Jack Daniel's: Finally, a Nice Cease-and-Desist Letter

BizCom in the News readers may recall the U.S. Olympics Committee's recent cease-and-desist letter to knitters, which didn't go over too well. This time, we have a much more polite example of a legal attempt to stop a trademark violation.

The Jack Daniel's letter addresses a violation of its whiskey label on this book cover. Comparing the two, we see obvious similarities in color, borders, and some of the text.

 

The full letter includes this excerpt:

The book author acknowledged that the letter was nice:

"...perhaps, the most polite cease and desist ever written. If it wasn't signed by some lawyer, I'd imagine ol' Gentleman Jack penning it himself, twirling his bushy mustache."

 However, he didn't take the company's offer to reprint the book:

"In case you're wondering, no, my publisher, Lazy Fascist Press, will not be taking them up on their offer. We're proudly independent and don't need any of that sweet corporate booze money to redo the cover."

Discussion Starters:

• What risks does a company such as Jack Daniel's take in writing a non-traditional legal letter?
• Can you find the modifier problem in the letter excerpt? How can you fix it?

Jon Stewart Criticizes President Obama's Emails

On The Daily Show, Jon Stewart questions the Obama campaign's informal approach to email. Stewart gives examples of subject lines such as "Hey" and "Dinner?" Rather than what he calls "fake familiarity," Stewart suggests that these email subjects should focus on the real purpose: "Give me money."

Jon Stewart isn't the first one to criticize President Obama's emails. Back in December, White House reporter Keith Koffler took issue with the the "Hey" emails:

"Obama, who was sold to us as something surpassingly genuine, actually likes to pretend he's someone he's not. All his town halls on people's back porches, trips to Best Buy, and dinners with three dollar donors doesn't change that he is a card carrying member of the elite liberal ruling class.

"He was admitted around college or law school, and that's where his soul has resided ever since. Recently, with book sales buoyed by his presidential success, he's gained the financial status commensurate with his social standing.

"He should act that way. The regular guy stuff diminishes both him and the presidency. More than classy or low-brow, friendly or stiff, Americans want one thing more than anything else in their leader: Authenticity.

 "'Hey,' is phony. And it's puny for a president."

Discussion Starters and Assignment Idea:

• What's your view of the President's approach to email? Do you agree with this criticism?
• What could be better subject lines that do, in reality, request donations?
• As practice, write two email messages on behalf of a presidential candidate's campaign (a candidate of your choice). What could you say to inspire people to give, and what subject line will you use? Check the tone by asking other students for their opinion.

Did an Email to Customers Save a Pizza Business?

When Nick's Pizza & Pub was losing business, CEO Nick Sarillo did something against conventional wisdom: he sent an email to customers describing the situation and asking them to return. Sarillo engaged his customers in saving the two restaurants, which is just the result he got. 

In his email, Sarillo makes several emotional appeals, such as this one: 

"I realize that sending an e-mail like this is risky and unorthodox, but I don't care because I don't have anything to fear or hide.  We run our business with totally open books, and the core team that shows up to our weekly fiscal huddles will not be surprised by what I'm writing. I truly care about our team and each guest who has blessed us by choosing to eat at Nick's instead of any of the many other places available to them."

His email ends with a clear, public appeal: 

"I do have one last hope for me and the 200 team members of Nick's. If within these next four weeks we could see a large increase in sales at either of our restaurants, we could still pull through. So my final request is for each of you to come dine at Nick's Pizza & Pub and tell all your family, friends, co-workers, and neighbors to come now, too. We want to continue on as a part of your commuity [sic] and aren't ready to tell you goodbye yet. If you wish to contact me with investor ideas or any ideas or questions at all, you can email me at office@nickspizzapub.com, call me at 815.356.5557, or simply stop by and talk in person. Thank you for reading."

To some-including Sarillo's publicist and banker-the approach is perhaps too open. The business owner admits failing and runs the risk of turning off customers for good. But Sarillo explains his rationale:

"I honestly woke up on Saturday morning, walked over to my computer and looked at reports as I typically do, and this time I didn't know what I was going to do anymore. . . . I surrendered to the fact that this could be it and I could lose my business. I decided that I had done my best and I needed to let go. . . .That is when I decided I needed to do what felt like the right thing to do, communicate openly, clearly and honestly. It felt very uncomfortable in the moment to be so vulnerable, and actually as I started to write, tears were also coming out. It was hard to let go of something I worked so hard for and built with my own two hands. Although I had surrendered (in the spiritual sense of the word) to what my life would be like without my business, by the time I got to the end of the email, I still had hope and was not totally giving up."

