Hi,
Learning experts tell us we each have a favoured communications format: words, images, sounds... Not everyone likes reading copy. This is why most popular publications (like supermarket magz) are heavy on photos and light on words. You appeal to more readers when you favour visuals to carry the message. In advertising and marketing collateral, use flow charts, bar charts, illustrations, etc. whenever you can. Especially when you have a 'concept' for readers to understand. And for the "Verbals", those among us who prefer to receive their information through the ear, you can offer podcasts or CD presentations.
The guiding principle should be this: give people as many channels to access your message as possible. (Just as you should give people as many ways to buy your product as possible...)
Cheers!
Michael
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Monday, July 30, 2007
How to cater for many audiences in one communication
Hi there,
There is a simple way to make your online or printed information 'available' to different audiences. Namely the 'very interested' and the 'browser'. The very interested need only to be flagged down by a functional headline to get them into the text. They have a burning desire to learn all they can about your subject. The browsers will scan the page in a second, then move on. These readers need 'hooks' to get them in to the text. Hooks include: 1. Intriguing images with powerful captions that dramatise what is going on in the picture. 2. The most dramatic sentence or sentence fragment in the text highlighted in a special panel. 3. Bullet-pointed summaries of the content in boxes. It is important to use hooks because the 'browsers' represent far greater numbers than the 'very interested'.
Tomorrow: Appealing to different communication styles
Cheers!
Michael
There is a simple way to make your online or printed information 'available' to different audiences. Namely the 'very interested' and the 'browser'. The very interested need only to be flagged down by a functional headline to get them into the text. They have a burning desire to learn all they can about your subject. The browsers will scan the page in a second, then move on. These readers need 'hooks' to get them in to the text. Hooks include: 1. Intriguing images with powerful captions that dramatise what is going on in the picture. 2. The most dramatic sentence or sentence fragment in the text highlighted in a special panel. 3. Bullet-pointed summaries of the content in boxes. It is important to use hooks because the 'browsers' represent far greater numbers than the 'very interested'.
Tomorrow: Appealing to different communication styles
Cheers!
Michael
Friday, July 27, 2007
The speaker's secret
Ever find yourself trapped into 'saying a few words' at an event when you had no warning and no time to prepare anything? Here's a simple formula that I learned from Dale Carnegie:
1. Start with a story that is vaguely connected to what you think you can talk about. You can think about the next step while telling the story because you only need a small portion of your brain to tell a familiar story. People love a story. It is a concrete something they can grasp easily.
2. Cast your mind about for a general principal you can derive from the story. Start drawing the general principle while you think of the close.
3. Your close should be a call to action, based on the general principle. Finish.
MY EXAMPLE:
It's funny how we develop little rituals in our lives. For instance, if you've ever been self-employed then you'll know that you spend most of your time overloaded with things to do. But more than twice or thrice in my career as a self-employed copywriter and strategist I found myself paralysed by fear because the work seemed to dry up. I just sit there staring at the wall waiting for the phone to ring... etc. (Dramatic detail omitted)
Eventually fear of the consequences of not doing something about it overcame my fear of doing something about it. Instead of staring at the phone, I picked it up and started calling people who had given me work in the past. And by the end of the morning I was overloaded.
Strange how ever two or three years I had to go through the same ritual to relearn the same old lesson: phone sotps ringing, stare at phone and fret, fret furiously, finally pick up phone, all's well again.
I wonder do you have a similar ritual in your life? Wouldn't it be better if we made a habit of picking up the phone regularly instaed of waiting until it stops ringing?
The End
1. Start with a story that is vaguely connected to what you think you can talk about. You can think about the next step while telling the story because you only need a small portion of your brain to tell a familiar story. People love a story. It is a concrete something they can grasp easily.
2. Cast your mind about for a general principal you can derive from the story. Start drawing the general principle while you think of the close.
3. Your close should be a call to action, based on the general principle. Finish.
MY EXAMPLE:
It's funny how we develop little rituals in our lives. For instance, if you've ever been self-employed then you'll know that you spend most of your time overloaded with things to do. But more than twice or thrice in my career as a self-employed copywriter and strategist I found myself paralysed by fear because the work seemed to dry up. I just sit there staring at the wall waiting for the phone to ring... etc. (Dramatic detail omitted)
Eventually fear of the consequences of not doing something about it overcame my fear of doing something about it. Instead of staring at the phone, I picked it up and started calling people who had given me work in the past. And by the end of the morning I was overloaded.
Strange how ever two or three years I had to go through the same ritual to relearn the same old lesson: phone sotps ringing, stare at phone and fret, fret furiously, finally pick up phone, all's well again.
I wonder do you have a similar ritual in your life? Wouldn't it be better if we made a habit of picking up the phone regularly instaed of waiting until it stops ringing?
The End
Thursday, July 26, 2007
The UTube Generation send stars stumbling
Beyonce pleads with her fans not to post footage of her falling face first down stairs on Utube. Yeah, Right. John Howard might have started a new craze.The original President Bush not only fell down but he threw up in the Japanese Prime Minister's lap. On video. Except in George's day it wasn't played over and over and over... Today's generation like their stars to be flash... and flakey.... like Posh. All front... and leave the backdoor open. They like stars to stumble into their hearts. What's a star without a 'tragic secret'. Nichole and Keith Urban's fairytale romance was complete when he went into rehab.
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
At last! The Zen of Marketing Revealed
Psychologist Jacques Lacan believes that, at our core, 'we are desire, we are bundles of wanting wants. But at the heart of this, what we most desire is to maintain the pleasurable tension of desire itself (which is ego’s wanting to continue to exist, since its own existence is predicated upon desire).'* AMAZING! That's what the Dalai Lama says. 'We learn at a very young age that we are disappointed when we are fulfilled. And so what we most want is to keep right on wanting. It explains a lot about consumer society and the contemporary self, where people seem to get so much and yet want so much more, to never be fulfilled but to always be seeking.' says Robert Kozinets on Brandthroposophy.
The ego's desire to exist seperately from the rest of the universe (which is an illusion - the ego is fooling itself) runs counter to the spirit's instinct to seek 'Oneness'. Therefore the essence of marketing is hostile to spiritual awareness.
BUT HOLD ON? Doesn't Deppak Chopra create desire for his latest book, tour or course? Isn't the Mind Body Spirit movement a marketing machine, selling crystals, angel cards, and mantras? What does the Dalai Lama say to that?
*The words are Robert Kozinets's.
The ego's desire to exist seperately from the rest of the universe (which is an illusion - the ego is fooling itself) runs counter to the spirit's instinct to seek 'Oneness'. Therefore the essence of marketing is hostile to spiritual awareness.
BUT HOLD ON? Doesn't Deppak Chopra create desire for his latest book, tour or course? Isn't the Mind Body Spirit movement a marketing machine, selling crystals, angel cards, and mantras? What does the Dalai Lama say to that?
*The words are Robert Kozinets's.
Sunday, July 22, 2007
What can we learn from Harry Potter’s marketing?
JK Rowling is the first person to become a US-dollar billionaire by writing books. She’s the second richest female entertainer in the world. She has sold 300million copies of her books.
The “Teaser” marketing campaign features heavy security to protect a ‘secret’ in the book getting out before everyone has a chance to get their hands on a copy. This, and media management eg. the title being announced six months before the launch, make the campaign worthy of PT Barnum’s stunts. Treat the product as a common property, shared with the reader. A precious shared enthusiasm.
JK Rowling and her publishers didn’t plan it that way. They simply fanned the flames that started by spontaneous combustion. The strict embargo, for instance, wasn’t used until 1999, for the third book. Fearing children would wag school to queue up for their copy, the author mandated that the book not be available for sale until 3.45pm.
Could you start a Harry Potter strategy with a blank sheet of paper? Viral marketing, word of mouth marketing, buzz marketing… it’s possible. But it’s easier when you start with a fan base and a charismatic product.
The “Teaser” marketing campaign features heavy security to protect a ‘secret’ in the book getting out before everyone has a chance to get their hands on a copy. This, and media management eg. the title being announced six months before the launch, make the campaign worthy of PT Barnum’s stunts. Treat the product as a common property, shared with the reader. A precious shared enthusiasm.
JK Rowling and her publishers didn’t plan it that way. They simply fanned the flames that started by spontaneous combustion. The strict embargo, for instance, wasn’t used until 1999, for the third book. Fearing children would wag school to queue up for their copy, the author mandated that the book not be available for sale until 3.45pm.
