Merlot Marketing, Inc.’s Post

"You can take a good look at a T-bone by sticking your head up a bull's a**, but wouldn't you rather take the butcher's word for it?" ~Big Tom Callahan I take what I do very seriously and am honored to have received so many thoughtful recommendations on this platform. In my tenure posting on this platform, I am humbled to read all of them. Here are a few. #beadisruptur 

Let’s take note #internalcomms. We can skip the preamble or passive voice and get to the point. Use “in briefs,” TLDR’s, strong headlines, and short, clear sentences.

Corporate Math If pizza = employee’s paycheck, Then pizza = shareholder’s payout. After all, who needs raises when you’ve got amazing company culture? Very mindful, very demure!! Hey! Shreya 🦋 here. Follow along for more mindful content😜

The marketers working for Wendy’s are brilliant! Their new campaign is super rebellious and creative. So we all know that McDonald’s ice cream machines are often broken, right? Wendy’s partnered with McBroken.com, an independent website that tracks which McDonald’s ice cream machines are down, to find locations where you couldn’t order a McFlurry. Then it rolled up with a Frosty truck to give out its own desserts. This is what marketing is for. Marketers need to think about solutions out of the box. You must find out what is the weakness of your competition and not be afraid to use it. #wendys https://lnkd.in/eRWE6ZuJ

Ready to make your contact rates as irresistible as a piping hot pizza on a Friday night? With Number Guard, we're serving up slices of success, testing your numbers multiple times daily. Imagine cutting through call labeling and blocking issues like a hot pizza cutter through gooey mozzarella - that's what we do best. Hungry for better results? Order up a demo at NumberSentry.com. #NumberSentry

You can only grill so many fish at one time... A premise I often share with my team when they are feeling overwhelmed or have too many things on their plate. It's easy to assume you just need to move faster. But often times there is a precise amount of output that can be achieved before quality is compromised. And if quality is your priority, then this is really important. I remember being on the grill station at Oceana, and the grill would be filled with Branzino, and tickets just kept coming in. The pick up was pretty simple. An artichoke barigoule warmed with garlic confit, finished w/ baby spinach and lemon. It was a popular dish, and I tried to speed up the process. But I quickly realized; I could only comfortably fit 15 Branzino, skin-down, on the grill at any given time before it began to crowd and the fish would begin to steam a bit, causing the skin to not get as crispy as it should. The lesson: We all have a throughput constraint. You can try and improve the throughput constraint with more infrastructure, but you typically can not simply increase throughput and expect the same results. If you have 10 initiatives on your to-do list. Stop and prioritize. How many can you accomplish at once? Prioritize what's most important, and move the rest aside. Pushing most of the other work off most often has zero reflection on your capability to execute. What can you take off your plate today? sidenote- am I just terrible at using DALL-E? the images are so unrealistic

Is a 🌭 a Sandwich? Let's Settle This (Or Not) Ah, the age-old question: is a 🌭 a sandwich? If you're feeling brave (or just looking for a fun way to procrastinate), you might want to check out this delightful video debate that attempts to answer the ultimate culinary conundrum: 🌭 Sandwich Debate https://lnkd.in/e_DU-bA6 Now, you might think that this is an easy question. Bread + Meat = Sandwich, right? But let me assure you, dear readers, this debate is not for the faint of heart—or for those who prefer things to be black & white. What starts as a seemingly innocent inquiry into the culinary identity of a 🌭 becomes a metaphysical deep dive into what makes a sandwich... well, a sandwich. Watching the panel in this video, I found myself wavering. The classic argument—a 🌭 is meat inside bread, & thus, it qualifies as a sandwich—seems so bulletproof. But then, there's the rebuttal that hits you like an uninvited soggy bun at a backyard barbecue: a 🌭 is... different. It exists in a realm beyond sandwiches, defying neat categorization. It’s like the rebellious cousin at the family reunion who shows up late, sporting a top hat & claiming they’re *not* technically family because they live in a van. I mean, they’re *there*, aren’t they? And yet... something feels just a little off. This video’s passionate takes from both sides had me nodding, laughing, & shaking my head all at once. The intensity of the debate reached such heights that at one point, I wondered if the invention of a new taxonomy was in order—perhaps sandwiches need a "maverick" category that hot dogs can finally call home. Heck, I even started considering whether a taco could be called a sandwich—but let’s not open *that* can of worms today. (Spoiler: I have a feeling that taco lovers & 🌭 purists would form an alliance just to chase me down.) The video is definitely worth a watch, & I think it boils down to this: a 🌭 is only a sandwich if you *want* it to be one. Or, if you’re desperate to win a bet at a dinner party. At the end of the day, whether you classify your 🌭 as a sandwich or as a category-defying masterpiece, I think we can all agree on one universal truth: it’s best enjoyed with a cold drink & maybe a side of existential dread about culinary labels. So where do I stand on this pressing question, you ask? Well, I think the real answer is, it's whatever gets people riled up enough to bring me more hot dogs.

What's been cookin' at Whitsons lately? Check out our latest "What's Cookin'" video to see what our teams have been up during the month of March! #tbt #throwback https://lnkd.in/dzYZuhS9

When writing proposal copy, resist the urge to use all the marketing phrases and buzzwords. Provide specifics about your approach to the project and avoid using old stand-bys, like "we will meet the budget and schedule efficiently and effectively while exceeding your expectations." 🎇 Go in for the big challenge...rephrase sentences that start with 'We' and see the perspective transfer to that of the owner. Less about you...more about them. Do your proposals need a refresh? Message us today! #aec #aecmarketing #aecindustry #aecproposals

My son has what most men and boys have. Selective hearing. What Wendy said: I'm glad it's going to warm up next week, I've still got ice cream in the freezer. What my son heard: There's ice cream in the freezer! It's like me, when people say anything about business, all I hear is, "Richard, please make me a spreadsheet". Anyhow, I'm eating ice cream. In front of my new grey wall (see last post for context). #SpreadsheetSolutions #BetterSpreadsheets #IceCream