Congratulations to First Wind!

Today is the ribbon-cutting for First Wind’s Sheffield Wind project in Vermont, a 40-megawatt wind facility that will produce enough electricity for the whole of Caledonia County. Producing clean energy in Vermont, for Vermont.

Congratulations guys!

By Anna Sternoff, Captains of Industry

Wish you could come up with the next Virgin America? The story of Ricahrd Branson’s moment of inspiration:

“In ’79, when Joan, my fiancee and I were on a holiday in the British Virgin Islands, we were trying to catch a flight to Puerto Rico; but the local Puerto Rican scheduled flight was cancelled. The airport terminal was full of stranded passengers. I made a few calls to charter companies and agreed to charter a plane for $2000 to Puerto Rico. Cheekily leaving out Joan’s and my name, I divided the price by the remaining number of passengers, borrowed a blackboard and wrote: VIRGIN AIRWAYS: $39 for a single flight to Puerto Rico. I walked around the airport terminal and soon filled every seat on the charter plane. As we landed at Puerto Rico, a passenger turned to me and said: “Virgin Airways isn’t too bad – smarten up the services a little and you could be in business.”

I could totally do the same if I: A. was in Puerto Rico right now/ B. Owned a spaceship / C. Also had hair like Madonna / D. Could think up companies like Virgin America

via ravi the sun

By Ted Dillon, Captains of Industry


Unconventional physical-location advertising is the bee’s knees. Of course there’s the standard billboard, or bus sign, but finding an interesting place to put a creative ad is great. This weekend while I was traveling in the great state of Maine—“Vacationland” is great, go visit— I saw two ads I really liked. The first is this creative McDonald’s ad on the back of an 18-wheeler. It’s clever, and stuck around long enough for this picture to be taken.

The second was a giant light sign on top of The Time and Temperature Building in downtown Portland. The sign flashes the temperature, then the date, then “CALL”, followed by “JOE”—who the hell is Joe? I had to know who Joe was and why I should call him, so I checked the Internet and Joe owns a law office, The Law Offices of Joe Bornstein. I was kind of hoping it was a prank or a hack, but no luck. Good job Joe, for inciting me to do a little discovery and find your law firm.

By Ted Dillon, Captains of Industry

Have you started thinking about your Halloween costume yet? If you’re still in college you’re probably going to need three to five costumes given all the parties (ladies: I don’t think anyone has been a sexy Snuffleupagus, so there’s an idea for you). If you’re trudging along in the real world my guess is you’re looking for one simple costume to wear at office parties that won’t embarrass you. Either way, this list of five pretty easy and (hopefully) original costumes might help you out.

Mac spinny wheel of Death

I don’t know about your office but the entire Captains office uses Macs, so we’re intimately familiar with the rainbow spinning wheel of death. This is a wonderful costume for an office party. Stop at a CVS on your way home, grab the sickle that goes with a “Death” costume from the Halloween isle. Wander down a few rows and pick up a rainbow-colored umbrella. You’re good to go. Disclaimer: stay away from this costume if you’re superstitious—you’ll have to open an umbrella indoors, and anger the Apple Gods.

The Orbits Girl
For all blondes who don’t want to go with the classic yet simple “Gold Digger” (props needed: big cans and a gold shovel), try being the Orbits Gum Girl. The total cost of this costume is about $1.30 for a pack of Orbits Gum. Simply put on a white overcoat or dress, tie a teal ribbon around your neck, and you’re there. As a side note, I’d bring two packs of gum because everyone will ask you for a piece.

Tobias Funke
Any serious Arrested Development fan has probably considered being Tobias Funke, Blue Man Group standby performer. Just throw on jeans and a blue hoodie, paint your head blue, and maybe draw a mustache for recognition. Nothing like introducing yourself at a party with “I can’t believe I just blued myself.”

A Leaf Blower
If you’re really lazy (or a huge fan of puns) you can be a leaf blower. Just grab a piece of scotch tape on your way out of the office. On your way to the party look for a nice big leaf on the street and tape it to your temple. When you get to the party and someone asks you about your costume blow the leaf and stare at them. Guaranteed the guy in the very realistic zombie costume shoots you a nasty glance.

Catcher in the Rye
If you’re feeling like a real angsty teen these days—in your mid 40’s—you can play rebel youth as “Catcher in the Rye.” Grab the dusty catchers mitt from the garage, stop on the way to the party for a loaf of rye bread, and drop your favorite Salinger quotes at the party. Try using “People never notice anything,” when someone inevitably misses the cue with the rye bread.