Could you start a Harry Potter strategy with a blank sheet of paper? Viral marketing, word of mouth marketing, buzz marketing… it’s possible. But it’s easier when you start with a fan base and a charismatic product.
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Use the power of words to dislodge blockages
A rose by another name …
Simple solution to a sales problem: rename the category. Or invent a new category name. Many consumers in Victoria want to buy unpasturised milk. They are organic food folk, who believe the processing of food robs it of its goodness. But the government forbids unpasturised milk being consumed (except by dairy farmers) because of some medieval rule about health. Well, now you can buy unpasturised milk in bottles, but the difference is the name. It’s called “bathing milk” and it is officially intended for beauty baths (a la Cleopatra).
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Political Marketing: Howard's UTube Booboo
The Medium was not the message when John Winston Howard appeared on UTube this week. Nothing could make the PM look or sound hip to a younger audience. A hip medium doesn't make unhip content hip. (Hip = cool)
The PM delivered an old technology production on a new technology platform. That's where newsreaders on television came from: radio. And early radio was like newspaper reports read out.
The other guy, Rudd, his glasses look 21st century at least, but he's equally as charismatic at the PM.
10 point gap won't close? Need a Tampa, a terrorist attack, a bold plan to let everyone's favourite team win the grand final, a rabbit in every hat, and somewhere else in the world where we can send our soldiers to shoot at people who wear funny clothes.
The secret to success for the PM is this: hold your fire. People aren't really listening. It's not the last minute yet.
The PM delivered an old technology production on a new technology platform. That's where newsreaders on television came from: radio. And early radio was like newspaper reports read out.
The other guy, Rudd, his glasses look 21st century at least, but he's equally as charismatic at the PM.
10 point gap won't close? Need a Tampa, a terrorist attack, a bold plan to let everyone's favourite team win the grand final, a rabbit in every hat, and somewhere else in the world where we can send our soldiers to shoot at people who wear funny clothes.
The secret to success for the PM is this: hold your fire. People aren't really listening. It's not the last minute yet.
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Do people understand your copy?
I was amazed years ago when I discovered that there is a formula for testing copy for how hard it is to understand (its level of comprehension difficulty). The Gunning fog index measures the readability of a sample of copy. The resulting number is the number of years of formal education that a person requires to easily understand the text on the first reading. If the copy has a fog index of 12, it has the reading level of a U.S. high school senior. Texts that are designed for a wide audience need a fog index of less than 12.
The Gunning fog index can be calculated in the following way:
Take a sample of around 100 words.Count the number of sentences. Divide the number of words by the number of sentences to find the average sentence length.
Count words with three or more syllables, excluding names, compound words, or common suffixes such as -es, -ed, or -ing.
Calculate the percentage of complex words.
Add the average sentence length and the percentage of complex words.
Multiply the result by 0.4.
Less than 12 and the average reader would have no problem with it.
Time Magazine rates 11.
Readers' Digest rates 9.
WHat does you copy rate?
The principles of easy-to-understand copy are these: Short sentences. Simple words.
The Gunning fog index can be calculated in the following way:
Take a sample of around 100 words.Count the number of sentences. Divide the number of words by the number of sentences to find the average sentence length.
Count words with three or more syllables, excluding names, compound words, or common suffixes such as -es, -ed, or -ing.
Calculate the percentage of complex words.
Add the average sentence length and the percentage of complex words.
Multiply the result by 0.4.
Less than 12 and the average reader would have no problem with it.
Time Magazine rates 11.
Readers' Digest rates 9.
WHat does you copy rate?
The principles of easy-to-understand copy are these: Short sentences. Simple words.
Monday, July 16, 2007
People want MORE
A t-shirt for the times: I want MORE
And on the back: NO, MUCH MORE THAN THAT
Has anyone thought of putting out a line of t-shirts with "No Logo" on the front?
Naomi Klein's book "No Logo: Taking Aim at the Brand Bullies" was an anti-capitalist tome. Would she claim the intellectiual property?
How about a t-shirt with this: LOVE™
Could a clever copywriter make a living targetting geodemographics with appropriate tshirt slogans?
COPYSCHOOL IS IN
People like to feel empowered.
Found in the Readers' DIgest: an ad HEADLINE: "Updating your will? Include a charity. You have a chance to shape the future"
Here is a line from a TVC is co-wrote in the dim dark past:
"Imagine changing a child's life from poverty and despair to health and happiness with only one phone call and $12 a month. You can..."
Sounds slick, but it worked. Broke all records. Everyone else started using it.
Always try an empowerment angle when you are working on copy.
MK
And on the back: NO, MUCH MORE THAN THAT
Has anyone thought of putting out a line of t-shirts with "No Logo" on the front?
Naomi Klein's book "No Logo: Taking Aim at the Brand Bullies" was an anti-capitalist tome. Would she claim the intellectiual property?
How about a t-shirt with this: LOVE™
Could a clever copywriter make a living targetting geodemographics with appropriate tshirt slogans?
COPYSCHOOL IS IN
People like to feel empowered.
Found in the Readers' DIgest: an ad HEADLINE: "Updating your will? Include a charity. You have a chance to shape the future"
Here is a line from a TVC is co-wrote in the dim dark past:
"Imagine changing a child's life from poverty and despair to health and happiness with only one phone call and $12 a month. You can..."
Sounds slick, but it worked. Broke all records. Everyone else started using it.
Always try an empowerment angle when you are working on copy.
MK
Friday, July 13, 2007
When you've got nothing to say, sing it (whle you dance)
OK, ADSCHOOL IS IN
(COPYSCHOOL FOLLOWS)
"When you've got nothing to say, sing it" is an old truism in the ad industry. It goes double when you employ a dance troupe for your tvc.Every decade or so we get a wave of them. The latest crop include the Tooheys Beer with the street party with inflatable figures waving their arms to help hijack the beer truck. The Smiths Crisps tvc with the members of the CEFMU taking an unscheduled break to single "Happy Together" while dacing to express their joy. It started with that Carlton ad with the boy who had obviously too many beers dancing in tights to express his joy and desire to work in a brewery.
What does this trend mean? Simple. The creative team decided the was nothing to say about the product. Nothing. Product parity. The client has agreed with them. So let's just use media weight to pummel the consumer into submission.
Dancers are always a dead giveaway. All those hand and arm movements to distract you from the boring old product hiding behind the flailing arms.
What does this make the marketing team? Can't use strategy to differentiate the product? Hire some entertainers.
MK
OK COPYSCHOOL IS IN
My Dad started a family tradition - gave us a saying we still use. "This is all about me!" he said as he showed us his x-rays after his heart operation. (Ugh!) Dad was a "This is all about me!" kinda guy. So am I. So is our whole family. So is everyone in consumer society (except the Dalai Lama).
Let's talk Voicing. I want you to look at the copy you use to convince customers to do business with you. I want you to go through the copy and count the number of times you use the word "you" or "your". Then count the number of times you say "I", "we", "company name", "product name" or "product feature".
Is the ratio 1:1? 1:2? 1:3?
Are you talking about the prospect or yourself? Who is the prospect more interested in? Sorry. They don't really give a damn about you or your product or your company until it becomes something about them. Can the reader say "This is all about me!" when they read your copy?
(COPYSCHOOL FOLLOWS)
"When you've got nothing to say, sing it" is an old truism in the ad industry. It goes double when you employ a dance troupe for your tvc.Every decade or so we get a wave of them. The latest crop include the Tooheys Beer with the street party with inflatable figures waving their arms to help hijack the beer truck. The Smiths Crisps tvc with the members of the CEFMU taking an unscheduled break to single "Happy Together" while dacing to express their joy. It started with that Carlton ad with the boy who had obviously too many beers dancing in tights to express his joy and desire to work in a brewery.
What does this trend mean? Simple. The creative team decided the was nothing to say about the product. Nothing. Product parity. The client has agreed with them. So let's just use media weight to pummel the consumer into submission.
Dancers are always a dead giveaway. All those hand and arm movements to distract you from the boring old product hiding behind the flailing arms.
What does this make the marketing team? Can't use strategy to differentiate the product? Hire some entertainers.
MK
OK COPYSCHOOL IS IN
My Dad started a family tradition - gave us a saying we still use. "This is all about me!" he said as he showed us his x-rays after his heart operation. (Ugh!) Dad was a "This is all about me!" kinda guy. So am I. So is our whole family. So is everyone in consumer society (except the Dalai Lama).
