COPY WRITING

– Corporate
– Institutional Development
– Institutional Admissions/Membership
– Business Capability/Sales
– Editorial
– Technical/Instructional
– Advertising
– Video/Broadcast
– Speeches
– Direct Mail
– Naming/Slogans

CORPORATE

Annual report for Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota (excerpts)

Introduction - Our half century of experience, our day-do-day dedication to better health and our vision for the future all emphasize our main purpose—to serve the people who have put their trust in us.
This year’s annual report focuses on these people. It illustrates how they get well and stay well with the financial protection and services we provide. The photographs and brief stories accompanying them introduce you to a cross section of Minnesotans. Each has a story to tell about what our services have meant to them. They are your friends, your neighbors and your co-workers. Some have overcome illness; others have reason to be thankful for consistent good health. All of them share their reliance on Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota and the peace of mind and security they derive from our commitment to care...

...Communicating with Consumers and Providers - More than 500 employees in the claims division logged, examined, priced and processed over 6.1 million claims during the year. Nearly 1.8 million of these claims were submitted through electronic media.
A measure of claims service is efficiency—the ability to process claims quickly and accurately, and yet with personal concern for the people we serve. Last year we maintained this tradition of service with 91 percent of telephone inquiries answered on the first call, nearly 81 percent of all claims resolved within 14 days, and 98 percent resolved within 45 days...

...(photo/cut line): Meg Blegen is Personnel Assistant at St. Mary’s Hospital in Minneapolis. She and her husband, Ron, have five-year-old twins, Benjamin and Luke, and a seven-month-old daughter, Emily.
“We consider ourselves fortunate to have had Blue Cross and Blue Shield coverage for the past 12 years,” Meg said. “Four years ago, Ron had serious surgery for a spinal tumor and had only a fifty-fifty chance of survival. With our coverage, we had the freedom to visit the Mayo Clinic and the specialists of our choice. We made our own decisions about Ron’s care,” Meg recalls, “and he made it!”

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INSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Capital campaign case statement for University of Minnesota School of Nursing (excerpts)

...There is no lack of vision—new ideas in nursing are emerging and evolving faster than anyone could have anticipated. The real challenge is focus. Campaign Minnesota and the School of Nursing’s $11 million campaign goal provide us with an opportunity— indeed a defining moment—in which to focus our vision on those health care issues with the greatest impact on our students, the people we serve, the state of Minnesota and the future of nursing. To do so, we have established three clear initiatives around which we must substantially build our resources: nursing leadership, faculty distinction and
student success.

...Faculty Distinction - Endowment Goal: $4 million
We all remember teachers who made a difference in our lives—those with the rare gift of imparting the information, the learning skills, the intellectual model and the passion that makes students successful.
Demand for the best and brightest teacher/scholars is intense. They are valued not just for their work with students, but also for their vision, energy and the acumen to develop significant research programs that will help improve and save lives.
When it comes to research funding, success begets success. Adequate resources make it possible for faculty to pursue and publish their vital scholarly work. This attracts other front-rank faculty. And this, in turn, attracts top students...

...Student Success - Endowment Goal: $2 million
The School of Nursing cannot set its sights on meeting the health care needs of an increasingly diverse society without ensuring that its student body comprises the same diversity. The School is committed to recruiting and retaining students who show promise of making the most of their education, regardless of—indeed, often because of— the challenges they may have faced in getting here...

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Annual fund appeal letter for Courage Center, one of America’s premier physical rehabilitation centers

Dear...

The new “look” of the Guardians of Courage program signifies Courage Center’s renewed commitment to telling its story. We hope it will also remind you of the Center’s greater-than-ever need for your special annual support. The theme is captured in the powerful Paul Granlund sculpture, The Spirit of Courage. To me the statue suggests a very significant word: moving.

Moving is what Courage Center is all about. Each year more than 15,000 children and adults with disabilities are helped to move ahead with their lives. Many clients learn literally to move again, pursuing the elemental freedom of more independent living. As a Guardian of Courage you help people to move.

