RonAmok!

Saturday morning I sorted through the snail mail pile that had regenerated itself since I performed a similar activity last week. One of the pieces caught my attention — an 8×11 envelope from Bank of America with my name and address handwritten on it. My first impression was that it came from someone who I might have met recently, someone who was following up on a promise to send me something, like an article I might be interested in.

Instead, I found a sales letter with a business card stapled to it.

The business card had a nice shiny picture of Jim Faulkner, Mortgage Loan officer. The copy on the advertisement told me NOTHING…well except for the fact that “More people come directly to Bank of America…,” they are “…dedicated…Close-On-Time…” and have the “…highest service rankings and the lowest foreclosure rates…”

“Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz…”

“Nurse, we’re losing him. Caffeine. STAT!”

Normally, after dozing off, I’ll just crumple up the paper and try to hit a three pointer from my seat. But for some reason, I felt generous this time. I thought to myself, “Heck, I’ll need another mortgage some day. Jim looks like a nice guy. Let me checkout his blog to see what he’s all about.”

I searched all over his business card, the sales letter, the envelope and found nothing close. Of course it did contain a URL with a tracking number, but let’s be serious; it exists for Bank of America’s benefit, not mine.

That’s when I started to feel a little bad for Jim. How on earth is he gonna distinguish himself from all the other mortgage sales letters that are crammed into my mailbox on a weekly basis? Without a blog, or a Facebook profile, or any online presence, how will I know what kind of person he is, what sorts of advice he offers, or what unique services he provides that go beyond helping me fill out a mortgage application?

Without offering me this outlet, why on earth would I do business with Jim/Bank of America over the local savings bank, Wells Fargo, or Washington Mutual?

New Media Evangelist ronamok Bank of America Washington Mutual Wells Fargo corporate blogging sales letters

So, while preparing for my PRSA Digital Impact Conference presentation next week, I grabbed my MacBook, found a comfortable place in my man cave, and started clicking through my slides using the little white remote control that came with my MacBook.

Later that evening, I fired-up my HDTV, only to find a movie paused about halfway through. “That’s odd,” I said to myself. “What was I watching?” After a little detective-work, I determined that someone bought Will Ferrell’s Semi-Pro for $14.95 through iTunes.

I stormed through the house, grumpily asking who bought the movie. My son reminded me that he can’t stand Will Ferrell movies and my wife and daughter stated that they never touch the AppleTV.

As I contemplated all sorts of possibilities, I noticed the little white AppleTV remote control on the table — the same remote that controls my MacBook!

It appears that while I was practicing the timing of my presentation, I simultaneously hit the correct (incorrect?) combination of keys to purchase the movie. With the television and sound system turned off, I had no idea.

Apple AppleTV New Media Evangelist Semi-Pro Will Ferrell Oops iTunes