fans were in a tizzy.

Would the leisurely pace of a perfectly-prepared pizza be slashed for efficiency? Would the cheeky attitude that spawned ad slogans like “Size Matters” and “Passion of the Crust” be tamed for a broader audience?

Some longtime fans may have even recalled how the move from privately-owned eatery to publicly-traded chain scuttled the Garcia’s of Scottsdale brand in the early 1990s.

When I met with him last summer, Oregano’s CEO Mark Russell assured me that his partners loved the Oregano’s concept as is. Private or public, the Oregano’s brand would remain grounded in strong customer service, quality food at reasonable prices, and a lively atmosphere based in nostalgia for 1940s Chicago.

But Richard Lipson had his doubts. Lipson helped take Garcia’s public in 1983 only to see his successors dilute the brand and file for bankruptcy 10 years later. “Eventually you lose sight of the big picture,” he warned. “You get caught up in the stock price.”

P.F. Chang’s, Kona Grill and Ra Sushi all expanded out from Scottsdale without succumbing to the market pressures that devoured Garcia’s. Now that the Oregano’s merger seems to have been shelved, I wonder how they’d have fared.

What do you think? Ten years after a merger, would Oregano’s still be Oregano’s — or would it be another Olive Garden? What could the organization do to protect its brand? Post your thoughts in the comments below!

Further reading: Phoenix Magazine | Another Slice of the Pie (October 2008)

This post originally appeared on the Commpose website.

Hot under collar./ Confronted by writer’s block. / Angry, you haiku.

I don’t get hot under the collar when a blank page is staring me in the face.

Neither should Commpose members after tackling creative writing exercises at our September meeting.

Inspired by my own efforts to stretch my creativity as a copywriter and overcome writer’s block, I presented writing exercises centered around:

• Reflective writing or journaling.
• Writing against constraints like time, space or structure.
• Writing to an abstract prompt like describing a color to the blind. (Thanks Kim!)

Our first challenge (inspired by Jason Baer) was to pitch our business in fewer than 100 Twitter-friendly characters. Melissa Balkon pitched her Strong Design Studio thusly:

Helping superstar small businesses make a strong impact on their market.

The exercise led to a great conversation about differentiating one’s business in words. (As a marketing copywriter, I was happy to participate!) The chat was so good, in fact, that it forced us to combine our final two drills into a single exercise.

So, we described the color red to someone who’d never seen it – using five-syllable, seven-syllable, five-syllable haiku form. Responses ranged thematically from steamy (Kim Stearns) to sports car sleek (Jen Halloran). This was Kim’s take:

Lust on a warm day / Fire of passion and anger / Pulsing blood through veins

Whoa whoa whoa waw!

So, if you’re interested in becoming a better writer, Commpose meetings are a good place to start. Our next meeting is October 20, so mark your calendars!

Click to learn more about the Commpose Business Copywriters Meeting!

This post originally appeared on the Commpose website.

From the inaugural foodie CopyBrawl to twaiku’d CD reviews to Shakespearean recaps of ASU football games, I’m always on the lookout for new ways to stretch my creative limits and break through writer’s block.

At our next Commpose meeting on Tuesday, September 15, we’ll flex our creative muscles together by tackling some interactive copywriting exercises!

I’ll cook up some drills and lead the discussion, but everyone will have to get involved. Afterward, we’ll open the floor to discuss specific writing projects you’re working on. So bring a notebook, your favorite pen and writing challenges from your day-to-day gig.

Since we’ll need a little elbow room to write, we’re going to take advantage of the ample table space at Gangplank in Chandler at 6pm. (Visit the Commpose website to RSVP.)

So mark your calendars for September 15 and join us to stretch those copywriting wings!

Creative copywriting is not my strongest asset. Want to spell out your value proposition in a brochure or datasheet? I’m your guy. Want to brainstorm headlines for a new ad campaign? Well, I’ll give it a shot.

Mind you, I’m not satisfied with this. I’ve worked as a sports reporter and as an in-house B2B copywriter for an IT company. Neither gig really challenged me to improve as a creative writer.

So, I take matters into my own hands. I’m a big believer in stretching my boundaries by forcing artificial constraints – either time or space – on my writing.

For example, in the inaugural CopyBrawl, copywriters sold their favorite grocery item in 100 characters or less. It was that simple. And we saw some great contributions, like:

The Sunday New York Times
Everything you need to know about the 21st century, via 15th century technology.

Read more copywriting from the CopyBrawl!

I also like to play around with haikus. You know, three-line poems with five-syllable lines sandwiched around a seven-syllable line. Why haikus? Because the syllable structure really forces you to pick just the right word. That and because a Shakespearean sonnet wouldn’t fit in a tweet.

A few weeks ago I bombarded my Twitter followers with concert-hypin’ Twaiku reviews of Green Day albums like these ditties:

Dookie (1994)
Teens’ feelings checklist: / Boredom? Check. Loneliness? Check. / 90s me nods yes!

Nimrod (1997)
Billie Joe grows old. / Anger. Resentment. Regret. / Aging for the lose.

Now it’s your turn! I do have the time to listen to your rhyme. Review your favorite album – Green Day or otherwise – in haiku form and post it in the comments below!

In the last week I’ve laid the final set of proofers’ eyes on new menus for Scottsdale’s Thaifoon and Ling and Louie’s, in addition to Phoenix-based Fairytale Brownies’ fall and winter catalogs.

Hours of meticulously proofreading materials for some of Arizona’s best food brands left me craving sweet and tangy stir-fried shrimp followed by a premium Belgian chocolate brownie.

I was also left seeking a shot at writing some food copy of my own—and wondering if my readers were up for a little food writing CopyBrawl!

I mean, how fun is this:

Korean Sizzling Salmon
Wok-seared Atlantic salmon served sizzling on a bed of asparagus with sweet sesame-garlic soy sauce.

Obviously, that’d never fly in copy for a B2B technology reseller. First, we wouldn’t sell salmon; we simply cannot claim fish as a core competency. Second, even if we decided to sell salmon to clients, the copy would probably look something like this:

Korean Sizzling Salmon
Overcome the unique dietary challenges of your business by leveraging our customized wok-seared Atlantic salmon solutions.

• Served on bed of asparagus
• Includes sesame-garlic soy sauce

So, how about a little CopyBrawl for all us wannabe food copywriters? Select a food or beverage item – a single grocery item, a favorite restaurant dish, whatever – and post the brand name and 100 characters of value-added body copy in the comments below.

Please limit body copy to no more than 100 characters including spaces. Enter as many times as you like. And remember, don’t sell the steak. Sell the sizzle!