Programatically we are moving. In the past year our services have again grown in both quality and scope. In all, over 15,000 people benefited from our programs—a new record. Bus as our impact grows, so do expenses. While last year’s Guardians response was wonderful, this year’s budget calls for almost $100,000 more. We need your new or increased participation to meet his urgent need and keep Courage Center moving forward.

Finally, “moving” has an emotional meaning. If you’ve heard or seen just one of the many stories of hope and courage kindled here, you know what I mean. I hope you are moved. To cry. To smile. To hope. But most of all, to help.
Won’t you join me as a Guardian of Courage? Start your membership with an annual gift of $1,000 or more. If you are already a Guardian, please consider increasing your gift this year. Your thoughtfulness is appreciated.

Sincerely Yours...

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Case statement for the launch of a nursing home foundation – Life Care Retirement Communities (brochure and inserts target residents and their families) (excerpts)

...Philanthropy Close to Home
"It is one of the most beautiful compensations of this life that no man can sincerely try to help another without helping himself." Ralph Waldo Emerson

...It has been said that wise giving is a matter of enlightened self-interest. In other words, it is giving which, by benefiting a larger whole, directly or indirectly benefits the donor as well.

Perhaps the clearest examples of this can be seen in the realm of corporate philanthropy. The genius of the most successful corporate giving programs lies in having identified those areas in which the interests of the community and those of the corporation overlap. (A chain of booksellers sponsors a program to prevent blindness; a home furnishings company supports affordable housing; an insurance company underwrites a fire safety campaign.)

It is not so different for individual philanthropy. While one would like to think of charity as purely altruistic, it makes perfect sense to support causes which benefit both recipient and benefactor. The benefit may be as simple as the satisfaction of having helped another less fortunate. But no less valid is a contribution to the orchestra by a music lover, support of cancer research by a relative of a cancer patient, or a donation to improve the quality of life for all in one's own retirement community...

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Tributes gift brochure for a veterinary hospital (piece targets pet owners in urgent care waiting room)

A Tribute To...
The treatment and care of animals at the Veterinary Teaching Hospitals of the University of Minnesota is a drama involving many players. Some of them serve in highly visible roles—especially the clinical staff and students who work directly with the animals. Others, in supporting roles, may not be as obvious: the student or intern who makes an unusual effort to help or to understand, or the counselor who helps a grieving owner to cope with the loss of his or her pet.

Whatever the outcome of your personal drama at the VTH, perhaps there was one person (or more) who had a special way with your pet or helped you through the experience. Please consider making a contribution to the VTH in tribute to their work. Your gift will recognize an extraordinary person and will help to continue the quality care, service and education of one of the finest veterinary facilities in the Upper Midwest.

Please fill in the information to the right and return with your check to the cashier or by mail to:..

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INSTITUTIONAL ADMISSIONS / MEMBERSHIP

Admissions brochure for the Wilson Center, an adolescent psychiatric hospital (excerpt: introduction)

It’s hard to be an adolescent. It’s a time of transition between the carefree spirit of childhood and the awesome responsibilities of adulthood. Young people seem to be constantly bumbling, failing, forgetting. Seeking clues to answers when they don’t even know the questions, they often travel to the extremes of emotional experience. They test; they explore; they experiment. This seems to be the only way many young people can find the connection between what they feel inside and what the world expects of them.

But when this treacherous course accidentally veers too close to the edge, the result is more than just awkwardness and anxiety; it becomes energy turned against itself. It is depression, isolation or destructiveness. It is devastating to both the individual and the family.

The decision to seek hospitalization for a troubled adolescent is extremely difficult. Solutions to such complex problems are expensive and cannot be hurried, so choosing the kind of help which can be most effective involves the most careful consideration. The objective, of course, is to begin as quickly as possible to relieve the patient’s emotional suffering and build a new foundation of healthy experience.
It was to this end that the Wilson Center was founded.