Let's talk Voicing. I want you to look at the copy you use to convince customers to do business with you. I want you to go through the copy and count the number of times you use the word "you" or "your". Then count the number of times you say "I", "we", "company name", "product name" or "product feature".
Is the ratio 1:1? 1:2? 1:3?
Are you talking about the prospect or yourself? Who is the prospect more interested in? Sorry. They don't really give a damn about you or your product or your company until it becomes something about them. Can the reader say "This is all about me!" when they read your copy?
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Does your brand have fans?
McDonald's campaign to"involve consumers in marketing" by asking customers to help it name a new burger is a synthetic version of a campaign run by SNapple in the 1980s. The difference between the campaigns is that Snapple had a huge, self-generated community of active custosmers who were spontaneously send it suggestions for products and names, as well as hundreds of thousands of letters, photos, poems, videos, etc. about their favourite fruit juice. McDonald's is a synthetic version of the real thing (spontaneous consumer community). Maccas ads will feature a fictional character who is retiring after 30 years naming products for the fast food giant. Compare this to SNapple's real mailroom lady Wendy. She was featured in the brand's advertising, reading out letters and showing photos and videos from fans. That's right - fans. "If you have a strong relationship with your customers then you can give them a chance to interact with your brand to give them some input," says Macca's McMarketing McManager. Snapple's fans needed no encouragement to engage with the brand. Maccas needs a promotion: WIN a Sony home entertainment package. WHen you need to bribe customers to demonstrate engagement, you don't have 'fandom'. You have people who buy your products sometimes, who want a home entertainment package. How do you get fans? You express your brand's authenticity so that its charisma can generate genuine devotion. When your brand is synthetic, you have to use artificial means of generating 'excitement', like greed. The difference is fans buy into the values of the brand; pseudo-fans are bought.
MK
COPY SCHOOL IS IN
I'M GOING TO DRAW YOUR ATTENTION TO SOME HOT SPOTS IN THIS CLASSIC AD (COMMENTS IN CAPS)
[FIRST LOOK AT THE STORY SET UP. IRRESISTABLE 'WHAT'S GOING ON HERE' MATERIAL]
[Headline]
They Laughed When I Sat Down At the Piano But When I Started to Play! --
[Caption]
"Can he really play?" a girl whispered. "Heavens no!" Arthur exclaimed. "He never played a note in his life."
[Body Copy]
Arthur had just played "The Rosary." The room rang with applause. I decided that this would be a dramatic moment for me to make my debut. To the amazement of all my friends, I strode confidently over to the piano and sat down.
"Jack is up to his old tricks," somebody chuckled. The crowd laughed. They were all certain that I couldn't play a single note.
"Can he really play?" I heard a girl whisper to Arthur.
"Heavens, no!" Arthur exclaimed "He never played a note in all his life... But just you watch him. This is going to be good."
[FEEL THE TENSION BUILDING]
I decided to make the most of the situation. With mock dignity I drew out a silk handkerchief and lightly dusted off the piano keys. Then I rose and gave the revolving piano stool a quarter of a turn, just as I had seen an imitator of Paderewski do in a vaudeville sketch.
[LOOK AT HIS USE OF SEEMINGLY IRRELEVANT DETAIL TO BRING THE STORY ALIVE]
"What do you think of his execution?" called a voice from the rear.
"We're in favor of it!" came back the answer, and the crowd rocked with laughter.
[Subhead]
Then I Started to Play
[Body Copy]
Instantly a tense silence fell on the guests. The laughter died on their lips as if by magic. I played through the first few bars of Beethoven's immortal Moonlight Sonata. I heard gasps of amazement. My friends sat breathless -- spellbound!
I played on and as I played I forgot the people around me. I forgot the hour, the place, the breathless listeners. The little world I lived in seemed to fade -- seemed to grow dim -- unreal. Only the music was real. Only the music and visions it brought me. Visions as beautiful and as changing as the wind blown clouds and drifting moonlight that long ago inspired the master composer. It seemed as if the master musician himself were speaking to me -- speaking through the medium of music -- not in words but in chords. Not in sentences but in exquisite melodies!
[THIS IS A DRAMATISATION OF THE FIRST BENEFIT OF THE PRODUCT - PERSONAL ENJOYMENT]
[Subhead]
A Complete Triumph!
[Body Copy]
As the last notes of the Moonlight Sonata died away, the room resounded with a sudden roar of applause. I found myself surrounded by excited faces. How my friends carried on! Men shook my hand -- wildly congratulated me -- pounded me on the back in their enthusiasm! Everybody was exclaiming with delight -- plying me with rapid questions... "Jack! Why didn't you tell us you could play like that?"... "Where did you learn?" -- "How long have you studied?" -- "Who was your teacher?"
[THIS IS THE ECOND BENEFIT FEATURED; SOCIAL SUCCESS, MASLOW'S 2ND HIGHEST NEED - SELF ESTEEM]
"I have never even seen my teacher," I replied. "And just a short while ago I couldn't play a note."
"Quit your kidding," laughed Arthur, himself an accomplished pianist. "You've been studying for years. I can tell."
"I have been studying only a short while," I insisted. "I decided to keep it a secret so that I could surprise all you folks."
Then I told them the whole story.
"Have you ever heard of the U.S. School of Music?" I asked.
A few of my friends nodded. "That's a correspondence school, isn't it?" they exclaimed.
"Exactly," I replied. "They have a new simplified method that can teach you to play any instrument by mail in just a few months."
[NOW WATCH HOW HE CARRIES THE FEATURES OF THE PRODUCT INTO THE STORY]
[Subhead]
How I Learned to Play Without a Teacher
[Body Copy]
And then I explained how for years I had longed to play the piano.
[NOTE THE USE OF A 'TESTIMONIAL' IN THE NEXT PARA]
"A few months ago," I continued, "I saw an interesting ad for the U.S. School of Music -- a new method of learning to play which only cost a few cents a day! The ad told how a woman had mastered the piano in her spare time at home -- and without a teacher! Best of all, the wonderful new method she used, required no laborious scales -- no heartless exercises -- no tiresome practising. It sounded so convincing that I filled out the coupon requesting the Free Demonstration Lesson.
[THE OFFER: A FREE BOOK, A PRODUCT SAMPLE]
"The free book arrived promptly and I started in that very night to study the Demonstration Lesson. I was amazed to see how easy it was to play this new way. Then I sent for the course.
"When the course arrived I found it was just as the ad said -- as easy as A.B.C.! And, as the lessons continued they got easier and easier. Before I knew it I was playing all the pieces I liked best. Nothing stopped me. I could play ballads or classical numbers or jazz, all with equal ease! And I never did have any special talent for music!"
[HERE IS THE FUNDAMENTAL BENEFIT AND MASLOW'S HIGHEST NEED: SELF TRANSFORMATION OR 'SELF ACTUALISATION']
[Subhead]
Play Any Instrument
[Body Copy]
You too, can now teach yourself to be an accomplished musician -- right at home -- in half the usual time. You can't go wrong with this simple new method which has already shown 350,000 people how to play their favorite instruments. Forget the old-fashioned idea that you need special "talent." Just read the list of instruments in the panel, decide which one you want to play and the U.S. School will do the rest. And bear in mind no matter which instrument you choose, the cost in each case will be the same -- just a few cents a day. No matter whether you are a mere beginner or already a good performer, you will be interested in learning about this new and wonderful method.
[Subhead]
Send for Our Free Booklet and Demonstration Lesson
[Body Copy]
Thousands of successful students never dreamed they possessed musical ability until it was revealed to them by a remarkable "Musical Ability Test" which we send entirely without cost with our interesting free booklet.
[CALL TO ACTION WITH SENSE OF URGENCY DEVICE - 'LIMITED NUMBER']
If you are in earnest about wanting to play your favorite instrument -- if you really want to gain happiness and increase your popularity -- send at once for the free booklet and Demonstration Lesson. No cost -- no obligation. Right now we are making a Special offer for a limited number of new students. Sign and send the convenient coupon now -- before it's too late to gain the benefits of this offer. Instruments supplied when needed, cash or credit. U.S. School of Music, 1031 Brunswick Bldg., New York City
[ALL THESE STRUCTURES ARE STANDARD DIRECT MAIL TECHNIQUES, WOVEN INTO A PERFECTLY-CRAFTED STORY]
[RETURNING TO UPPER AND LOWER CASE now. Don't be fooled by the old fashioned illustration and quaint storyline. They are merely fashions of the time. Newspapers didn't have many photos in them in those days. Illustrations were the go. Would a modern version of thsi work? Darn tootin'! Set the spread out like a page from "That's Life" magazine, tell someone's story with drama and structure... And sit back and count the hits/calls/sms messages/coupons... (Maybe not coupons. But why not...)
