10.10 Persuasive Claim: Waikiki Beach Country Club Gets Scammed on Phony Toner Phoner
Current date
Copy Machine Specialists
4320 Admiralty Way
Honolulu, HI 96643
Ladies and Gentlemen:
SUBJECT: Returning Two Bottles of Toner
10.11 Persuasive Claim: No Champagne for Breakfast
Current date
Customer Service
Spring Hill Inn
115 Lady Street
Charleston, SC 29401
Dear Customer Service Representative:
In recent years my company has recommended that its traveling employees use the Spring Hill Inn in
Charleston because we have been pleased with your accommodations, your rates, and especially your
service. That’s why I’m sure you will want to reverse a charge that I believe was made in error to our
account.
Sincerely,
Enclosure
10.12 Persuasive Claim: Mysterious Legal Costs
Current date
Mr. Harry Peabody
Attorney at Law
Peabody, Conn, Manges & Traurig
252 Broad Street
Boston, MA 02109
Dear Mr. Peabody:
10.13 Persuasive Organizational Request Flowing Downward: Supporting Project H.E.L.P.
To: Staff <staff_list@prudential.com>
From: Your name <your_name@prudential.com>
Subject: Project H.E.L.P.
Dear Staff Members:
Would you like to increase your commitment to your community and improve your job skills? Project
H.E.L.P. is an opportunity to train and encourage local students while also improving your own
supervisory and interpersonal skills.
10.14 Persuasive Organizational Request Flowing Downward: Please Dump Your Own Trash
To: Business Division Faculty Members
From: Dean Michael Ravera
Subject: Helping Cut Costs and Achieving Sustainability
Dear Business Division Faculty Members:
Like many colleges and universities, we are facing severe budget cutbacks. Our division, along with all
other campus departments, faces a 25 percent budget reduction this year. Although we have less income
to work with, we are reluctant to cut services that might diminish our instructional goals.
10.15 Persuasive Organizational Message Flowing Downward: Become an Urban Farming
Volunteer
To: Staff <staff_list@paychex.com>
From: Student’s name <student’s_name@paychex.com>
Subject: Urban Farming Volunteer Opportunity
Cc: wp@paychex.com; cms@paychex.com; mc@paychex.com; library@paychex.com
Would you like to increase your commitment to your community while enjoying the great outdoors and
learning a thing or two about healthy eating? Urban Farming is an opportunity for employees to educate
and help feed needy families by starting community gardens. Following initial training, volunteers join the
battle against urban blight by converting vacant lots to green oases. The process includes teaching
members of the community how to manage the new gardens and encouraging them to make healthier
food choices.
10.16 Persuasive Message Flowing Upward: We Want a Four-Day Workweek
To: Skin Essentials Management Council
From: Student names and e-mail addresses
Subject: Saving Energy, Reducing Costs, and Pleasing Employees
Skin Essentials has always been an employee-centric company with an emphasis on environmental
stewardship, and we would like to suggest a program that meets those goals and reaps other impressive
benefits.
Employee committee names
Contact information
10.17 Persuasive Organizational Message Flowing Upward: No Free Fruit?
An e-mail would be equally appropriate in this situation in an organization as welcoming of employee
empowerment as Omni Hotels seems to be. However, a letter is always a more formal record. It is more
likely to be considered seriously than an e-mail, which is much easier to ignore and more likely to
disappear among the hundreds of e-mails executives receive each day.
Current date
Mr. Richard Johnson
Vice President, Omni Hotels
420 Decker Drive
Irving, TX 75062
Dear Mr. Johnson:
10.18 Persuasive Organizational Message Flowing Upward: Counting on Tips
Current date
Mr. Constantine Delmonico, General Manager
Big Sur Properties
Even when servers have given good service, some customers leave no tip. This is a serious problem for
the servers at Pacific’s Edge Restaurant. Many of us have gotten together and decided to bring the
problem—and a possible solution—to your attention in this letter.
Restaurants such as the famous Coach House Restaurant in New York now add a 15 percent tip to the
We servers feel that a mandatory tip printed on checks would work well here at the Pacific’s Edge
Printing mandatory tips on checks not only helps customers but also proves to the staff that you support
We urge you to begin printing a mandatory 15 percent tip on each customer’s bill. Our American Express
terminals are already equipped to do this. Please let us know your feelings about this proposal within two
weeks because it is a serious concern to us.
Sincerely,
10.19 Taking Aim at Puffery in Advertising
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) helps readers distinguish between puffery and deceptive claims
10.20 Using Reader Benefits to Sell
To ensure originality in the students’ effort, consider assigning a limited number of products or services
Power Monkey eXtreme—This charger’s large-capacity, 9000 mAh lithium battery holds enough
power to fully charge your tablet or phone multiple times, and can also charge two devices at
Now ask students to explain how the features of the product (in this case, the power pack) could benefit a
10.21 Direct-Mail Sales Letter: Pitaya—Selling a “Superfruit”
Current date
JJ’s Power Gym
800 Union Street
Brooklyn, NY 11215
Dear Jay:
But how about superpremium juice from the pitaya fruit?