Admissions viewbook for Augsburg College, a Lutheran inner-city liberal arts college (excerpt)

...Augsburg’s faculty is committed to teaching. While many are involved in important research projects, they offer students every opportunity to participate and share the excitement of discovery. Faculty members do more than teach. Because Augsburg is such a small school, they become friends, counselors, mentors.

Again and again Augsburg graduates comment on how well their liberal arts background prepared them for the ever-changing conditions of career and life. This is illustrated by the large number of Augsburg graduates who have gone on to distinguished careers in fields outside of their major areas of study—in some cases more than one field.
In the final analysis, an Augsburg education attends to the needs of the whole person, not just a career. The Augsburg experience is the enrichment of diverse personalities and points of view, the excitement and challenge of city life, and the joy of living and learning in a community of caring people. It opens one to all that life has to offer, freeing the musician inside the doctor; the inventor inside the computer analyst; the explorer inside the teacher...

Membership brochure for University of Minnesota Raptor Center (excerpts)

Cover: Seize the Opportunity (photo of eagle catching fish in talons)
Medicine • Education • Research • Conservation • Inspiration
Join the Raptor Center

Inside: Let your imagination soar
Imagine a world in which the majestic eagle flies free and wild; in which the haunting call of the owl heralds nightfall at forest edge; in which the falcon still strikes with its awesome speed and certainty.

Unfortunately, the environment for raptors is being threatened as never before. The inexorable advance of human activity has not only reduced the amount of suitable habitat for these birds of prey; it has riddled their world with danger—speeding machinery, power lines, firearms, traps and any number of poisons...

...JOIN US! Please grasp the opportunity to help these most beautiful, most amazing—yet most vulnerable—of creatures...

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BUSINESS CAPABILITIES / SALES

Promotional brochure for Hiddenshores, a townhouse development (excerpts)

In the calm of misty morning, the great blue heron wades the shallows on stilt-like legs. Now and then a fish breaks the glassy stillness of the water. A dewy green canopy of trees bends gracefully toward the water, as if to beckon you into it.

If this seems like the stuff dreams are made of, then dream on. Because the sights and sounds of lakeside living can still be yours at Hiddenshores. Here, on the shore of Crystal Lake, just over ten minutes from downtown, are the homes which recall the pace and mood of a gentler time...

...The crown jewel of Robbinsdale was Crystal Lake. Families from the town and as far away as North Minneapolis would come to spend long summer afternoons swimming, boating and reveling in its crystal clear waters. Lovers would row aimlessly, never beyond sight of the dock—but lost anyway. At night, a few campfires always winked from the surrounding woods, and you could practically hear a whisper across the lake.
You’ve been here before. In your childhood...or maybe just in your imagination. And now you’re invited to come back. Hiddenshores townhomes combine modern luxury living with the timeless charm of Crystal Lake. Eight multi-level lakeside homes share the site, each offering full views of the lake...

...Come back to Crystal Lake, where the rising sun pours its warmth across the water as it always has; where gentle lake breezes still cool the hottest days; and where the great blue heron can still be seen. Come and imagine living in a place like this.
(architect’s renderings, list of amenities, contact information and signature)

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Capabilities brochure for Link-Osborn Company, an asbestos abatement firm (brochure targets building owners and managers) (excerpts)

(Cover illustration shows a businessman on a remote hilltop, straining to look into the distance...through a microscope)

The Long View - When you realize you have an asbestos problem in your building, naturally you want the quickest, most efficient solution possible. After all, the sooner a solution is reached, the sooner you can ensure your occupants’ safety and return to normal operation. The process involves extremely close scrutiny and many immediate details. But don’t overlook the long-term implications. Present conditions in your building can affect your interests as building owner or manager for years or even decades to come. At Link-Osborn Company, we are committed not only to a quick and thorough solution of your asbestos problem, but also to minimizing your long-term vulnerability...