MK
COPY SCHOOL IS IN
I'M GOING TO DRAW YOUR ATTENTION TO SOME HOT SPOTS IN THIS CLASSIC AD (COMMENTS IN CAPS)
[FIRST LOOK AT THE STORY SET UP. IRRESISTABLE 'WHAT'S GOING ON HERE' MATERIAL]
[Headline]
They Laughed When I Sat Down At the Piano But When I Started to Play! --
[Caption]
"Can he really play?" a girl whispered. "Heavens no!" Arthur exclaimed. "He never played a note in his life."
[Body Copy]
Arthur had just played "The Rosary." The room rang with applause. I decided that this would be a dramatic moment for me to make my debut. To the amazement of all my friends, I strode confidently over to the piano and sat down.
"Jack is up to his old tricks," somebody chuckled. The crowd laughed. They were all certain that I couldn't play a single note.
"Can he really play?" I heard a girl whisper to Arthur.
"Heavens, no!" Arthur exclaimed "He never played a note in all his life... But just you watch him. This is going to be good."
[FEEL THE TENSION BUILDING]
I decided to make the most of the situation. With mock dignity I drew out a silk handkerchief and lightly dusted off the piano keys. Then I rose and gave the revolving piano stool a quarter of a turn, just as I had seen an imitator of Paderewski do in a vaudeville sketch.
[LOOK AT HIS USE OF SEEMINGLY IRRELEVANT DETAIL TO BRING THE STORY ALIVE]
"What do you think of his execution?" called a voice from the rear.
"We're in favor of it!" came back the answer, and the crowd rocked with laughter.
[Subhead]
Then I Started to Play
[Body Copy]
Instantly a tense silence fell on the guests. The laughter died on their lips as if by magic. I played through the first few bars of Beethoven's immortal Moonlight Sonata. I heard gasps of amazement. My friends sat breathless -- spellbound!
I played on and as I played I forgot the people around me. I forgot the hour, the place, the breathless listeners. The little world I lived in seemed to fade -- seemed to grow dim -- unreal. Only the music was real. Only the music and visions it brought me. Visions as beautiful and as changing as the wind blown clouds and drifting moonlight that long ago inspired the master composer. It seemed as if the master musician himself were speaking to me -- speaking through the medium of music -- not in words but in chords. Not in sentences but in exquisite melodies!
[THIS IS A DRAMATISATION OF THE FIRST BENEFIT OF THE PRODUCT - PERSONAL ENJOYMENT]
[Subhead]
A Complete Triumph!
[Body Copy]
As the last notes of the Moonlight Sonata died away, the room resounded with a sudden roar of applause. I found myself surrounded by excited faces. How my friends carried on! Men shook my hand -- wildly congratulated me -- pounded me on the back in their enthusiasm! Everybody was exclaiming with delight -- plying me with rapid questions... "Jack! Why didn't you tell us you could play like that?"... "Where did you learn?" -- "How long have you studied?" -- "Who was your teacher?"
[THIS IS THE ECOND BENEFIT FEATURED; SOCIAL SUCCESS, MASLOW'S 2ND HIGHEST NEED - SELF ESTEEM]
"I have never even seen my teacher," I replied. "And just a short while ago I couldn't play a note."
"Quit your kidding," laughed Arthur, himself an accomplished pianist. "You've been studying for years. I can tell."
"I have been studying only a short while," I insisted. "I decided to keep it a secret so that I could surprise all you folks."
Then I told them the whole story.
"Have you ever heard of the U.S. School of Music?" I asked.
A few of my friends nodded. "That's a correspondence school, isn't it?" they exclaimed.
"Exactly," I replied. "They have a new simplified method that can teach you to play any instrument by mail in just a few months."
[NOW WATCH HOW HE CARRIES THE FEATURES OF THE PRODUCT INTO THE STORY]
[Subhead]
How I Learned to Play Without a Teacher
[Body Copy]
And then I explained how for years I had longed to play the piano.
[NOTE THE USE OF A 'TESTIMONIAL' IN THE NEXT PARA]
"A few months ago," I continued, "I saw an interesting ad for the U.S. School of Music -- a new method of learning to play which only cost a few cents a day! The ad told how a woman had mastered the piano in her spare time at home -- and without a teacher! Best of all, the wonderful new method she used, required no laborious scales -- no heartless exercises -- no tiresome practising. It sounded so convincing that I filled out the coupon requesting the Free Demonstration Lesson.
[THE OFFER: A FREE BOOK, A PRODUCT SAMPLE]
"The free book arrived promptly and I started in that very night to study the Demonstration Lesson. I was amazed to see how easy it was to play this new way. Then I sent for the course.
"When the course arrived I found it was just as the ad said -- as easy as A.B.C.! And, as the lessons continued they got easier and easier. Before I knew it I was playing all the pieces I liked best. Nothing stopped me. I could play ballads or classical numbers or jazz, all with equal ease! And I never did have any special talent for music!"
[HERE IS THE FUNDAMENTAL BENEFIT AND MASLOW'S HIGHEST NEED: SELF TRANSFORMATION OR 'SELF ACTUALISATION']
[Subhead]
Play Any Instrument
[Body Copy]
You too, can now teach yourself to be an accomplished musician -- right at home -- in half the usual time. You can't go wrong with this simple new method which has already shown 350,000 people how to play their favorite instruments. Forget the old-fashioned idea that you need special "talent." Just read the list of instruments in the panel, decide which one you want to play and the U.S. School will do the rest. And bear in mind no matter which instrument you choose, the cost in each case will be the same -- just a few cents a day. No matter whether you are a mere beginner or already a good performer, you will be interested in learning about this new and wonderful method.
[Subhead]
Send for Our Free Booklet and Demonstration Lesson
[Body Copy]
Thousands of successful students never dreamed they possessed musical ability until it was revealed to them by a remarkable "Musical Ability Test" which we send entirely without cost with our interesting free booklet.
[CALL TO ACTION WITH SENSE OF URGENCY DEVICE - 'LIMITED NUMBER']
If you are in earnest about wanting to play your favorite instrument -- if you really want to gain happiness and increase your popularity -- send at once for the free booklet and Demonstration Lesson. No cost -- no obligation. Right now we are making a Special offer for a limited number of new students. Sign and send the convenient coupon now -- before it's too late to gain the benefits of this offer. Instruments supplied when needed, cash or credit. U.S. School of Music, 1031 Brunswick Bldg., New York City
[ALL THESE STRUCTURES ARE STANDARD DIRECT MAIL TECHNIQUES, WOVEN INTO A PERFECTLY-CRAFTED STORY]
[RETURNING TO UPPER AND LOWER CASE now. Don't be fooled by the old fashioned illustration and quaint storyline. They are merely fashions of the time. Newspapers didn't have many photos in them in those days. Illustrations were the go. Would a modern version of thsi work? Darn tootin'! Set the spread out like a page from "That's Life" magazine, tell someone's story with drama and structure... And sit back and count the hits/calls/sms messages/coupons... (Maybe not coupons. But why not...)
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
"Does your website suck?"
What do Australia's best copywriters think is good copy? I Googled "copywriting services australia" and looked at the headlines used by those copywriters who chose to advertise on this page.
I'll pas judgement on them, then contact the writer to see if their ad is working for them...
Let's look at the copy:
Does your website suck?
Compelling copy can make all
the difference to your bottom line.
www.TinaWrites.com
(Tina, it sucks but I don't want you to remind me. Make me feel better, not worse.)
Need a writer in a hurry?
Urgent deadlines? No problem.
David Said, Writing Freelance.
writingfreelance.com.au
(David, You can't project an image of quality if you focus on speed.)
Corporate Video Experts
Promotional, advertising, event &
training videos. Rural expertise.
anvilmedia.com.au
(WHat are you guys doing here?)
Expensive Copywriting
We get high fees & are still booked
solid. See samples/results.
www.ProfitBoostersCopy.com
(I like this reverse approach.)
Copywriting Services
Professional copywriting services.
