Marketing Advice
Copper Sun Is Now Registered to Bid Federal Work
Copper Sun is registered and active in SAM.gov under NAICS 541810, with a UEI and CAGE code, and eligible to bid federal advertising work.
October 26, 2026 · Scott Plamondon
Advice & Ideas
Marketing advice, the history of advertising, and the occasional book review — from the writers at Copper Sun.
Marketing Advice
How to Write a Case Study That Sells
A case study sells when it leads with the result, tells one client's story, and proves the number. Here's the structure that gets read.
October 21, 2026 · Scott Plamondon
Marketing Advice
How to Get Prospects to Respond Without an Offer
You don't need a discount to drive response. Leading with genuinely new information pulled a 3.4% reply from executives — here's how it worked.
October 3, 2026 · Scott Plamondon
Marketing Advice
How Federal Agencies Buy Advertising and Creative Work
Federal agencies buy advertising and creative work mainly under NAICS 541810, through set-asides, sources-sought notices, and RFPs on SAM.gov.
September 30, 2026 · Scott Plamondon
Marketing Advice
How to Get Your Content Cited by AI Answer Engines
AI answer engines cite content that gives a clear, quotable answer up front, backed by specifics and named sources. Here's how to earn it.
September 30, 2026 · Scott Plamondon
Marketing Advice
How to Write a B2B Whitepaper That Gets Read
A B2B whitepaper gets read when it solves one problem, leads with the finding, and backs every claim with data. Here's the four-move structure.
September 30, 2026 · Scott Plamondon
Marketing Advice
Introducing BrassTranscripts: Smart, Affordable Transcription for Busy Teams
Marketers and researchers spend hours capturing insight-rich conversations—expert interviews, customer calls, stakeholder roundtables, internal strategy sessions. And more often than not, those recordings sit in a shared drive collecting digital dust because… well, transcribing them is a pain. Automated tools are fast but sloppy. Manual cleanup is slow and mind-numbing. And most transcription services? Built
August 27, 2025 · Scott Plamondon
Marketing Advice
David Ogilvy’s Advice for Advertisers
David Ogilvy, known as the “Father of Advertising,” was a pioneering figure in the advertising industry. He founded the advertising agency Ogilvy & Mather in 1948, which eventually became one of the largest advertising agencies in the world. He was renowned for his innovative approaches to advertising and his ability to craft memorable and effective
February 2, 2023 · Scott Plamondon
Marketing Advice
The Main Value Proposition: A Vital Concept in Advertising
Advertising is an essential aspect of business, and it plays a crucial role in the growth and success of a company. To ensure that the advertising campaigns are effective, companies need to focus on creating a strong main value proposition (MVP). In this blog post, we will discuss what MVP is and why it is
February 2, 2023 · Scott Plamondon
Marketing Advice
Why Everyone Should Know AP Style
Knowing different writing styles is a useful skill whether you write professionally or for personal use. Though there is some overlap in the various writing styles, it is critical to know the difference between each one. It will improve your writing and make you sound more authoritative.