Public support was strong following the email. Someone set up a Facebook page, Save Nick's Pizza, and according to Sarillo, "We doubled our sales in each restaurant for the first week and stayed at a 75 percent increase for a couple of weeks." It took a while, but Nick's remains a viable business today. 

Sarillo and others credit the success to his transparency and authencity-two important qualities for a business leader. 

Discussion Starters: 

• What examples of emotional appeal, logical argument, and credibility do you see in Nick's email? Which approach do you think is most effective? 
• Under what circumstances do you think a similar email may NOT have the same results in saving a business? In other words, for what types of businesses or business owners would you recommend this strategy, and for what types would you recommend avoiding it? 

Emails Goes Mobile

New research shows dramatic changes in where people access email. Between December 2010 and December 2011, according to BI Intelligence, web-based email dropped more than 30% for people between 12 and 24 years old. Email is moving to mobile devices-phones and tablets.

As you can see from the chart, results are mixed for older generations. This is one reason that I wouldn't get too excited about the so-called "death of email." Email is still highly pervasive in business, where we see people between 45 and 54 years old and about a 15% increase in web-based email. Also, people are still using email; they're just accessing it differently. Another study, by Radicati, indicates that 85% of business people access email on a mobile device. Whether people use both a browser and a phone is unclear from these numbers. 

Yet the numbers likely predict a future increase in mobile email-no surprise to any of us, really.

This move has significant implications for how we write and respond to email messages. The lines between email and texting may continue to fade, and maybe we'll finally delete mobile-device tags, such as "Sent from my iPhone."

Discussion Starters:

• What are the advantages and disadvantages of using email on a browser and a mobile device?
• What are your thoughts about the tag "Sent from my [mobile device]"? Does it explain short messages or excuse lack of attention to detail?

NYU Student's Emails

Upset with a class assignment to write an ethnography about the Occupy Wall Street protestors in Zuccotti Park, NYU senior Sara Ackerman wrote several emails to her professors and university administrators. The emails show frustration on both sides-a student wanting a different assignment and a college struggling with how to respond to complaints.Besides the drama and voyeuristic appeal of the situation, the story is rather sad. Ackerman follows through on her threat to publicize the controversy, but does she get what she needs? And university officials are embarrassed and can't satisfy the student.

Sara Ackerman Emails: "An Open Letter to John Sexton regarding Professor Caitlin Zaloom"

One of Ackerman's goals is to get her professor fired. She claims that she was offered an A in the course to be quiet about the situation, but university officials deny this. Instead, the VP of public affairs said, "We looked into the complaint and found the accusations were unwarranted."

A look at NYU's Student Email Policy is no help, of course, particularly with a 2003 "effective date," and the Guidelines for Student Email Use offers little guidance other than how to forward email and expectations for regular email-checking-another throw-back to 2003. The confidentiality statement is getting closer, but students needs more help to determine effective use of university email.

Then again, what would help in this situation?

Discussion Starters:

• What is the student trying to achieve with her emails? To what extent is she successful?
• What alternative communication channels and avenues might be helpful to a student in a similar situation?
• If you were the head of communications for NYU, what, if anything, would you say to the press?

Two More UBS Executives Resign

Not surprisingly, the two co-global heads of UBS's Equities division have resigned. These resignations follow a trading scandal that cost the Swiss bank $2.3 billion and the CEO's resignation on September 25.

An email to employees from interim CEO Sergio Ermotti uses a sharper tone than emails from the previous CEO:

"We have to be straight with ourselves. In no circumstances should something like this ever occur. The fact that it did is evidence of a failure to exercise appropriate controls. Our internal investigation indicates that risk and operational systems did detect unauthorized or unexplained activity but this was not sufficiently investigated nor was appropriate action taken to ensure existing controls were enforced."

Discussion Starters:

• Ermotti's email uses an indirect organizational plan. Do you think this is appropriate in this case? Why or why not?
• Compare Ermotti's email to that of Carsten Kengeter, the head of the UBS investment bank. What differences do you notice, and how would you explain them?   Download UBS emails.

AP Issues Situational Style Guide for 9/11 Anniversary

Associated Press is known for its style guide to help journalists decide between "smart phone" and "smartphone," but now the organization has created something new: a so-called "situational stylebook" in preparation for the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. The Sept. 11 Style and Reference Guide may ensure that journalists writing about the events conform to certain standards, for example, "twin towers" (lowercase) and al-Qaida (pronounced al-KY'-ee-duh).