Brochures, newsletters, print ads.
www.actionwords.com.au
(Hohum)
Business Writing
Total copywriting service. Direct
mail, ads, brochures - anything!
www.wellsaid.net.au
New South Wales
(Well said)
Copywriter That Sells
"Give Me a Chance to Send You This
Free Report and I'll Prove It"
www.CopyWritingThatSells.com.au
(Classic offer approach)
Copywriting Magic
Highly trained copywriter
gets mega-results for your business
www.overnight-copy.com
(Nice use of promise)
The winner: "Expensive copy." Gutsy. CLever. That's what I want.
I'll pas judgement on them, then contact the writer to see if their ad is working for them...
Let's look at the copy:
Does your website suck?
Compelling copy can make all
the difference to your bottom line.
www.TinaWrites.com
(Tina, it sucks but I don't want you to remind me. Make me feel better, not worse.)
Need a writer in a hurry?
Urgent deadlines? No problem.
David Said, Writing Freelance.
writingfreelance.com.au
(David, You can't project an image of quality if you focus on speed.)
Corporate Video Experts
Promotional, advertising, event &
training videos. Rural expertise.
anvilmedia.com.au
(WHat are you guys doing here?)
Expensive Copywriting
We get high fees & are still booked
solid. See samples/results.
www.ProfitBoostersCopy.com
(I like this reverse approach.)
Copywriting Services
Professional copywriting services.
Brochures, newsletters, print ads.
www.actionwords.com.au
(Hohum)
Business Writing
Total copywriting service. Direct
mail, ads, brochures - anything!
www.wellsaid.net.au
New South Wales
(Well said)
Copywriter That Sells
"Give Me a Chance to Send You This
Free Report and I'll Prove It"
www.CopyWritingThatSells.com.au
(Classic offer approach)
Copywriting Magic
Highly trained copywriter
gets mega-results for your business
www.overnight-copy.com
(Nice use of promise)
The winner: "Expensive copy." Gutsy. CLever. That's what I want.
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Made In China? Look out!
The brand "Made in China" is taking a belting in its overseas markets. Their exported manufactured goods are getting press like this in the US:
"HOMELAND INSECURITY
Is China trying to poison Americans and their pets?
U.S. market flooded with foods unfit for humans, tainted with carcinogens, pesticides, bacteria, drugs..." The Government official who took bribes to allow the manufacture of pharmaceuticals that killed people has been sentenced to death. Children's toys are being recalled at unprecedented rates.
If your product is manufactured in China, does location feature in your risk management strategy?
COPY SCHOOL IS IN
Let's 'voice' this email I received recently. Read it and listen to the voice of
Xanthe Comino from Boolarong Press:
"10th July 2007
Dear Sir/Madam,
Attached is some information regarding our new range of books, which will
help you to write a diverse array of genres from comedy to science fiction.
To purchase on line visit our website www.boolarongpress.com.au or to order
over the phone call us on 07 3373 7855.
Regards,
Xanthe Comino
General Manager
Boolarong Press
Established 1978
v +61 7 3373 7855
f +61 7 3373 8611
e mail@boolarongpress.com.au
w www.boolarongpress.com.au"
OK, HOW DOES IT SOUND TO YOU?
To me it doesn't sound like a person. It sounds like a machine. Would a person say this to me? If Xanthe had imagined we were having a telephone conversation, she'd have had a better result.
Other defects (areas for improvement)? PICK THE OTHER FLAWS IN THIS EMAIL AND TELL ME WHAT THEY ARE AND WHY VIA COMMENTS BELOW
"HOMELAND INSECURITY
Is China trying to poison Americans and their pets?
U.S. market flooded with foods unfit for humans, tainted with carcinogens, pesticides, bacteria, drugs..." The Government official who took bribes to allow the manufacture of pharmaceuticals that killed people has been sentenced to death. Children's toys are being recalled at unprecedented rates.
If your product is manufactured in China, does location feature in your risk management strategy?
COPY SCHOOL IS IN
Let's 'voice' this email I received recently. Read it and listen to the voice of
Xanthe Comino from Boolarong Press:
"10th July 2007
Dear Sir/Madam,
Attached is some information regarding our new range of books, which will
help you to write a diverse array of genres from comedy to science fiction.
To purchase on line visit our website www.boolarongpress.com.au or to order
over the phone call us on 07 3373 7855.
Regards,
Xanthe Comino
General Manager
Boolarong Press
Established 1978
v +61 7 3373 7855
f +61 7 3373 8611
e mail@boolarongpress.com.au
w www.boolarongpress.com.au"
OK, HOW DOES IT SOUND TO YOU?
To me it doesn't sound like a person. It sounds like a machine. Would a person say this to me? If Xanthe had imagined we were having a telephone conversation, she'd have had a better result.
Other defects (areas for improvement)? PICK THE OTHER FLAWS IN THIS EMAIL AND TELL ME WHAT THEY ARE AND WHY VIA COMMENTS BELOW
Thursday, July 05, 2007
More hidden costs that sap marketing ROI
Continuing our series of tips, hints, and whatdidyoudothatfor's on the real cost of doing business, we have our fifth set of unspoken money-losing marketing misdemeanours:
The misallocation of internal marketing management resources when there is a…
… failure to delegate/outsource non-management functions
… failure to outsource high level strategic planning
… failure to use the skills of marketing staff
… failure to adequately fund the marketing function
These may sound controversial, so let me explain. There are four basic functions of the internal marketing function: 1. Overseeing the planning process 2. Planning the execution/implementation of the marketing plan. 3. Delegating responsibilities for implementation. 4. Managing the people who you are reporting to and who report to you.
`
I have not met a truly great marketing manager who was a truly great strategic planner. The truly great manager brings in expertise and manages it to get the best plan. As for other marketing staff, they are often treated as messengers or personal assistants when they should be given challenges to drag out of them high levels of performance. And companies that appoint a marketing manager and don’t give them a budget equal to the job to be done are better off without their marketing manager.
In all these cases the organization is not getting full value from its investment in marketing, and could in fact be posting a significant loss on an internal cost accounting basis.
COPYSCHOOL IS IN
A lot to digest in last post, so I'll leave you to go on digesting with these three thoughts:
1. Have you ever read a contemporary ad that spent so much time romancing the story? Listen to the way he builds in the tiniest detail. Modern copywriters rush to the end of the copy, scattering a few features and maybe a benefit or two in their wake.
2. Note the Caption to the image: The girl's remark is the fulcrum of the drama in the situation. And, as we know the majority of readers will look at the image, maybe then the headline, and maybe then the caption to the image (to find out 'what's going on here?'), this is the bnest way to pull them into the story.
3. There is a story. It's in a newspaper. Newspapers are bought by people who want to read stories.
Read it again and listen to the voices.
The misallocation of internal marketing management resources when there is a…
… failure to delegate/outsource non-management functions
… failure to outsource high level strategic planning
… failure to use the skills of marketing staff
… failure to adequately fund the marketing function
These may sound controversial, so let me explain. There are four basic functions of the internal marketing function: 1. Overseeing the planning process 2. Planning the execution/implementation of the marketing plan. 3. Delegating responsibilities for implementation. 4. Managing the people who you are reporting to and who report to you.
`
I have not met a truly great marketing manager who was a truly great strategic planner. The truly great manager brings in expertise and manages it to get the best plan. As for other marketing staff, they are often treated as messengers or personal assistants when they should be given challenges to drag out of them high levels of performance. And companies that appoint a marketing manager and don’t give them a budget equal to the job to be done are better off without their marketing manager.
In all these cases the organization is not getting full value from its investment in marketing, and could in fact be posting a significant loss on an internal cost accounting basis.
COPYSCHOOL IS IN
A lot to digest in last post, so I'll leave you to go on digesting with these three thoughts:
1. Have you ever read a contemporary ad that spent so much time romancing the story? Listen to the way he builds in the tiniest detail. Modern copywriters rush to the end of the copy, scattering a few features and maybe a benefit or two in their wake.
2. Note the Caption to the image: The girl's remark is the fulcrum of the drama in the situation. And, as we know the majority of readers will look at the image, maybe then the headline, and maybe then the caption to the image (to find out 'what's going on here?'), this is the bnest way to pull them into the story.
3. There is a story. It's in a newspaper. Newspapers are bought by people who want to read stories.
Read it again and listen to the voices.
Tuesday, July 03, 2007
Is your offer competitive?
Hidden Costs of Marketing#4
Many hidden costs can drag a campaign into the red. If you can anticipate these losses you can abort a loser before it happens.
