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CREATIVE MASTERCLASSOctober 15, 2012
Herschell Gordon Lewis
Direct MarketingAssociation
CreativeMaster class
October 15, 2012
Herschell Gordon Lewis
Exploit the21st century difference:
1.Increasing informality2.Increasingly emphatic
persuasion3.Inclusion of validation4.Promise of fast action
The Internet is primarily responsible for all four
trends. They apply to both email and Website copy and have bled over to all media.NOTE: The dynamics of email and Web site differ because email arrives unannounced and Website copy usually is
the result of a search mechanism.
The edge direct has over other mass media is the edge action has
over branding.That means:
Recall is a weak substitute for a
transactional response.
Example of recall –Ten minutes after listing, test subjects were asked to recall
these possible automobile names:
TigerPrestoXecrovtuHolidaySunlight
No surprise…By a huge margin, the one most recalled was:
Xecrovtu
Adjustments in marketing for “difficult
times” :1. Acknowledge tough times2. Emphasize sincerity and
rapport3. Wallow in statesmanship –
“You don’t have to give up your lifestyle.”
4. Specify apparent proof 5. Imperative, not
declarative
If you take nothing else away from this session,
remember this:
Imperativeoutpulls
declarative.
Careful –The amount of
perceived imperative alters
receptivity:
Combination of “official” notice and threatening tone
You get this
email and click here:
Click again and get this:
What are the pros and cons of this?
How do you transmitan imperative?
“Let’s”leads convivially…
“You should”shows authority…
“You must”can generate resentment…
all for the same directive.
SUGGESTION:Instead ofYou must…
useYou have to…
(Why?)
Are you specifying(not just suggesting) a recognizable comparative benefit in:√ health√ wealth√ social position
or√ professional position
?
Prospective buyers always
will interpret an unclear
statement in a way that’s most
beneficial to themselves.
That is why The Clarity
Commandment is more significant now than ever
before in marketing
history.
The Clarity Commandment:
When you choose words and phrases for
force-communication, clarity is paramount.
Don’t let any other component of the
communications mix interfere with it.
A simple litmus test:If the typical reader or
online message-recipient can’t
determine what you’re pitching…
within ten seconds… you’ve violated The
Clarity Commandment.
What might the Rotary Club have said in a half-page ad in its
magazine that would add clarity and response?
Ad for an accounting company, aimed at
non-profits.
Is this the optimal
headline?
One pulled almost 20% better than the other. Which one? And
why?
Another. Which one pulled better? Is it a pure test? (If not, why not?)
What makes
thisan
effective
message?
An uncomfortable, useless,
but too-common development as
marketers become more and more desperate for
attention:
The “Huh?” Factor
Huh?
(Full page ad)
In ten seconds
: What is
it?
(Full page ad)
In ten seconds
: What is
it?
Would you hire
the writer and art director
who “created
” thisb-to-b
ad?
IBM ad in
Business Week
–a
classic“Huh?”
Suppose you read
the heading and the
first sentence of text. What would you conclude
this company
does?
(Ad in Business Week)
OK, what do
they do?
Huh? This envelope held nothing but paper, so the
instruction must have been aimed at me personally. I’ll
show ‘em.
Why is it that so
many ads in
marketing media are aimed at people in
the marketer’s office, not at
possible business targets?
Is there a reason for misspellings?
When your target’s
first reaction is “Huh?” you
should know your message is less than
professional.
Repeat: When your
target’s first
reaction is “Huh?” you
should know your message is less than
professional.
Repeat: When your
target’s first
reaction is “Huh?” you
should know your message is less than
professional.
Who decided to match
the picture with the
text?(What
might you have used?
OK,what
isshe
selling?
This might have been your 137th
guess.
A message aimed at a mobile audience demands three
elements or it loses:1. absolute clarity
2. ease of response3. undeniable relevance
WANT TO LOSE?OMIT ONE OF THOSE.
What a deal: Call China for
about $12.00.
Can you believe
this ancient
scam still exists?
(Sent as a fax)
Ugh.Sixty years out of date.
John Caples (or at least, his masterpiece) lives.
The original, written in 1926…still much imitated today:•They grinned when the waiter spoke to me in French•They laughed when I told them how I beat stress•They laughed when I said I’d lose weightHundreds of others
Paralleling:Associating a familiar story
or an episode or an equivalence with your offer:
“Just as[that]
makes [or made] sense,[this]
makes sense [for you now].”
An attempted parallel
in Entrepreu
r magazine. Does it succeed
in generating general interest?
The word- parallel
emphasizes
the point
His good fortune… is your good
FORTUNE!
Too much advertising mis-uses…
“TheGenieWish”
The Genie Wish:Stating a wished circumstance the
reader could misinterpret to
his/her advantage…and your
disadvantage.Example:
Example:
You write:
What is the one thing you want
most?