Well, after all this Halloween talk, and a bunch of good ideas, why not dress up and come to our Halloween Party! That’s right, Captains of Industry is having a Halloween bash next week, and you’re welcome to come. We’ll have drinks and snacks and spookiness and #everythinghalloweeenthatsawesome. RSVP by the end of the week if you’re in rsvp@captainsofindustry.com.

By Ted Page, Captains of Industry

One of the reasons the United States exist today, as opposed to separate countries comprised of the North and South, is that General Grant knew how to give very clear orders. The Union generals who preceded him were known for flowery, overblown language that lacked specificity, so the officers in the field had no clear idea what they were supposed to do. But if Grant wanted a hill taken, he’d write, “Take the hill.” Fast forward to the 2012 election and Herman Cain’s 9-9-9 tax reform plan. People love the simplicity, even when they don’t really know what’s in the plan. Pundits may call it the Pizza Plan because it sure sounds like a deal that would get you extra cheese and toppings, but the American public eats it up. The best counter argument to the 9-9-9 plan has actually been from another Republican who appeals to the common man – Michelle Bachman. She said in a debate that if you turn the numbers upside down you see that the devil is in the details. And if you happened to read my post from earlier this week that talked about what people hear versus what’s said, you’ll find extra deliciousness built-in to Bachman’s retort: Herman Cain is a messenger from the Devil! What better way to swing evangelicals to support you!

By Sarah Lombardi, Captains of Industry

If you’re a film snob like me (Emerson College film program graduate in da house!), you weep at the thought of losing access to art house films, which are on the decline in the face of on-demand options like Tivo or Netflix. Preferably you will cry one single, metaphorical tear, but any amount of metaphorical weeping will suffice. When Tribeca Film chief operating officer Jon Patricof saw big studios dropping small films, he saw opportunity. Thus, the Tribeca Film Festival On the Road was born – bringing together the convenience of video on demand with the sophistication of art house films.

So where does the part about marketing come in? Ah, you see TFFOtR is an exclusive endeavor. Well, somewhat exclusive. First, viewers can only watch these films in four cities. Why Westfield, NJ is honored among Chicago, Houston, and San Francisco is beyond me, but I’m glad NYC gets skipped for a change. Another caveat: you must be an American Express cardholder! Yes, AmEx and TFF are bringing art house films to the masses, while still retaining some of that familiar elitism. Listen to me, I’m getting nostalgic.

TFF isn’t reinventing the art house film, they’re reinventing how we watch them (or don’t watch them, until we get AmEx cards). It’s a brilliant move because American Express has positioned itself as the credit card for only the most high-brow of folk. But they’re finally speaking my (pretentious film snob) language by being elitist about film!

By Ted Page, Captains of Industry

I recently started reading Words that Work, by Frank Luntz, who’s one of the most sought after political and corporate messaging consultants in the United States. While his work is sometimes polarizing (he coined the term ‘climate change’ for George W. Bush because it sounded less severe than global warming), there’s no denying this guy is brilliant – and anyone in the business of marketing can learn a lot from him. One of the basic principles of his teaching is that “It’s not what you say, it’s what people hear” that matters. People’s minds have a built-in tendency to filter sentences through their own perspective, and come up with a different sentence that works for them. Interestingly, the section of Luntz’ book that this premise came to life for me was on a different topic – the need for simple and clear messages. He cites the L’Oreal campaign, “Because you’re worth it.” I read that and thought, “Hold on a second.” The slogan as I remembered it was “Because I’m worth it.” Did Luntz get it wrong? I went back and checked, and apparently the slogan started out as “Because I’m worth it,” but it was changed in the mid-2000s to “Because you’re worth it.” I suspect that what most women heard all along, even with the original campaign slogan, was “Because you’re worth it.” And over time, the campaign came to reflect that. This very human tendency to modify meaning can be harnessed to promote good causes, sell great products, or get a candidate elected. The question for today is, have you heard what I said, or something else entirely?

By Sarah Lombardi, Captains of Industry

In a move that was so misguided it would be painful to watch if it weren’t so amusingly awkward, Ragu decided to try out this “newfangled Twitter whatchamadingy” with disastrous results. Basically, Ragu took the unwritten Twitter Rulebook and threw it out the virtual window. If you need guidance on how not to run your company’s social media sites, or if you know how to run them but would like a good laugh at Ragu’s expense, read on.