Uncompetitive offers don't thrill customers. They can kill sales.
An offer can be unable to compete because:
... your cost structure puts you at a disadvantage;
... a failure to differentiate from the competition;
... your product lacks innovation;
...failure to react to competitive moves.
Do you know what your competition is doing, thinking, planning? Don't assume anuything. IGNORANCE IS A CHARGE AGAINST THE BOTTOM LINE. Is your senior management afraid of standing out and doing some kick-ass creative? LACK OF COURAGE IS A CHARGE AGAINST THE BOTTOMLINE. Are you the low cost leader in your market? CORPORATE FLABBINESS COSTS.
MK
COPYSCHOOL IS IN
John Caples is the Grand Wizard of Copy. His innovations are still not understood by most copywriters. Here is his most famous ad. Notice how it 'vocalises' - and creates mind images. (The entire long copy ad is reproduced here for later discussion about his 'back end' in a later post.)
[Headline]
They Laughed When I Sat Down At the Piano But When I Started to Play! --
[Caption]
"Can he really play?" a girl whispered. "Heavens no!" Arthur exclaimed. "He never played a note in his life."
[Body Copy]
Arthur had just played "The Rosary." The room rang with applause. I decided that this would be a dramatic moment for me to make my debut. To the amazement of all my friends, I strode confidently over to the piano and sat down.
"Jack is up to his old tricks," somebody chuckled. The crowd laughed. They were all certain that I couldn't play a single note.
"Can he really play?" I heard a girl whisper to Arthur.
"Heavens, no!" Arthur exclaimed "He never played a note in all his life... But just you watch him. This is going to be good."
I decided to make the most of the situation. With mock dignity I drew out a silk handkerchief and lightly dusted off the piano keys. Then I rose and gave the revolving piano stool a quarter of a turn, just as I had seen an imitator of Paderewski do in a vaudeville sketch.
"What do you think of his execution?" called a voice from the rear.
"We're in favor of it!" came back the answer, and the crowd rocked with laughter.
[Subhead]
Then I Started to Play
[Body Copy]
Instantly a tense silence fell on the guests. The laughter died on their lips as if by magic. I played through the first few bars of Beethoven's immortal Moonlight Sonata. I heard gasps of amazement. My friends sat breathless -- spellbound!
I played on and as I played I forgot the people around me. I forgot the hour, the place, the breathless listeners. The little world I lived in seemed to fade -- seemed to grow dim -- unreal. Only the music was real. Only the music and visions it brought me. Visions as beautiful and as changing as the wind blown clouds and drifting moonlight that long ago inspired the master composer. It seemed as if the master musician himself were speaking to me -- speaking through the medium of music -- not in words but in chords. Not in sentences but in exquisite melodies!
[Subhead]
A Complete Triumph!
[Body Copy]
As the last notes of the Moonlight Sonata died away, the room resounded with a sudden roar of applause. I found myself surrounded by excited faces. How my friends carried on! Men shook my hand -- wildly congratulated me -- pounded me on the back in their enthusiasm! Everybody was exclaiming with delight -- plying me with rapid questions... "Jack! Why didn't you tell us you could play like that?"... "Where did you learn?" -- "How long have you studied?" -- "Who was your teacher?"
"I have never even seen my teacher," I replied. "And just a short while ago I couldn't play a note."
"Quit your kidding," laughed Arthur, himself an accomplished pianist. "You've been studying for years. I can tell."
"I have been studying only a short while," I insisted. "I decided to keep it a secret so that I could surprise all you folks."
Then I told them the whole story.
"Have you ever heard of the U.S. School of Music?" I asked.
A few of my friends nodded. "That's a correspondence school, isn't it?" they exclaimed.
"Exactly," I replied. "They have a new simplified method that can teach you to play any instrument by mail in just a few months."
[Subhead]
How I Learned to Play Without a Teacher
[Body Copy]
And then I explained how for years I had longed to play the piano.
"A few months ago," I continued, "I saw an interesting ad for the U.S. School of Music -- a new method of learning to play which only cost a few cents a day! The ad told how a woman had mastered the piano in her spare time at home -- and without a teacher! Best of all, the wonderful new method she used, required no laborious scales -- no heartless exercises -- no tiresome practising. It sounded so convincing that I filled out the coupon requesting the Free Demonstration Lesson.
"The free book arrived promptly and I started in that very night to study the Demonstration Lesson. I was amazed to see how easy it was to play this new way. Then I sent for the course.
"When the course arrived I found it was just as the ad said -- as easy as A.B.C.! And, as the lessons continued they got easier and easier. Before I knew it I was playing all the pieces I liked best. Nothing stopped me. I could play ballads or classical numbers or jazz, all with equal ease! And I never did have any special talent for music!"
[Subhead]
Play Any Instrument
[Body Copy]
You too, can now teach yourself to be an accomplished musician -- right at home -- in half the usual time. You can't go wrong with this simple new method which has already shown 350,000 people how to play their favorite instruments. Forget the old-fashioned idea that you need special "talent." Just read the list of instruments in the panel, decide which one you want to play and the U.S. School will do the rest. And bear in mind no matter which instrument you choose, the cost in each case will be the same -- just a few cents a day. No matter whether you are a mere beginner or already a good performer, you will be interested in learning about this new and wonderful method.
[Subhead]
Send for Our Free Booklet and Demonstration Lesson
[Body Copy]
Thousands of successful students never dreamed they possessed musical ability until it was revealed to them by a remarkable "Musical Ability Test" which we send entirely without cost with our interesting free booklet.
If you are in earnest about wanting to play your favorite instrument -- if you really want to gain happiness and increase your popularity -- send at once for the free booklet and Demonstration Lesson. No cost -- no obligation. Right now we are making a Special offer for a limited number of new students. Sign and send the convenient coupon now -- before it's too late to gain the benefits of this offer. Instruments supplied when needed, cash or credit. U.S. School of Music, 1031 Brunswick Bldg., New York City
Many hidden costs can drag a campaign into the red. If you can anticipate these losses you can abort a loser before it happens.
Uncompetitive offers don't thrill customers. They can kill sales.
An offer can be unable to compete because:
... your cost structure puts you at a disadvantage;
... a failure to differentiate from the competition;
... your product lacks innovation;
...failure to react to competitive moves.
Do you know what your competition is doing, thinking, planning? Don't assume anuything. IGNORANCE IS A CHARGE AGAINST THE BOTTOM LINE. Is your senior management afraid of standing out and doing some kick-ass creative? LACK OF COURAGE IS A CHARGE AGAINST THE BOTTOMLINE. Are you the low cost leader in your market? CORPORATE FLABBINESS COSTS.
MK
COPYSCHOOL IS IN
John Caples is the Grand Wizard of Copy. His innovations are still not understood by most copywriters. Here is his most famous ad. Notice how it 'vocalises' - and creates mind images. (The entire long copy ad is reproduced here for later discussion about his 'back end' in a later post.)
[Headline]
They Laughed When I Sat Down At the Piano But When I Started to Play! --
[Caption]
"Can he really play?" a girl whispered. "Heavens no!" Arthur exclaimed. "He never played a note in his life."
[Body Copy]
Arthur had just played "The Rosary." The room rang with applause. I decided that this would be a dramatic moment for me to make my debut. To the amazement of all my friends, I strode confidently over to the piano and sat down.
"Jack is up to his old tricks," somebody chuckled. The crowd laughed. They were all certain that I couldn't play a single note.
"Can he really play?" I heard a girl whisper to Arthur.
"Heavens, no!" Arthur exclaimed "He never played a note in all his life... But just you watch him. This is going to be good."
I decided to make the most of the situation. With mock dignity I drew out a silk handkerchief and lightly dusted off the piano keys. Then I rose and gave the revolving piano stool a quarter of a turn, just as I had seen an imitator of Paderewski do in a vaudeville sketch.
"What do you think of his execution?" called a voice from the rear.
"We're in favor of it!" came back the answer, and the crowd rocked with laughter.
[Subhead]
Then I Started to Play
[Body Copy]
Instantly a tense silence fell on the guests. The laughter died on their lips as if by magic. I played through the first few bars of Beethoven's immortal Moonlight Sonata. I heard gasps of amazement. My friends sat breathless -- spellbound!