That’s a mis-used“Genie Wish” headline.
“What is the one thing you want most?”opens the door to
disappointment. Instead:
“Is this the one thing you want most?”
Still not optimal. The professional would avoid
“The Genie Wish”:“You want it. No problem:
Here it is.”
The telling difference between semi-effective
copy and effective copy:
Specifics outpull generalizations.
This marketer knows:Find a
specific benefit
for yourself and ride it hard.
Opinion,
please:In what ways is this too much? In what
ways too
little?
Choice of words:
• You will be among the first to…
• You will be one of the first to…
Why isamong
a weakener?
Psychologically, it automatically kills exclusivity.
Choice of words:
• You will learn how to…• You will discover how to…
Suggestion:Eliminate learn and earn from your selling vocabulary
Why are learn and earn weakeners?
Because they suggest the sender of the message is superior to the recipient.
Keep the recipient in apparent command.
Two points here:1) The word
“Learn” adds nothing and may
even reduce response.
(How about “Why not save
money by switching…”?)
2) Specifics outpull
generalities (note last bullet).
Avoid these words in force-communication
messages:• quality• service• value• needs (as noun)
• “Remember,”
• What’s more
• …means business
• When it comes to…
YOUR hand is on the trigger.
Don’t fire blanks.
Did they need a professional copywriter
for this heading?
Thee-mail
catechism
(Follow these five steps religiously and
you’ll be hypercompetitive.)
The rule is easy.The rule is obvious:
1.Make aclear offer.
Top line comes on first. Then rest of image. Click on “Play Video”
and…
Solid offer holds while video plays: Goes directly for
order.
Always … ALWAYS…
send yourself a sample message,
to be sure recipients are getting what
you’re transmitting.
The rule is easy.The rule is obvious:
2. Make your offer fast.
What is
wrong
with this – just the first bits of
1417 words
?
This is how it ends…diarrhea of the finger-tips.
The rule is easy.The rule is obvious:
3. Make your offer timely.
The rule is easy.The rule is obvious:
4. Make your offer unique
to you.
The rule is easy.The rule is obvious:
5. Make your offer relevant
to the recipient.
Evolution of e-mail: Buddy-to-buddy
In e-mail, time is NOT on your side.
Grab the target.Shake the
target.
Right now.
Email is the only medium in which the approach
“It’s important to meso it’s important to you”
is a valid marketing ploy…but only if properly used.
Why?Because email is the
ultimate one-to-one, arm-around-the-shoulder
medium. Rapport is the key to response and to fewer
opt-outs.
Soin an email message,
“I”is infinitely superior to
“We.”
The Web is price-driven.We can predict
wildness:The addition of daily deal vouchers and aggregators to the
marketing mix already affects the future plans
of social media.
WARNING:Your first-time
Web visitorhas the
attention-spanof a gnat.
Logic suggests testing:
WARNING:Responders disappear at
checkout.Study conducted by Kefta Inc., San Francisco technology and service provider: Between half and 90% of orders placed in a shopping cart are abandoned
before checkout.
How about“social media”
?Are they…
or will they be…major marketing
factors?
Pro:1. Social
media are one-to-one.
2. Customers
become direct
salespeople.
Con:1.Marketer
loses control.2.Phony
pitch becomes obvious.
Do you see the marketing point this satire makes?
E-mail and social similarities and differences
E-MAIL•“This is for you.”•Demands fast action.•Supposedly unique discount.•One-way communication.•Generally targeted.•“We love you.”•“I know who you are.”
SOCIAL•“Hi, there.”•Reward for reply.•Incentive matches the vendor.•Two-way communication.•Hyper-targeted.•“Prove you love me.”•“I know who you are.”
If you plan to use Facebook or MySpace or Twitter or Pinterest as a marketing tool…
please, please, please:
Test.(Best test: as both
vendor and as potential consumer.)
What is the significance of this, at online checkout?
This was as of July…blink and it will change
again
Suggestion:Use Twitter for lead generation, not for
actual offers…and have super-clear
materials as quick follow-ups.
From “Net Applications”
Sequence: clutter … chaos … skepticism … rejection?
Example of the
two-edgedsocial media sword
Don’t know either one. Philosophically and psychologically, ultimate results
of this kind of message?
“Social” are new media.
The rules are still forming. Always
analyze your results, and you’ll generate a constant flow of rules
you can use…
profitably.
A dozen implicitly weak words and phrases:
• administration
• approximately
• define• earn• facilitate• features
• formulate• indeed• needs (as
noun)• product• respond• work
A dozen words and phrases with power
• free• free gift• limited
time• right now• surprise• hot
• not sold in stores• first time offered• good only until
[DATE]• Don’t miss out• I’ll look for your
order• Try it at our risk
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