1. Search for the Counter Culture Coffee website and sample some of the writing. Does the writing tell stories, as Mark claims? Do you hear a distinctive “voice” in the writing?

Explain. Mark Overbay manages marketing and communications for Counter Culture Coffee, a Durham, North Carolina–based specialty coffee organization. His many responsibilities include producing product copy, white papers, advertisements, packaging copy, online content, thematic signage, and tradeshow displays.

“Marketing is a form of storytelling,” says Mark, who believes that marketing copy must be “short and sweet.” “You only have a few words or phrases to ‘hook’ your readers, whether they are journalists reading a press release or grocery shoppers glancing at the coffee bags on a shelf. Good marketing copy must tell an interesting, sometimes even romantic story, but it should never be long-winded.”