I played on and as I played I forgot the people around me. I forgot the hour, the place, the breathless listeners. The little world I lived in seemed to fade -- seemed to grow dim -- unreal. Only the music was real. Only the music and visions it brought me. Visions as beautiful and as changing as the wind blown clouds and drifting moonlight that long ago inspired the master composer. It seemed as if the master musician himself were speaking to me -- speaking through the medium of music -- not in words but in chords. Not in sentences but in exquisite melodies!
[Subhead]
A Complete Triumph!
[Body Copy]
As the last notes of the Moonlight Sonata died away, the room resounded with a sudden roar of applause. I found myself surrounded by excited faces. How my friends carried on! Men shook my hand -- wildly congratulated me -- pounded me on the back in their enthusiasm! Everybody was exclaiming with delight -- plying me with rapid questions... "Jack! Why didn't you tell us you could play like that?"... "Where did you learn?" -- "How long have you studied?" -- "Who was your teacher?"
"I have never even seen my teacher," I replied. "And just a short while ago I couldn't play a note."
"Quit your kidding," laughed Arthur, himself an accomplished pianist. "You've been studying for years. I can tell."
"I have been studying only a short while," I insisted. "I decided to keep it a secret so that I could surprise all you folks."
Then I told them the whole story.
"Have you ever heard of the U.S. School of Music?" I asked.
A few of my friends nodded. "That's a correspondence school, isn't it?" they exclaimed.
"Exactly," I replied. "They have a new simplified method that can teach you to play any instrument by mail in just a few months."
[Subhead]
How I Learned to Play Without a Teacher
[Body Copy]
And then I explained how for years I had longed to play the piano.
"A few months ago," I continued, "I saw an interesting ad for the U.S. School of Music -- a new method of learning to play which only cost a few cents a day! The ad told how a woman had mastered the piano in her spare time at home -- and without a teacher! Best of all, the wonderful new method she used, required no laborious scales -- no heartless exercises -- no tiresome practising. It sounded so convincing that I filled out the coupon requesting the Free Demonstration Lesson.
"The free book arrived promptly and I started in that very night to study the Demonstration Lesson. I was amazed to see how easy it was to play this new way. Then I sent for the course.
"When the course arrived I found it was just as the ad said -- as easy as A.B.C.! And, as the lessons continued they got easier and easier. Before I knew it I was playing all the pieces I liked best. Nothing stopped me. I could play ballads or classical numbers or jazz, all with equal ease! And I never did have any special talent for music!"
[Subhead]
Play Any Instrument
[Body Copy]
You too, can now teach yourself to be an accomplished musician -- right at home -- in half the usual time. You can't go wrong with this simple new method which has already shown 350,000 people how to play their favorite instruments. Forget the old-fashioned idea that you need special "talent." Just read the list of instruments in the panel, decide which one you want to play and the U.S. School will do the rest. And bear in mind no matter which instrument you choose, the cost in each case will be the same -- just a few cents a day. No matter whether you are a mere beginner or already a good performer, you will be interested in learning about this new and wonderful method.
[Subhead]
Send for Our Free Booklet and Demonstration Lesson
[Body Copy]
Thousands of successful students never dreamed they possessed musical ability until it was revealed to them by a remarkable "Musical Ability Test" which we send entirely without cost with our interesting free booklet.
If you are in earnest about wanting to play your favorite instrument -- if you really want to gain happiness and increase your popularity -- send at once for the free booklet and Demonstration Lesson. No cost -- no obligation. Right now we are making a Special offer for a limited number of new students. Sign and send the convenient coupon now -- before it's too late to gain the benefits of this offer. Instruments supplied when needed, cash or credit. U.S. School of Music, 1031 Brunswick Bldg., New York City
Monday, July 02, 2007
"I have a dream" (See below)
Hidden Costs #3: Foregone returns
... because creative is bland, me-too (client allowed to dictate creative, work done by inhouse creatives, agency unable to sell the creative, etc.);
... because no offer/proposition included to stimulate response;
... because distribution inadequate;
... because channels not 'greased' with promotion/communication to alert their customer-facing staff;
... because there is no brand discipline so exposure of campaign does not increase the asset value of the brand.
COPY SCHOOL IS IN!
Speechifying, not.
Writing copy is not like writing a speech. Even though a speech is vocalised. The difference between speech-writing and copywriting is the level of intimacy which means talking in the ear of one person, not standing on a soapbox.
Speeches can be powerful, but they rely on the human dynamic of proximity to others while consuming the message to give them their strength.
For instance, here is one of the most powerful speeches in history: The Gettysburg Address by President Abraham Lincoln.
It self-consciously speechifies. Compare it to the words of Martin Luther king where he deaprts from the script and speaks directly to the people as if to a single person.
THE GETTYSBURG ADDRESS
Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.
Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation, so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.
But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate—we can not consecrate—we can not hallow—this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us — that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion — that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain — that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom — and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.
MARTIN LUTHER KING March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom — August 28, 1963
I have a dream... that one day... this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.” I have a dream... that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slaveowners will be able to sit down together at a table of brotherhood. I have a dream... that one day even the state of Mississippi, a desert state, sweltering with the heat of injustice and oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice. I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today.
... because creative is bland, me-too (client allowed to dictate creative, work done by inhouse creatives, agency unable to sell the creative, etc.);
... because no offer/proposition included to stimulate response;
... because distribution inadequate;
... because channels not 'greased' with promotion/communication to alert their customer-facing staff;
... because there is no brand discipline so exposure of campaign does not increase the asset value of the brand.
COPY SCHOOL IS IN!
Speechifying, not.
Writing copy is not like writing a speech. Even though a speech is vocalised. The difference between speech-writing and copywriting is the level of intimacy which means talking in the ear of one person, not standing on a soapbox.
Speeches can be powerful, but they rely on the human dynamic of proximity to others while consuming the message to give them their strength.
For instance, here is one of the most powerful speeches in history: The Gettysburg Address by President Abraham Lincoln.
It self-consciously speechifies. Compare it to the words of Martin Luther king where he deaprts from the script and speaks directly to the people as if to a single person.
THE GETTYSBURG ADDRESS
Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.
Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation, so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.
But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate—we can not consecrate—we can not hallow—this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us — that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion — that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain — that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom — and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.
MARTIN LUTHER KING March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom — August 28, 1963
I have a dream... that one day... this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.” I have a dream... that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slaveowners will be able to sit down together at a table of brotherhood. I have a dream... that one day even the state of Mississippi, a desert state, sweltering with the heat of injustice and oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice. I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today.
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Hidden Costs of Marketing #2 (No joke)
Hi,
There are some costs which cannot be easily calcuated, but which, if included in a project's P&L, might cause the project to be abandoned.
Hidden Cost #2: Foregone profits by...
... poor pricing strategy (too high, too low)
... poor product integrity, causing recall costs, product replacement costs, etc.
... poor packaging/point of sale/channels management to convert investment in awareness and demand creation to sales.
Cheers!
MK
COPY SCHOOL IS IN
What tone of voice works best? If you are selling your services as an investment advisor or the steward of your prospect's money, perhaps a serious tone is best.
For everything else, I suggest you explore the potential for humour. People remember more information when it makes them laugh. (Don't ask me why...) Humour is also a way to reach out to others. Laughing together unites people, according to one expert I heard on Tony Delroy's late night radio program on Tuesday night. For instance, she solves problems between Indigenous communities and whites by getting them to laugh together. Humour is also a good way to address difficult and sensitive issues, like
death. I'm serious.
For instance, here is a script I wrote for a dreary Funeral Insurance client:
VIDEO
Two males in close up, side of heads, facing each other. (Alas Smith & Jones style)
AUDIO
FAT MALE:Went to a funeral the other day.
THIN MALE: That’s sad. Whose was it.
FAT MALE: Mother in law’s
THIN MALE: That’s aright then. You would have enjoyed that.
FAT MALE: I don’t like funerals.
THIN MALE; Why do you go then?
FAT MALE: To make sure she was dead. Besides if you don’t go to other people’s funerals they wont’ come to yours. Still, I wish I didn’t have gone to this one.
THIN MALE: Why? Wasn’t she gone? Did she sit up in the coffin?
FAT MALE: No, She was gone alright, but I had to pay!
THIN MALE: Pay to go to your mother-in-law’s funeral. How much?
FAT MALE: Never you mind… it was a lot. The old dear hadn’t left any money to pay for the funeral and the money in the will is frozen for who knows how long…
THIN MALE: Didn’t you tell her about that insurance you can get that covers all those expenses?