In addition to promoting consistency in writing style, the guide will help journalists accurately report about 9/11-related events. The guide includes common sense advice such as this:

"Do not make up names, however. There is no Boston Airport, for example. The Boston airport (lowercase airport) would be acceptable if for some reason the proper name, Logan International Airport, were not used."

The guide's timeline of events is also helpful; after all, it has been a decade since the events, and memories fade.

Discussion Starters:

• Looking at the AP Sept. 11 Style and Reference Guide, which advice do you think will be most important for people reporting about the 9/11 anniversary? 
• Does any of the advice surprise you? Why?
• For what other situations or events do you think a situational style guide might be useful?

Are People Tired of Email?

Email open and click rates are on the decline, meaning people are less likely to open a marketing email. The latest study shows people opening marketing emails at a rate of 17% (compared to 26% in 2009).

This continues a trend since 2007.

Discussion Starters:

• Do these statistics surprise you? Why or why not?
• What influences whether you open an email?
• What can you learn from this for your own email messages -- both internal and external?

Assignment Ideas:

• Open your email inbox. Looking at the last 25 or so messages, which are you most likely to open and why? In small groups, discuss your reaction to the marketing emails. Did you open them initially?
• Now look at your sent box. Rewrite the subject lines of five emails to make them more enticing for the receiver to open.

Companies Send Email about Security Breach

The Story

Did you receive an email about a security breach? Epsilon, an email marketing firm, has reported that their contact list has been stolen. Epsilon sends emails on behalf of several large companies. Companies are responding in force, contacting customers to disclose what happened and to allay fears. According to these messages and Epsilon's press release, the impact on consumers is minimal. 

Here are several emails sent by affected companies:

• Brookstone
• Chase
• JPMorgan Chase
• TripAdvisor
• Kroger
• TiVo

 
Discussion Starters

• What differences do you see among these emails, and why do you believe companies took these different approaches?
• Which version do you find most effective? Consider the type of company and its customer demographic as you decide which email works best; for example, what's the difference between Chase and JPMorgan Chase?

Assignment Ideas

• With a partner, choose two of these examples and compare them. Which do you think is most effective and why?
• Write your own version of an email for customers of a company. Choose a company and tailor the email to its customers.
• Research one of the companies that wrote an email. In a short written report, complete an audience analysis of the company's customer base. Given your analysis, recommend an approach for the company when communicating with these customers about the situation.

Bank of America Stops Foreclosure Sales

The Story

Bank of America has stopped foreclosure sales nationwide under criticism about documentation.  Legislators and state prosecutors expressed concerns about "robo-signers," "employees who sign hundreds of documents a day, without carefully reviewing their contents, when foreclosing on homes," according to a Wall  Street Journal report.

 
Read more and watch a video report from PBS here.

 
Discussion Starters

• What are the ethics of signing documents without reading them? What are the potential consequences for homeowners? 
• Homeowners complain that loan officers assigned to their case are unresponsive.  Why is this happening, and what is the responsibility of banks to communicate with homeowners in danger of foreclosing?  

Assignment Ideas

• Review Bank of America's statement about halting foreclosure sales (below).  Rewrite the statement to use clearer, simpler language.  
  "Bank of America has extended our review of foreclosure documents to all fifty states. We will stop foreclosure sales until our assessment has been satisfactorily completed. Our ongoing assessment shows the basis for our past foreclosure decisions is accurate. We continue to serve the interests of our customers, investors and communities. Providing solutions for distressed homeowners remains our primary focus."
• Write a letter to homeowners explaining the situation.  For many homeowners this is good news: they may have more time in their home before it's foreclosed.  However, from the bank's perspective, this is not good news. Balance these messages in your letter.

Department of Defense Memo Tries to Fix "Lax," "Sloppy" Media Relations

The Story

Last week, Defense Secretary Gates issued a memo with new rules for how the military should deal with the media.  Although Gates denies a connection between this memo and the recent Rolling Stone article that got General Stanley McChrystal fired, Gates says openly that the military has "become too lax, disorganized and in some cases flat-out sloppy in the way we engage with the press..."

Click on the image to download the PDF. 

Discussion Starters

• Do you believe this memo is unrelated to the McChrystal situation?  Why or why not?
• What impact might this memo have on the news media?  How do you think the press might react to this?
• Why would Gates choose a memo instead of another medium for his message?  Was this the best choice?

Assignment Ideas

• Analyze Gates' memo according to the principles in Chapters 4 and 5.  To what extent does this memo measure up to business writing guidelines?   
• Rewrite Gates' memo to reflect the business writing principles in Chapters 4 and 5.  What improvements can you make?