10.9 Persuasive Claim: Pricy Toner for Tony Myrtle Beach Country Club
Solution
Current date
The Toner People
1218 Sam Rittenberg Blvd., Suite 100
Charleston, SC 29407
Ladies and Gentlemen:
SUBJECT: Returning Two Bottles of Toner
Your telephone marketer misrepresented himself in a recent call to Barefoot Resort & Golf in
Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. As a result, our assistant ordered two bottles of inferior toner.
With this letter, we are returning those bottles.
Yours truly,
Enclosure
10.10 Persuasive Claim: No Booze for Breakfast
Solution
Current date
Customer Service
Aria Resort & Casino
3730 Las Vegas Boulevard
Las Vegas, NV 89158
Dear Customer Service Representative:
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.
Enclosed is a statement showing this erroneous charge. Please remove this charge and
restore our faith in your hotel.
Sincerely,
Enclosure
10.11 Persuasive Claim: Wretched Print Job
Solution
Current date
Mr. Mitch Spiro
Primera Printers
240 State Street
Rochester, NY 14608
Dear Mr. Spiro:
Sincerely,
Enclosure
10.12 Persuasive Organizational Message Flowing Downward: Volunteering at NuStar
Energy
Solution
To: Staff <staff_list@nustar.com>
From: Your name <your_name@nustar.com>
Subject: Annual Charity Golf Tournament for Haven of Hope
Dear Staff Members:
If you are like most of us, you may have wondered what to do about homelessness. Perhaps
you have felt helpless. What if we told you that you could help raise millions of dollars for
this important cause and get paid by NuStar to do so?
If you are ready to make a difference and make new friends, please reply to this e-mail by
August 2.
Your name
[Full contact information]
10.13 Persuasive Organizational Message Flowing Downward: No More Costly Shipping
Charges
Solution
Date: Current
To: All Shipping Employees
From: [Your name], Manager
Subject: Reducing Overnight Delivery Costs
Overnight delivery services are wonderful, but they are costing us a bundle! To avoid strict
future restrictions imposed by the CEO, I’m asking you to voluntarily reduce your use of
these delivery services by 50 percent in the next two months.
Rather than face a ban on all overnight services, let’s work together to reduce our costs.
Here are some suggestions:
• Ask yourself whether the recipient will really need the merchandise immediately. If
not, pick a cheaper method.
10.14 Persuasive Organizational Message Flowing Downward: Get Into Urban Farming
Solution
To: Staff <staff_list@clorox.com>
From: Student’s name <student’s_name@clorox.com>
Subject: Urban Farming Volunteer Opportunity
Cc: wp@clorox.com; cms@clorox.com; mc@clorox.com; library@clorox.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.
10.15 Persuasive Message Flowing Upward: A Four-Day Workweek Sounds Divine!
Solution
To: Nitroglow Management Council
From: Student names and e-mail addresses
Subject: Saving Energy, Reducing Costs, and Pleasing Employees
Nitroglow 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.
Many municipalities have already implemented a four-day workweek. In Avondale, Arizona,
the city ran a pilot program known as Green Friday to save energy and reduce overall costs.
The summer-long pilot program was a huge success with more than 80 percent of
employees and residents in favor of the schedule. Avondale also reduced its annual janitorial
costs by $10,000 and reduced its electricity use by $45,000.
Researchers at the Romney Institute of Public Management at Brigham Young University
studied the effects of a compressed workweek in more than 150 cities in 38 states. Their
findings revealed that four-day employees reported lower levels of work–family conflict and
increased productivity compared with traditional workers. In our own small survey of
Nitroglow employees, we found that 80 percent favored a compressed workweek. Such a
flexible workweek has innumerable benefits for employees and could also improve
efficiency.
Contact information
10.16 Persuasive Organizational Message Flowing Upward: Keep the Apples!
Solution
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. Daniel Surette
Senior Vice President of
Sales and Marketing
Omni Hotels & Resorts
4001 Maple Avenue
Dallas, TX 75219
Dear Mr. Surette:
As an Omni associate, I am grateful to be employed by a luxury chain known for its high
rankings of guest satisfaction and its many amenities. I am also pleased to be trained in The
Power of One, and I enjoy the encouragement it gives associates to offer their opinions
regarding the hotel’s mission and its four-diamond services.
A bowl of Granny Smith or Red Delicious apples lifts the spirit and says, “Welcome!” Bowls of
apples provide an immediate nonverbal greeting to guests and quickly put them in a good
mood. Please do not remove our apple greetings.
Sincerely,
10.17 Persuasive Organizational Message Flowing Upward: Depending on Tips
Solution
Current date
Mr. Gabriel Souza, General Manager
Pacific’s Edge Restaurant
Hyatt Carmel Highlands
120 Highlands Drive
Carmel, CA 93923
Dear Mr. Souza:
I hope you know that we the staff love working here at Pacific’s Edge Restaurant. The
spectacular views and the special ambiance make the restaurant a dream workplace. We are
proud of the highly regarded cuisine we’re dishing out.