...To enter the top ranks, it takes more than experience, more than good personnel, more than all the equipment in the world. It takes a solid financial base. It takes leadership, commitment and vision. And it takes an attitude few asbestos contractors seem able to sustain—a focus on true service and the long-term peace of mind of each client. At Link-Osborn, we have a very clear vision of what it takes to be the best—and we are committed to realizing that vision...

...If you expect high quality work and the ability to back it up in the future, there are only a few companies to consider. Link Osborn Company has the expertise, the experience, the financial strength and the foresight to protect your long-term interests...

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EDITORIAL

How-to article published in Popular Science magazine (excerpts)

How to choose and use paint pads

...The secret of a paint pad’s efficiency can be found in the pad surface itself. Thousands of tiny fibers—usually nylon—are bonded to urethane foam. This design can be likened to a redesigned brush, with many more—and shorter—bristles distributed over a larger area to hold and spread the paint. Some pads have an impervious adhesive between fibers and foam; others have a porous adhesive that allows the paint to be absorbed by the foam. In the latter design, the foam serves as a sort of backup reservoir of paint...

...When you’re painting a room, use the edger first to outline the major surfaces—around door and window frames, and along baseboard and ceiling—before filling in with a larger pad. Most edgers have a guide—either wheels or a stationary tab—that runs along the adjacent surface to produce a straight edge. When using an edger, you may have to load it more sparingly than the full pad to prevent a bead of paint from forming along the edge of the stroke. Masking around moldings is usually unnecessary.

Once the edging is done, start painting the large wall areas by staggering several vertical strokes on the wall (see illustration). Then blend them together with several light diagonal strokes to achieve the most uniform coverage...

...Paint pad kits are available to handle most home painting projects. A good one will have a full-size paint pad (seven to nine inches wide), an edging pad, a small “wand” for detailing, and a paint tray. Pads are made for special tasks, too, such as painting shakes and shingles, applying stains, and for rough surfaces like masonry or stucco. These pads have the best combination of fiber length and foam thickness for each job...

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News release for Padco, manufacturer of do-it-yourself painting tools (excerpts)

For Immediate Release – Special for National Decorating Products Show
Chicago IL

Padco Incorporated will introduce several new products at the National Decorating Products Show, November 16 - 18. The Minneapolis-based manufacturer of do-it-yourself home improvement tools traditionally has used the NDPS as the occasion for unveilings. In last year’s show, for example, they presented their “Goop Loop” texture painting line, which has since enjoyed acceptance throughout the paint applicator industry.

This year’s surprises from Padco include the Spatter-Shield Roller. This new roller features a wrap-around shield to catch the paint spray thrown off by conventional rollers. The molded one-piece frame/shield design is so efficient that the tool is only about half the weight of the average metal frame. Padco is billing the Spatter-Shield as “the applicator success story of the 90’s”...

...In addition to their complete line of paint pads, paint pad kits and wallcoverings tools, Padco also will be featuring their new sculptured foam texture roller, a foam brush six-pack and the “Stripper”, a hand-sized abrasive pad said to work better than steel wool for removing softened finishes.

Padco is exhibiting in booths 7019-7025.

For more information...

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TECHNICAL / INSTRUCTIONAL

Trade brochure for Zeeospheres, an extender medium for paints and plastics (Zeelan Industries Inc.) (excerpts)

(Cover) To reduce plastic parts costs up to 20%, while improving strength, performance and processability...Look Into Zeeospheres (illustration)

Zeeospheres are unlike any extender you’ve ever seen. They’re hard, super-strong, hollow, silica-alumina glass spheres. They’re chemically inert and thermally stable. They’re produced in a wide range of sizes, each with a particle size distribution ideal for high filler loading. Zeeospheres are as different from ordinary glass spheres or bubbles as they are from conventional mined or processed extenders.

