Words To Chew On (Or Drink To)

Sitting in a sushi restaurant recently in the West End of Toronto, near where 25bikes Media is located, I idly warmed my hands with a piping hot cup of green tea.

In between bites of California Roll and Teriyaki Beef, I read with interest this clever little mantra that was written on the tea cup:

TEN WAYS TO GOOD HEALTH:

Less Alcohol, More Tea

Less Meat, More Vegetables

Less Salt, More Vinegar

Less Sugar, More Fruit

Less Eating, More Chewing

Less words, More Actions

Less Greed, More Giving

Less Worry, More Sleep

Less Driving, More Walking

Less Anger, More Laughter

For a moment, let's ignore a grammatical error or two for the sake of poetry ("FEWER Words, technically). Without question, we'd all sleep better, live longer and weigh ten pounds less if we followed the health advice on this tea cup.

And...I believe a couple of these could apply to all you business owners as you work tirelessly getting your messages out to your customers:

LESS WORRY, MORE SLEEP:

Advertising is a long game. Don't stress about whether each "Summer Sale" you held was more successful than the last one. Yes, go ahead and run targeted campaigns to specific audiences to promote specific sales at specific times of the year. But, understand (and accept) that some of those promotions won't do quite what you thought they might. It's a process that plays out over the long run. Build your campaign, have a good night's sleep, let the campaign run, tweak it if you need to, but don't attach yourself to it emotionally.

LESS ANGER, MORE LAUGHTER:

At 25bikes, we believe far too many people take themselves far too seriously. Don't be angry. Be happy, and your customers will be happy too. We think there should be a whole lot more "fun" in advertising. In this age of hyper-analyzing every single moment of every single campaign, too many advertisers are afraid to have a little fun. Your customers want to enjoy using your product, and they want to enjoy shopping in your store. This doesn't mean your advertising should be filled with one-liners and knock-knock jokes. But a little enjoyment and some cheeky humour (when appropriate) goes a long way.

LESS WORDS, MORE ACTION:

Actually, I've got nothing to say about this one. 25bikes pays its bills by using words (and media) to help businesses tell their story to their customers. We like words. Words are good.

Maybe one day I'll write my own "Ten Ways To Marketing Health". In the meantime, I'll just warm my hands with this green tea. And have a little less sugar, and a little more fruit.

Photo credit 2018 Joe Middleton

Tea Cup credit 2018 a sushi restaurant in Toronto