Providing tipping guidelines and printing mandatory tips on checks not only helps customers
but also proves to the staff that you support them in their goal to receive decent wages for
the hard work they do. A few customers might resist, but these customers can always cross
out the printed tip if they wish. If you have any doubts about the plan, we could try it for a
six-month period and monitor customer reactions.
10.18 The Coolest of All? Puffery in Advertising
Solution
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) helps readers distinguish between puffery and
deceptive claims with this example:
a. The best-tasting juice in America! and
10.19 Selling With Audience Benefits
Solution
To ensure originality in the students’ effort, consider assigning a limited number of products
or services and narrowing the target audience. For example, consider a product description
like this one from travel store Magellan’s:
Now ask students to explain how the features of the product (in this case, the power pack)
could benefit a frequent business traveler or a student on the go. The $199.50 price is steep
10.20 Phony Online Reviews: Cutting Through “Opinion Spam”
Solution
Results will vary. If the Cornell University study is to be believed, humans are poor judges of
the veracity of reviews. Of course, it’s important to point out to students that they cannot
10.21 Sales Message: Conquering Reactance While Promoting an Electric Car
Solution
Answers will vary. This assignment offers various options, allowing for team effort at the
idea-generating and pre-writing stages while leading to an individually written direct-mail
letter or e-mail. A letter is recommended so that students can practice the format.
The next pre-writing step could lead to choosing a suitable vehicle and conducting minor
research to identify the features most attractive to the audience. Next, students could be
asked to develop the features into specific audience benefits relevant to this cohort. As an
intermediate assignment, students could peer-edit and discuss tables that juxtapose
features and fully fleshed-out audience benefits, perhaps showing the attributes of the
vehicles in the left column and their relevant beneficial attributes tailored to the audience on
the right.
altogether and not just for financial reasons. The key points of resistance to EVs tend to be a
high purchase price and short range.
Below you will find a sample sales letter promoting the best-selling electric vehicle of all time
as of this writing, the Nissan Leaf.
Hayward
Nissan
24644 Mission
Boulevard
Hayward, CA 94544
(510) 372-2800
www.haywardnissan.com
Current date
Mr. Sammy Lear
261 Illinois Street, Apt. #3
Oakland, CA 94601
Are you ready to drive clean?
Do it for you. Do it for California.
Hi Sammy,
Are you like most people? Do you follow the crowd? Or are you open to bold ideas and
committed to the future of transportation? If you were like most people, you would believe
that electric vehicles are too expensive and have driving ranges that are ridiculously short.
Get free money when you buy or lease: Get money back when you buy a Nissan Leaf.
Federal, state, and local incentives will lower the price of buying your EV. You may qualify for
a federal tax credit of up to $7,500.
There’s more! Take advantage of special loans, preferential parking, carpool-lane access
even when driving solo, discounted tolls, and lower cost off-peak home charging. More
good news: Most of the 100,000 charging stations nationwide are free. In California, 5,000
charging stations offer almost 20,000 outlets and more are added each day.
Fewer moving parts. Electric engines live without oil changes, spark plugs, or fuel filters.
Regenerative engine braking extends the lifespan of your brake pads as the electric motor
slows down the vehicle. You’ll be saving money while you drive. How does the MSRP of
$31,600 look now? The Leaf Plus starts at $38,200. Do the math!
Don’t sacrifice fun and safety while being good to the planet: The Leaf is super fun to
drive with peak torque right from a standstill. Precise handling and cornering come from a
low center of gravity as the battery pack stabilizes the vehicle and distributes the weight
evenly, keeping you safe.
Abby Mujadadi
Business Manager
P.S. Like us on Facebook or Instagram and tell us about your eco commitment. What are you
already doing to lower your carbon footprint? Or tell us where you would take your Leaf!
Post by May 30 and you will be entered to win one of five Apple Watches. But hurry, our
raffle and special financing deals end on May 30!
Tell your family and friends—EVs rock!
10.22 Sales Message: Organic Greens, Home-Delivered
Solution
Fresh & Fair 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. Daniel Hood
4715 McHugh Avenue
Enumclaw, WA 98022
Dear Mr. Hood:
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?
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.
10.23 Sales Message: Pitching Products or Services
Solution
Solutions will vary.
10.24 Micromessages: AIDA Components in Tweets
Solution
Answers will vary, as do the examples in Figure 10.6. Here are a few more model tweets with
comments:
10.25 Writing Persuasive Tweets and Other Social Media Posts
Solution
Solutions will vary.
10.26 Reviewing Press Releases
10.27 Press Release: We Have News for You
Solution
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
The miraculous EarthShell product is surprisingly strong, yet economical and biodegradable.
It meets industry requirements for rigidity, insulation, stacking, consumer usage properties,
and graphic capabilities. Using low-cost raw materials processed in conventional machinery,
EarthShell packaging requires less total energy to make than polystyrene or paper products.
What’s more, EarthShell products are competitively priced.