Think what these properties can contribute to your plastic parts:
Strength - Zeeospheres are much stronger than conventional glass bubbles or even solid glass spheres. With wall thickness comprising up to two thirds of their diameter, they have a compression strength of over 60,000 P.S.I., making Zeeospheres stronger than steel!...
...Hardness/Abrasion Resistance - Zeeospheres are extremely hard (Mohs scale 7). They contribute abrasion and wear resistance to your parts. And, because of their spherical shape, they are not themselves abrasive...
...Thermal Stability - Zeeospheres are unaffected by temperatures up to 1,200 degrees Centigrade. You can use them with confidence when high production temperatures are necessary, or when specifications call for high temperature resistance in finished parts...

Take an even closer look into Zeeospheres. Order your samples now...
(contact information)

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Consumer instruction booklet for a texture painting roller (Padco Inc.) (excerpts)

Padco texture painting tools are designed to apply texture paints quickly and easily. The effect you get will depend on the type of texture paint you use and how you apply it. No matter how you do it, you’ll get a rich, dramatic textured finish. (For more creative texture variations, see the back panel of this brochure.)...

...Prepare for Success!
In texture painting, as in conventional painting, preparation is the key to success. Remember: any paint will hold only as well as what it’s painted on. In general, texture paint will adhere better if surfaces are clean and dry, and if any smooth, shiny surfaces are dulled or scored before application.
NOTE: Some wood products are treated with silicone-based sealers and may not hold a texture coating, even if clean. To be sure, test a small area and check for solid adhesion.

Hint: Rub your hands and arms with a protective hand lotion before painting to make clean up easier...

...Sectioning
• Start by texturing and edging a small corner area (about 4’ x 4’).
• While first section is still wet enough to blend, start another 4’ x 4’ section and blend the two together.
• Continue adding and blending in new sections until surface is completed (Fig. 4)...

...Hint: Put water pressure to work for you: use it to spin the roller as you clean it...Print

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ADVERTISING

Ad campaign for E.T. French, a small retail clothier

Head: French Dressing

Body: Start with equal parts of luxurious fabrics and exacting workmanship. Add a generous measure of impeccable tailoring. A pinch of refinement and just a dash of elegance. Blend together in traditional styles and colors. Season to good taste and serve with knowledge and courtesy.
(Illustrations/captions: Men’s and women’s outfits, descriptions, prices)
(Signature: Sportswear in the American Tradition - E.T. French - Bonaventure, next to Ridgedale)

Head: Fluent French

Body: You won’t need a course from Berlitz to talk with us, or read our labels. The look is all-American. The accent is on quality.
Our vocabulary of traditional sportswear includes Gant, Justin Ltd., Pendleton and many others. Each speaks to comfort and enduring good taste.
Compare our quality, our atmosphere and our service with those of larger stores. You’ll find a pronounced difference.
(Illustrations/captions: Men’s and women’s outfits, descriptions, prices)
(Signature: Sportswear in the American Tradition - E.T. French - Bonaventure, next to Ridgedale)

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VIDEO / BROADCAST

30-second television spot for the PomPom toilet bowl brush (Padco Inc.)

(Visuals: slow zoom in on bathroom vanity cabinet doors opening. Zoom continues inside to show dingy conventional toilet bowl brush in back corner among clutter. Dissolve to close-up of PomPom brush slowly rotating. Quick flash to white flower rotating and back to PomPom. Dissolve to close-up of PomPom in stand; slow zoom out to show product in plain sight next to toilet. Product/packaging shot w/signature)

There’s something hiding in the darkest corner of your bathroom. You’d rather not see it, much less use it. Now there’s a bathroom bowl brush you won’t want to hide. And its PomPom shape is more than pretty—its tough bristles work hard, with no metal parts to rust or scratch. In its neat little holder, the PomPom brush stands by itself—easy to look at; easy to use. The PomPom bowl brush from Padco. See it.

