The NINO Principle: Nothing In, Nothing Out
Sunday, February 11, 2007 at 8:27AM “We need you to write a brochure about Bimini” It was more than a decade ago and I was a copywriter at a small advertising/marketing firm specializing in hospitality — hotels, airlines, tourist destinations and such — and a young account executive who didn’t know any better had stopped by to give me one of my first assignments. “Great. What’s a Bimini?” (OK, I was a bit young myself …) Turns out it’s an island famous for being one of Ernest Hemingway’s get-aways. A client about to open a new resort there needed a marketing brochure — and soon. I asked when I could get briefed on the details of the resort, find out what would appeal to visitors, maybe even go see the place. The AE told me she didn’t have any information, had only enough budget to give me two-and-half billable hours to write the thing and was hoping to see a first draft that afternoon. I was puzzled and thought surely I was misunderstanding something. “How am I supposed to write a brochure about something I don’t know anything about?”