Biologically related to the Vietnamese dragonfruit, the pitaya is a superfruit packed with nutrients. It is
It’s delicious and it’s so good for you!
Yet this refreshing exotic fruit is largely unknown in North America. This is about to change!
We have secured a year’s supply of pitaya and exclusively distribute our Pink Pitaya Coco Blend in the
Eric Helms, CEO
Juice Generation
P.S. Hurry! The first 50 respondents who order will be entered to win a special prize—one of five
ultraportable juicers, small enough to take on the road! Your odds couldn’t be better, so contact
us NOW!
10.22 Sales Message: Subscribing to Organic Greens
Fair & Fresh Farming
Wholesome local food for you
Say no to imported produce!
Order a veggie and fruit box online for as little as $30!
“You, as a food buyer, have the distinct privilege of proactively participating in
shaping the world your children will inherit.”
—Joel Salatin, Holy Cows and Hog Heaven: The Food Buyer’s Guide to Farm
Friendly Food
Current date
Mr. Anthony Jordan
305 Pleasant Street
Miles City, MT 59301
Dear Mr. Jordan:
Have you had it with tasteless supermarket greens? Are you concerned about chemicals you might be
feeding your family? Or perhaps you are troubled about the carbon imprint of food that was harvested too
soon and circled the globe before arriving on your table.
Be good and do good: Now you can be good to yourself and do good for the environment. You can also
contribute to the survival of local family farms by buying sustainable food. How, you ask?
Become a member of Fair & Fresh Farming and start ordering a box of seasonal fruit and vegetables from
small local farms to your table—but without the premium cost charged by high-end organic food markets.
Pay only a little more than conventional supermarket food prices.
Enjoy many benefits: We personally know the farmers who supply our nutritious, healthy food, and we
vet them carefully. Here are some of the benefits you can reap by joining us:
Discover great-tasting fruit and vegetables, but don’t take our word for it. Dare to compare our fair
and fresh food to conventional supermarket produce.
Be good to yourself. Enjoy food that is 100 percent herbicide and pesticide free.
Support small family farms that supply in-season sustainable products that meet our highest
standards. Your dollars ensure that we can pay our farmers fair prices.
Avoid lengthy shopping trips, traffic snarls, crowded parking lots, and packed supermarkets. Eat
produce that has not been handled and bruised by hundreds of customers.
Order now—it’s easy: Select on our website the produce you want, and we will deliver it to your
doorstep. Orders received by 10 a.m. on Sunday will be on your table on Tuesday or Wednesday. For
Thursday or Friday delivery, submit your order by 10 a.m. on Tuesday. That’s all!
Why wait? Visit www.fair-fresh-farming.com and order a box of fresh seasonal produce today! Or call
1-406-737-4282. Start eating wholesome and delicious food delivered from the local farm to your table.
Sincerely,
Martina Sabatini
Marketer-in-Chief
P.S. Register as a member by July 15 and receive 20 percent off your first order!
513 E Valentine Road Glendive, MT 59330 info@fair-fresh-farming.com 1-406-737-4282
10.23 Sales Message: Promoting Products and Services
Solutions will vary.
10.24 Micromessages: Analyzing Twitter Feeds for AIDA Components
Solutions will vary, as do the examples in Figure 10.12. Here are a few more model tweets with
comments:
Make a #NewYearsResolution to reduce weight! Extra fat creates hormones that could lead to
unhealthy cell growth http://www.goo.gl/OmRK4 [Cancer charity effectively addresses a potentially
receptive postholiday audience and provides a health reason for weight reduction.]
Every little bit helps. Please retweet “@grist: The orcas are trapped in ice and need your help
http://bit.ly/14j5BVB [A popular singer’s clout might help with the appeal for assistance in freeing a
dozen killer whales trapped in ice; the celebrity suggests that no action is too insignificant].
Not on #Windows 10 yet? Upgrade before Feb. 28 and get Windows 10 Pro for $39.99 plus over
$70 in app offers! [Microsoft uses subtle peer pressure, suggesting that the reader would not want to be
left behind; the offer is limited and the price is reduced to motivate action].
10.25 Writing Persuasive Tweets and Posts
Solutions will vary.
10.26 Creating Newsy Press Releases
Solutions will vary.
10.27 Press Release: Here’s the Scoop!
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Cindy Eikenberg
(410) 847-9420
BIG MAC GOES GREEN WITH POTATO STARCH
CLAMSHELL CONTAINER
Santa Barbara, CA, current date. In an effort to use biodegradable packaging, McDonald’s has
approved a new sandwich container for its Big Mac. Over 300 McDonald’s stores will begin handing out
its most popular sandwich in an environmentally friendly clamshell container made from potato starch,
limestone, and 100 percent postconsumer recycled fiber.
The new container, produced by EarthShell, is whipped up out of renewable starch that is reclaimed from
the commercial processing of potatoes and french fries. It also uses natural limestone, cellulose fiber