45-second workplace video appeal for the Minnesota Environmental Fund

(Visuals show a man innocently reading a newspaper who suddenly shows the effects of pollution with special effects: a skeletal (x-ray) view of his hand, dissolving hair, a radioactive glow, having the top of his head sawed off, his head belching smoke and a fish jumping out)

So you keep hearing that Minnesota’s environment is more at risk than ever. Is it all in your head? Well, you know that there’s a hole in the ozone the size of the U.S... Acid rain threatens our marine and wildlife... Toxic waste stays deadly for thousands of years... The greenhouse effect keeps raising temperatures... We’re losing our precious forests and wetlands... Air pollution gets worse every year... And, even in wilderness lakes, fish are contaminated with mercury... I could go on...

Use your head...and your heart. Support the Minnesota Environmental Fund.

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SPEECHES

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota board chairman’s speech to annual meeting (excerpts)

Good afternoon. It is my pleasure to welcome you, the corporate members of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota, to this year’s annual meeting...

...to say we are pleased with what has been accomplished this year would be an understatement. We are delighted! Minnesotans are being served better and more efficiently than ever before. Their numbers have increased to one and a half million—that is one of every three Minnesotans. Equally as important as how many we have served is how well we have served. The year’s accomplishments—in our communications with subscribers and providers; in our development of competitive new products; in our processing of claims; and in our cost containment—have resulted in more benefits for more consumers than ever before...

...If I were to issue one challenge to this corporation for the next half decade in three words or less, it would be: communicate, communicate, communicate. Only through communication with consumers can we continue to assess and respond to the realities of the marketplace—serving the changing health care needs of consumers at a reasonable cost. Only through communication can we keep the personal touch in an industry that is leaning toward increasing automation. Only through communication can we continue to build on our dialogue with providers—a dialogue that ultimately benefits providers and consumers alike. And only through communication with all of our constituencies can we on the board of trustees continue to keep our fingers on the pulse of this corporation and direct its course with wisdom and compassion...

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DIRECT MAIL

Letter for Calhoun Isles Condominiums, promoting real estate sales (excerpts)

Dear ...
I have recently purchased a condominium in the Calhoun Isles project near the Calhoun Beach Club. As president of the Calhoun Isles Owners Association, I urge you to join me and many prominent Twin Cities business and professional people in considering this remarkable investment opportunity.

You’ve probably seen the articles about Calhoun Isles Condominiums in Corporate Report and the Star Tribune. It is the first project of its kind in the nation to “recycle” grain elevators into prime residential properties. Bob Mecay and Gary Benson, developers of the Calhoun Beach Club, the Lumber Exchange Building and other significant restorations, have turned the Calhoun Isles site into what may well be the most unique and valuable residential property remaining in Minneapolis...

...All but a few of the 143 condominium and town-house-style units have been sold (with little or no promotion). Joining me have been several of the top people in Twin Cities real estate firms, the president of one of the region’s largest home building companies, the general counsel of one of Minnesota’s largest banks and a leading official in city government. These are people in the very best positions to recognize choice real estate investments.

We would like to have you as our neighbor, but please act quickly. Call me before the day is over and I will personally answer you questions about Calhoun Isles. If you like what you hear, we’ll set an appointment for a private showing at your convenience.
Sincerely,

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NAMING / SLOGANS

Project for Pride in Living (name for housing and self-help agency)

Reinforcements (name/theme for Salvation Army capital campaign)

One-Shot: You’ll Never Find a Golf Ball Like This Again! (name and slogan for novelty camouflage golf ball)

Caring For Our Building...Building For Our Caring (slogan for church capital campaign)

The Eloquence of Giving (theme for scholarship organization’s tribute gifts program)

BrewHaHa (name for pub/comedy club)

BookHook (product name for telephone book hanger)

Clear Voice, Pure Data, Straight Talk (corporate slogan for telecommunications provider)

Parallels (newsletter name for international manufacturer whose logo features two bold parallel lines)

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