Four Reasons Why Lists Work

The “top 10 list” approach to content is thriving online – particularly in the blogosphere. In the spirit of lists, here are four reasons why a list post works.

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Name that…Flavor?

If you’ve been grocery shopping lately, you might have noticed Doritos has a new flavor on the market — but you’ll have to decide for yourself exactly what that flavor is.  You might even win a contest.

The new chips don’t exactly fit in with tried-and-true favorites like “Nacho Cheese” and “Cool Ranch,” with their black packaging and science experiment-esque label “X13-D.”

According to Frito Lay, the new flavor is, in fact, part of an experiment — an interactive marketing one, that is. 

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No Bank Account? Go To Wal-Mart

Retail giant Wal-Mart held a national kickoff of its Money Center in Atlanta this week, and launched a Wal-Mart prepaid Visa card. It’s a move designed to offer financial services to Wal-Mart’s “un-banked” customers. Un-banked refers to millions of people across America who fall outside mainstream banking and who don’t have accounts with financial institutions.

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Dilbert’s Creator on Effective Business Writing

Dilbert is an effective comic strip on many levels: the satire, the characterization, the commentary on corporate America, the way it captures the quirks of our engineering friends. But it’s easy to overlook that Scott Adams is a fabulous writer – and his recent blog post on effective writing reveals his approach.

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Engaging Billboards

The sheer size of outdoor advertising has tremendous potential to grab people’s attention. And these BBC billboards featured on the Pronet blog are great examples of a powerful concept made even more effective by their size, location (Times Square), and the fact that they have combined a traditional media component with an interactive element (the tally). I have seen these boards show up in different articles, blogs and other industry news stories over the last several months, and each time it is interesting to see how the vote has changed.

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