FAT MALE: Didn’t talk to her much. She was an angry woman. She left instructions to write on her headstone the words: “What are you looking at?” I stayed out of her way.
THIN MALE: Well that was a costly mistake.
FAT MALE: If I could have my time over again….
THIN MALE: Well you can. You don’t want to do the same thing to your own kids do you? [Hands him a telephone handset.] Here, call (Brand) Insurance and ask about the (Brand) Guaranteed Life Plan. You never know when you might be popping off these days, do you?
FAT MALE: Popping off? Do I look sick to you? I haven’t been feeling well…
THIN MALE; Better make that call right now. 0000 000000. Before it’s too late.
................
How did it perform? We will never now. The agency I freelanced for at the time did not have creative control of the account. The client did. The agency lived by the slogan of The Goodies: "We do anything for money." So no breakthrough was possible. (Warning to budding copywriters: You can only be as brilliant as your account management will allow you to be.
Here's another icky topic - menopause - treated with humour.
Radio 30s
Stand up comedy routine
SFX: Comedy bar
COMEDIENNE: If men went through menopause, hot flushes and night sweats would be another excuse for drinking lots of cold beer.
SFX: Laughter
COMEDIENNE: Mood swings would be something you worked out on the golf course.
SFX: Laughter
COMEDIENNE: If men went through menopause, back pain and low energy would be an excuse for watching even more sports on TV.
SFX: Laughter
COMEDIENNE: Low sex drive would be a cause for a national enquiry.
SFX: Laughter
MALE VOICE: If men went through menopause they’d understand what women go through.
(Brand) Because it’s your life.
Always read the label. Use only as directed. See your healthcare professional if symptoms persist.
..........
There are some costs which cannot be easily calcuated, but which, if included in a project's P&L, might cause the project to be abandoned.
Hidden Cost #2: Foregone profits by...
... poor pricing strategy (too high, too low)
... poor product integrity, causing recall costs, product replacement costs, etc.
... poor packaging/point of sale/channels management to convert investment in awareness and demand creation to sales.
Cheers!
MK
COPY SCHOOL IS IN
What tone of voice works best? If you are selling your services as an investment advisor or the steward of your prospect's money, perhaps a serious tone is best.
For everything else, I suggest you explore the potential for humour. People remember more information when it makes them laugh. (Don't ask me why...) Humour is also a way to reach out to others. Laughing together unites people, according to one expert I heard on Tony Delroy's late night radio program on Tuesday night. For instance, she solves problems between Indigenous communities and whites by getting them to laugh together. Humour is also a good way to address difficult and sensitive issues, like
death. I'm serious.
For instance, here is a script I wrote for a dreary Funeral Insurance client:
VIDEO
Two males in close up, side of heads, facing each other. (Alas Smith & Jones style)
AUDIO
FAT MALE:Went to a funeral the other day.
THIN MALE: That’s sad. Whose was it.
FAT MALE: Mother in law’s
THIN MALE: That’s aright then. You would have enjoyed that.
FAT MALE: I don’t like funerals.
THIN MALE; Why do you go then?
FAT MALE: To make sure she was dead. Besides if you don’t go to other people’s funerals they wont’ come to yours. Still, I wish I didn’t have gone to this one.
THIN MALE: Why? Wasn’t she gone? Did she sit up in the coffin?
FAT MALE: No, She was gone alright, but I had to pay!
THIN MALE: Pay to go to your mother-in-law’s funeral. How much?
FAT MALE: Never you mind… it was a lot. The old dear hadn’t left any money to pay for the funeral and the money in the will is frozen for who knows how long…
THIN MALE: Didn’t you tell her about that insurance you can get that covers all those expenses?
FAT MALE: Didn’t talk to her much. She was an angry woman. She left instructions to write on her headstone the words: “What are you looking at?” I stayed out of her way.
THIN MALE: Well that was a costly mistake.
FAT MALE: If I could have my time over again….
THIN MALE: Well you can. You don’t want to do the same thing to your own kids do you? [Hands him a telephone handset.] Here, call (Brand) Insurance and ask about the (Brand) Guaranteed Life Plan. You never know when you might be popping off these days, do you?
FAT MALE: Popping off? Do I look sick to you? I haven’t been feeling well…
THIN MALE; Better make that call right now. 0000 000000. Before it’s too late.
................
How did it perform? We will never now. The agency I freelanced for at the time did not have creative control of the account. The client did. The agency lived by the slogan of The Goodies: "We do anything for money." So no breakthrough was possible. (Warning to budding copywriters: You can only be as brilliant as your account management will allow you to be.
Here's another icky topic - menopause - treated with humour.
Radio 30s
Stand up comedy routine
SFX: Comedy bar
COMEDIENNE: If men went through menopause, hot flushes and night sweats would be another excuse for drinking lots of cold beer.
SFX: Laughter
COMEDIENNE: Mood swings would be something you worked out on the golf course.
SFX: Laughter
COMEDIENNE: If men went through menopause, back pain and low energy would be an excuse for watching even more sports on TV.
SFX: Laughter
COMEDIENNE: Low sex drive would be a cause for a national enquiry.
SFX: Laughter
MALE VOICE: If men went through menopause they’d understand what women go through.
(Brand) Because it’s your life.
Always read the label. Use only as directed. See your healthcare professional if symptoms persist.
..........
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Hidden Costs of Marketing
Hi,
There are some costs which cannot be easily calcuated, but which, if included in a project's P&L, might cause the project to be abandoned.
Hidden Cost #1: Damage to the Brand...
... by alienating core customers
... by causing confusion about the brand's personality
... by causing negative media attitudes
... by creating negative regulator attitudes
In fact, any brand-eroding activity should be factored as a cost. If a brands value can be calculated, the loss of value can be estimated.
MK
PS. Tomorrow... Hidden Cost #2
OK. COPYSCHOOL IS IN.
Follow the Logic: Powerful copy resonates and speaks to a reader intimately. The reader hears the words deep within. To achieve such penetration, you must "speak" your copy to the reader as an individual. Speak as an individual to an individual. So when you write copy, write to a single person, someone you know who fits the profile of the target audience.
Two fundamental points here:
1. You speak as you.
2. As you would to an individual person.
That is the Zen of Copy. (MTC)
MK
There are some costs which cannot be easily calcuated, but which, if included in a project's P&L, might cause the project to be abandoned.
Hidden Cost #1: Damage to the Brand...
... by alienating core customers
... by causing confusion about the brand's personality
... by causing negative media attitudes
... by creating negative regulator attitudes
In fact, any brand-eroding activity should be factored as a cost. If a brands value can be calculated, the loss of value can be estimated.
MK
PS. Tomorrow... Hidden Cost #2
OK. COPYSCHOOL IS IN.
Follow the Logic: Powerful copy resonates and speaks to a reader intimately. The reader hears the words deep within. To achieve such penetration, you must "speak" your copy to the reader as an individual. Speak as an individual to an individual. So when you write copy, write to a single person, someone you know who fits the profile of the target audience.
Two fundamental points here:
1. You speak as you.
2. As you would to an individual person.
That is the Zen of Copy. (MTC)
MK
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Famous ads are always speaking in voices
Hi,
I searched high and low for the famous Saatchi & Saatchi ad about flies shitting on food before people eat it. It made S&S famous. I wanted to show you how the ad 'vocalises'. I couldn't find it, but I found the copy - it is used by insecticide companies in their markting materials. Listen to its voice...
"Flies cannot eat solid food, so to soften it up, they vomit on it. Then they stomp the vomit in to form a liquid, adding a few germs for good measure. After this, they suck it all back up again, dropping excrement all the while. And when they’ve finished eating – it’s your turn."
What do "vocal" ads have that "literary" ads don't?
They use short words, And short sentences. And vivd imagery.
CHeers!
Michael
I searched high and low for the famous Saatchi & Saatchi ad about flies shitting on food before people eat it. It made S&S famous. I wanted to show you how the ad 'vocalises'. I couldn't find it, but I found the copy - it is used by insecticide companies in their markting materials. Listen to its voice...
"Flies cannot eat solid food, so to soften it up, they vomit on it. Then they stomp the vomit in to form a liquid, adding a few germs for good measure. After this, they suck it all back up again, dropping excrement all the while. And when they’ve finished eating – it’s your turn."
What do "vocal" ads have that "literary" ads don't?
They use short words, And short sentences. And vivd imagery.
CHeers!
Michael
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