Ragu’s first mistake was forgoing the “social” part of the “social media” equation. Before forming any kind of relationship with other Twitter users, Ragu dove in head first by immediately spamming dad bloggers with links.

Taking the “adding insult to injury” approach even further, dad bloggers following Ragu’s spammed links were not rewarded with, say, a coupon or even a recipe, but with this video.

In other words, the URLs they spammed to bloggers were links to a video which insulted their target demographic by relying on a tired old stereotype—the bumbling father who is useless in the kitchen.

Social media is a community. Like any community, its members are expected to contribute in order to be considered respectable. Ragu did a lot of taking but no giving, therefore, they were not a respected member of the community. When you take the word “social” out of “social media,” this is what you get. Basically, this clumsy marketing attempt equated to a somewhat interactive virtual commercial. There’s a reason different platforms are used for different campaigns. Knowing the strengths of each platform ahead of time can help avoid embarrassing missteps like this one in the future.

By Sarah Lombardi, Captains of Industry

I did something the other day that I have never done before. I saw a spot on television that successfully encouraged me to visit the company’s website to learn more about their product. Just when I thought it couldn’t be done!

This spot made such a grandiose claim (or so I thought) that I could not believe it to be true. Not only was the claim impressive, it was scientifically based and quite (though I am loathe to use the overused term) forward-thinking. Interestingly, the product being advertised wasn’t even something I have ever considered buying, but the idea presented was so irresistible that I just had to know more.

Are you kidding me, Lexus?! “Technology…designed to optimize any fuel source on the planet, even those we don’t use yet”? Upon hearing this, I said to myself, “It can’t be done! Can it?” and I felt a wild rush of excitement—some people are thrilled by roller coasters, I am thrilled by clean energy. At first it sounded like Lexus had glimpsed into the future and anticipated every fuel source humankind could dream of using, but in reality they have apparently designed their vehicles to use fuel sources that we haven’t taken advantage of yet. Bravo, Lexus! Electricity is great and I mean it no disrespect, but I’m the kind of person that likes options. Since the fuel cell revolution kind of died on the vine, I’m glad Lexus is doing its part to keep America from getting pigeonholed into one type of fuel source. I’m also glad that vehicle manufacturers are thinking ahead. It’s a refreshing change from the gas-prices-are-low-now-so-buy-an-SUV approach that was prevalent several years ago. As many SUV purchasers learned the hard way, gas prices don’t stay low indefinitely.

The future of energy is now, and it doesn’t involve fossil fuels. Embrace the future or get left in the dust. (Which I think, by extension, will eventually make you a fossil fuel as well.)

Happy Friday, we hope this PSA gives you some good advice for the weekend.

By Ted Dillon, Captains of Industry

The title of any piece of content is so important. All too often we concentrate so much on the substance of the content that the title becomes an afterthought. Titles can be your strongest content asset. For example, if you’ve gotten this far in this blog post and are hoping to hear about titties I’m sorry, but no more mentions of breasts here. Strong titles can significantly increase the reach of your content. Smart Water made great use of titles this year with their Jennifer Aniston Sex Tape video. The video has Jennifer Aniston, but no sex, yet the intriguing title drastically increased the video’s reach. At Captains we write titles every day, here’s three tips from us on how to write better titles:

1.Originality: You’ve got less than 3 seconds online to grab and hold the attention of your reader before they’ve moved onto something else. That puts a lot of burden on your title’s ability to form a lasting impression. Breaking the mold with your title is so important. Try relating your post to a topic outside the box, such as “Like the Kardashians at the mall, Medical Devices Corp drops $105M on new production plant” or, “If Obama groomed his dog with these tips the dog would be Vice President.”

2. Mystery: Pull readers in by sharing only a little bit of information, and tempt them to go further. It doesn’t have to be a Boxcar Children mystery, just leave something untold in your title. Use titles that offer a tip, such as “The second-best way to buy a used mobile home.” Or, answer a question like “Why Brian Williams doesn’t wear pants behind the news desk, and that’s OK.”

3. SEO: With any digital piece of content, be it a blog post, ebook, or especially video, your title gets special emphasis in SEO rankings. Having important keywords in the title and using keywords that also appear elsewhere in the article can help increase the reach of your content through search engines. This applies especially to video and audio content, as the title may be the majority of searchable terms for your content.