William C. Blake: A Copywriter's Bio
William Blake is a technical-industrial copywriter, copyeditor and advertising account manager who works internationally with business-to-business companies.
While Blake’s main focus and joy is writing industrial copy, he is also well versed in the broader discipline of account management under the copy/contact ad agency system.
The Copy/Contact Advertising Agency:
Ideal for Technical-Industrial Companies
Copy/contact advertising agencies are organized so the account manager is not only responsible for client contact but also for marketing analysis, branding, strategic planning, creative positioning and concepts, copywriting, copyediting, lead generation, media planning, product publicity, public relations, and promotional project management.
The copy/contact system is ideal for marketing industrial, business-to-business products. At a conventional ad agency, the account executive turns over all of her notes to a copywriter. The copywriter probably didn’t sit in on any of the meetings with product managers, reps, R&D engineers, or distributors. It’s a lot like playing the party game “telephone,” where the listening filter of one person is further filtered by other people.
This conventional-agency approach doesn’t work well with most technical-industrial copywriting — there are simply too many important technical details that fall through the cracks. The client gets frustrated and the project gets behind schedule.
The copy/contact copywriter eliminates the “telephone game” effect. Plus, the copy/contact executive also understands all of the other elements of the promotion landscape — the media buys, the product publicity, the design and production of sales collateral, and so on. As a result, the copy/contact executive writes copy with an eye towards the overall goals of the campaign and their swift execution.
Loyal, Long-Term Clients
Unusual for the ad agency business, R.H. Blake, Inc. has very long-term relations with numerous technical-industrial companies. William C. Blake has personally worked with over 25 clients in four different countries, including the industrial divisions of Sherwin-Williams and 3M.
Blake begin as a production manager at R.H. Blake, Inc. in 1987. In 1989, he became an account manager and has written all of his own copy ever since.
Highlights of William Blake’s business-to-business advertising career include:
• Creating multiple marketing programs to help a small client grow 759% over 13 years in a highly competitive and mature industry. (The client, Hornell Speedglas, was sold to 3M in 2004 for $100 million.)
• Budgeting and responsibility for $1.2 million annually in marketing projects.
• Getting my clients' editorial content published in 400+ trade industry publications.
When not writing and promoting technical-industrial products and technologies, Blake enjoys living on 19 rocky acres in California's wine country, one hour north of the Golden Gate Bridge. His hobbies include elaborate home repair projects, watershed restoration, permaculture gardening, and hiking with his wife and 8-year-old daughter. He looks forward to discussing the particulars of your industrial marketing plan.