David Woodruff

Learn how to deliver on the brand promise and become a better copywriter through the art of authentic storytelling.Today's consumer tolerance for clutter -- baseless product pitches, poor or mistimed messaging, and fluff marketing speak -- has all but flatlined. Tired and frustrated with empty words, consumers have little time to waste on filtering marketing vapor to get to a brand's truth. And the fact is, if you won't tell them what they need to know about your brand upfront -- in a simple, honest, and informative way -- your competitors will be happy to step up.That's why every copywriter needs Herding Words: A Brand Copywriter's Guide by David R. Woodruff. Aimed at those responsible for crafting brand narrative, it elevates writers' expertise as brand storytellers, inspiring them to go beyond features and benefits, get to the core truth about a brand's promise, then transform those insights into powerful brand narrative for print, digital, and web marketing communications.A smart, informative, and engaging book, Herding Words contains practical, prescriptive advice from an insider. Woodruff's personal, welcoming tone befriends the fellow copywriter and instructs them on how to boost their writing from good to great by way of diving much deeper into the discovery process about a brand.

The small resort town of Southern Pines, North Carolina was once described as "a little New England Village in the South". The history and happenings of a 20th century winter resort town are described by one native son in chapters of varying lengths. With one foot in the depression and living through WWII and post war events, the writer describes how life was enjoyed by someone graduating from the former Southern Pines High School in 1953. Though mostly famous for its golf courses and horse community, some well known people and historic events also played a part in life among the magnificent longleaf pine trees prevalent, and relevant to the area. How Southern Pines came to be located in such an "ideal" spot is a significant part of its story. From steam engines to prisoners of war, travelers were a varied and vital part of the culture and "olden times". Each chapter is different and covers a facet of life as seen by a "non-writer" who set out to record things of interest for future family generations. The descriptions of events and persons might remind some of their own growing up years and what interesting things they remember and experienced before the impact of today's pace of living. Winter residents of the early years were not just tourists, they began to bring their families and involved themselves in helping the town reach its unique status. Some winter residents were well-known and others a little more obscure. The influx of northern retirees and others now fill the memberships of every organization contributing to the ambiance and character of the town as it changes into the 21st century. But for this account, how it was is the narrative. It's a history lesson worth enjoying.

Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russians have seen the ruble steadily lose ground to alternative means of payment such as barter and privately issued quasi-monies. Industry now collects as much as 70 percent of its receipts in nonmonetary form, leaving many firms with too little cash to pay salaries and taxes. In this ground-breaking book on the Russian economy, David Woodruff argues that Moscow's inability to control the nation's currency is not a carry-over from the Soviet past. Rather, the Russian government has failed to build the administrative capacity and political support demanded by monetary consolidation—a neglected but crucial aspect of capitalist statebuilding. Drawing on a vast array of empirical evidence, Woodruff shows how the widespread use of barter arose as local authorities tried to protect industry against the destructive effects of price increases and crude tax and accounting systems. As businesses fled or were driven from the money economy, provincial governments invented new ways to tax in kind and issued substitutes for the ruble. In turn, the federal authorities, unable to coerce firms either to operate in the money economy or to abandon business altogether, were forced to make accommodations to barter and to ruble alternatives. Woodruff describes the enormous fiscal difficulties that resulted and recounts the intense political battles over attempts to address the problem. Through an overview of monetary consolidation in other nations, Woodruff demonstrates that the struggles of the new Russian state have much to teach us about the political history of money worldwide. Sovereignty over money cannot, he argues, be imposed by government on a recalcitrant society. Nor can it be assumed as a by-product of disciplined policies aimed at market reform. Monetary consolidation is, at heart, a political achievement requiring political support.