I have to give it to the spammers out there. They are starting to get a little more clever.  I receive BUCKETS of spam every day. Everything from “Male Enhancement” solutions to “The BEST BUSINESS INVESTMENT SOLUTION IN THE WORLD.” sure…  don’t we all

Lately, though, I’ve been receiving an email from someone that has actually done a little homework. Or at least they “seem” to have done their homework…  Check out the email below:

Immediately, the subject line, “Are you a chef?” caught my eye. Thinking to myself, “Hey, I call myself ‘The Brand Chef,’ so maybe they have some relevance to me. Maybe I should read on.”

Then, I get into the body of the email and it says they may have “job leads for chefs.”  Of course, this is where I start thinking to myself, “But I don’t need a job as a chef; I want marketing communications leads.”

But wait…  They said “after checking out {my} website…” Well, that gives me hope that they truly know who I am and what I need… so I read on. Only to be disappointed.

Now, let’s see what they might have done wrong…

First off, they didn’t actually address it to me…  I would have accepted “Andrew, Mr. Clark, Chef Clark” or anything that might have signaled that they actually KNEW who they were talking to.  That information is easy to find, even for spam bots. OH, and let’s not forget the fact that I’M NOT AN ACTUAL CHEF! I only play one on the interwebs… 

So, Why Not Delete The SPAM And Go On With Life?

The real reason I write this is that YES, spammers are getting more sophisticated. Instead of blasting emails to anyone and everyone, they have research and demographic focus and they’re starting (scratching the surface) to use it quite well.

I post this because I actually had a client that received the SAME email (of course addressed to THEIR online brand), and they forwarded it on to me asking if they should respond because, “it sounds like a pretty legit offer…”

Sorry, client. By clicking through and even looking at their site, the spammers won. It may have been a very small victory, but they received a “click-through;” a measurable sign that what they are doing is working.

Sure there is the obvious spam that you just delete before finishing the subject line, but as I mentioned above, they’re getting pretty clever.

So, my warning to my client (and to all of you) : “Please read thoroughly, ALL emails that come across your monitor, phone, whatever, for signs that it’s spam BEFORE you click through to their site – or to some executable virus or worse…”

Keep Cooking!
Andrew B. Clark
The Brand Chef*

*DISCLAIMER:
Although he LOVES to cook,  Andrew B. Clark can in no way legally or otherwise officially consider himself a chef of the culinary arts. This name is for personal branding purposes only and by no means is intended to imply or misdirect people or persons into believing otherwise. Now, Andrew DOES cook and does so quite well (so his family tells him) so if you ARE looking for a “Culinary Chef” he may be able to “Pose” as one. But please do not assume that glazing salmon or tenderizing a chicken breast makes him “Chef-Worthy.”

I sat back in my chair at Caribou this morning looking over a dark roast and a french toast muffin (a MUST try, by the way), thinking about the next post for The Brand Chef blog. I’ve written extensively about branding, personal branding and social media marketing. Heck, I’ve even thrown in a Get-Going Groove of the day compilation and put up a page dedicated to it (great traffic there, thank you!)… But I wanted to get away from the regular routine.

So, today I decided to expound on the social media world’s fascination with BACON.

Yep, Bacon! It’s the American blogger’s food-porn aphrodisiac. If it came between naked pictures of Kaley Cuoco (Penny on “Big Bang Theory”) and bacon, I truly worry that the bacon would get more views. Maybe Kaley’s photos would have a lower bounce rate, but that’s a whole different blog (and innuendo)…

Anyway! I honestly can’t go a single day without seeing a tweet or a post or a photo (notice the bacon bra?) of something to do with bacon. It’s everywhere!

So, why bacon? Why? WHY!?!

1. Bacon Emotes True Passion - Starting out with the obvious, bacon is… FREAKIN’ bacon!

You can whisper “I have bacon” in a crowded room and it’s pretty certain that you get a glorious, harmonizing response of “yummmmmmm…” similar to those Tibetan Deep Throat Chants.  (video)

that aside, the draw to bacon is so powerful, some retailers and hotels have been branded JUST by the bacon they serve!  I’ve read of entire restaurant menus dedicated to bacon, but to have an endorsement like this,

“if Bacon had a God he would live at The Roger Smith Hotel!” – Chris Brogan

makes an impact for bacon’s case that knocks you off your feet.

2. Bacon Has Spanning Relevance - While I really don’t need to go into the origins of bacon, I would assume that it took some grunting relative of ours about 10 seconds to figure out the salting and curing of the fatty back parts of pigs turned a generally disgusting part of the animal into one of the most succulent slices of meat human kind would ever stumble upon. It can be fried, diced, baked, grilled and even made into ice cream. So how can bacon NOT be relevant to every social and economical demographic under the sun?

3. Bacon Is Ultimately Unique – It has a taste like no other meat product.  It’s kind of a cross between glazed ham and beef jerky.  The sheer individuality of bacon makes it the most utilitarian meat source on the planet. And just try to search for “Bacon Recipes.” You’ll be reading (and drooling) for days…

4. And Bacon Is Soooo Engaging – How can one food, one simple, solitary slice of meat become the biggest meme of the 21st century?  How can bacon, a fat, salty slice of cholesterol become more consistently popular than Justin Bieber or Britney Spears put together?

Let’s just put it this way, have you ever been unhappy eating bacon?

UH OH…  look what I just did…

Can you hear it?  Sizzling like fat on a 400˚ griddle…  my branding brain did it again.

Even when it comes to writing a silly post about the popularity of bacon, I pull in the TRUE Branding formula.  It’s inevitable. When it comes to branding, like bacon, there has to be truth, relevance, uniqueness and engagement.

I haven’t asked pork producers but this could all be a big conspiracy to sell more pork product, but I’m sure they’re not complaining.

How would YOU like your brand to have the fan base bacon has? Imagine having your brand, your product, your name associated with everything personally rewarding and ultimately sinfully satisfying as bacon.

Try it.

Keep Cooking (until it’s crisp and satisfying.)
Andrew B. Clark
The Brand Chef

And with a hat tip to my blogging buddy @AdMavericks (Josh Fleming) I give you another tribute to BACON!