September 26, 2022 · Hailey Robinson
History of Advertising
Made in France: How Le Creuset Built (and Maintains) Its Brand
As an avid cook who is obsessed with thoroughly researching before any purchase, I’ve seen advertising for countless cookware brands. Whether scrolling through social media or watching commercials on TV, I’ve found it interesting how different brands position themselves to stand out while selling relatively similar products. For example, it’s fascinating to see the way
April 14, 2021 · Caroline Previte
Marketing Advice
How to Advertise Travel
With the global tourism industry generating more than $9 trillion every year, a great advertising campaign can be an incredibly lucrative and important investment for both well-loved and up-and-coming destinations. Whether foreign or domestic, travel advertising sells the average person an escape from their mundane everyday life, right at the opportune moment. As a Boston
March 25, 2021 · Caroline Previte
Marketing Advice
How to Make TV Commercials that Sell: 16 Tips from David Ogilvy
I used to see commercials and wonder, “What are they trying to sell me?” Or remember a funny scene from a commercial and ask, “”What company was that?” As a copywriting intern at Copper Sun Creative, I have been studying the strategies behind making effective TV commercials. I have been reading books by the advertising
October 2, 2020 · Colin Young
History of Advertising
The Smokey Bear Wildfire Prevention Campaign
In the weeks prior to the start of World War II, the Ad Council was formed. The Ad Council is an organization that brings together the advertising industry to create advertisements for social good. Going on 76 years, the wildfire prevention campaign, known best for its mascot Smokey Bear and his slogan “Only you can
October 2, 2020 · Colin Young
Advertising Book Reviews
35 Proven Formulas for Writing Headlines
Throughout the relatively brief history of advertising and even today, people believe that there is no scientific basis for advertising decisions. Despite the millions of dollars being thrown at advertisers, people often believe that the effectiveness of the advertiser is solely based on their creativity and cleverness. Although creativity and cleverness can be good assets
October 1, 2020 · Colin Young
History of Advertising
Four Reasons Why the Pepsi Challenge Was an Effective Campaign
Pepsi vs Coke: How it all started The existence of product substitutes inevitably leads to competition. It’s one of the driving forces of commerce. But every once in awhile a competition arises that is so big it turns in to an all-out war. This is what happened when Pepsi came out with its unforgettable Pepsi
July 22, 2020 · Colin Young
Marketing Advice
How ‘The Worst Hostel in the World’ Built Its Bold Brand Image
I stopped by the hostel my sister was staying at. It was a dingy place with prison-like bunk beds. There was a pub in the basement where the green felt of the pool table was stained grey and black from cigarette smoke and ash and the watery beer was served by the pitcher in opaque
July 11, 2020 · Colin Young
Marketing Advice
Snickers vs. Oldspice: Conveying Benefit in Commercials
Think about why you buy things. You want to get some benefit from the product, right? Buying a certain product makes your life easier or better in some way. Companies are well aware of this desire to gain something from products. Snickers and Old Spice shaped these two entertaining and memorable commercials around this concept.
July 11, 2020 · Colin Young
History of Advertising
What’s Behind the Advertisement: Then and Now
How consumers behave hasn’t changed much over the years, but the methods of studying it and its prominence in advertising have. As advertising has evolved, so has its relationship with consumer behavior research. In this blog, I will examine the early history of using consumer behavior to advertise and how it is used today. The
July 11, 2020 · Colin Young
Advertising Book Reviews
What Is Scientific Advertising?
Scientific Advertising was written by the renowned advertiser Claude C Hopkins in 1923. Hopkins is known by many as the father of advertising. Through a lifetime of revolutionary work, Hopkins developed unprecedented strategies to advertise effectively without taking huge financial risks. He lists out his most important strategies for advertising in a scientific and reliable
June 18, 2020 · Colin Young
Marketing Advice
Advice to an Ad Agency Hiring Manager
Hiring freelance copywriters can seem like a shot in the dark. So, how can you measure writing skill and professionalism? Here is some free advice on hiring a good copywriter. Read the copy! Many hiring managers actually skip reading the prospect’s copy. Bad idea, you’re hiring a writer — yes? Check these four areas. Simple
April 4, 2020 · Scott Plamondon
Marketing Advice
Facts You Should Know About Headlines
Copper Sun has written hundreds of headlines over the years. Some good, some great, and some best not remembered. But that’s how it works: write many headlines to pick just a few. Here are some facts you should know about writing headlines that reach customers. Headlines matter Five times as many people read headlines as
April 4, 2020 · Scott Plamondon
Marketing Advice
How to Write Website Content that Sells
Writing web content can be a tricky task. The idea is to write copy for what your customers want, not what you want. Try these tips. What do customer want? Customers want answers. They want facts, features, benefits, prices. They hate marketese and useless fluff. If you take away one idea today, let it be:
April 4, 2020 · Scott Plamondon