Commercial Writing and Creative Collaboration

Still relevant marketing tips

In marketing circles there's a lot of talk about 21st century marketing. You'll hear warnings about using methods from yesteryear: 'The tactics you used 10 or 15 years ago don't work in our digital age. The Johnson Box spells failure today. Long copy went the way of the dinosaur--try postcards!' While much of the updated information is true and relevant, keep in mind a lot of it comes from people who have books to sell. Following are tips that were spoken years ago by industry leaders. I believe that each is still true and meaningful today. Following these ideas can only lead to more effective marketing communications.

“Direct mail’s greatest asset: the creation of an exclusive environment that allows the seller to present the appropriate reasons for buying.”
  - Martin Gross

“Even the automakers are changing. Now instead of blonds in sequins draped over the fenders of the latest cars, flashing come-hither smiles, they wear prim tailored suits, and talk to customers about torque, transmissions and safety benefits.”
- Anonymous (overhead at a recent seminar)

“The fundamentals of persuasive communications stay the same in any medium.”
- Lester Wunderman

"Every effort should be made to get in step with the prospect’s needs and desires. What's important and relevant to the customer must be the focus of both agency and client."
- Emily Soell

“...clothe your advertising in an easily understood and clearly seen message that makes getting a response the driving imperative.”
  - Stan Rapp

"Copywriters who believe they can tease readers into an advertisement are throwing money away. Blind headlines that require reading of the copy to decipher them don't work. Some copywriters write tricky headlines. This is a sin. Go straight to the point. Be specific and factual."
- David Ogilvy

"No idea is so complex that it can't be explained simply."
- Albert Einstein

(Okay, Albert Einstein may not have been a master marketer, but he still had a good idea or two.)

E-mail campaign not working?

Why? Is it poorly written? Miss-targeted? Does the message have any redeeming value? If you're frustrated because you can't seem to improve open rates and click-through rates, don't succumb to the knee-jerk reaction that e-mail marketing just doesn’t work for you. There may be a bigger, yet oh-so basic reason. Before you give up on a worthy medium, read Nick Usborne’s advice in his recent article: Successful Email Campaigns Are Built on One Thing Only – Reputation.

Take note of that stuff on ISP filters -- very interesting. And if that makes you feel nervous, consider this: “20% of people use the ‘Report as Spam’ button as an easy way to unsubscribe.” Be careful what you say, how you say it, and to whom you’re saying it. Your reputation precedes you.

Commercials are entertaining, but…

I’ve been watching a lot of television lately. I’m not a big TV guy, but for the past ten days it’s one of the few activities that I’ve been allowed to do. You see, I’ve had a problem with the retina in my left eye. First it was torn. Then it was detached. Now it is fixed. For good I hope. It’s kept me down, but not out. So, with a damaged retina, TV watching was my mandated pastime.

It’s given me an opportunity to watch my favorite stuff—namely the commercials. (This year’s new programming is, IMHO, quite dismal. I had hopes for CANE and Dirty, Sexy, Money, but as it turns out I’m unimpressed.) Of course, most commercials on network television are aimed at the consumer; the B2B marketing specialist has only a few offerings to critique, namely spots by IBM, Intel, SAP and a few others. And, let me be among the first to say that commercials this season are great!—if entertainment value is your qualitative criterion. If you think about it, why else do most people watch TV? We watch to be entertained. We certainly don’t tune-in to Nip/Tuck in hopes of upgrading our year-old Blackberry.

So, with our brains switched to “entertainment mode” we watch today’s crop of “really really creative” commercials, and we laugh, and chuckle and make comments like, “now that was funny”, or “I can’t believe they can get away with that on TV”, or “that’s classic!”, or “little kids are so adorable, aren’t they?” At least that’s what we do in my family, and I’ll bet we’re not alone. Of course, being the marketing communicator that I am, I play a little game with whoever is sitting in my living room at the time. It’s a game that I truly enjoy—my viewing partners not so much.

At the end of a program, I’ll say,

“Remember that commercial we saw a few minutes ago?” I’ll briefly describe what we saw (‘ya’ know, where the guy did this, and the kid said that?’).

Everyone says, “Yeah, that was funny!”

“Have you ever seen that one before?” I’ll ask.

“Yeah, I’ve seen it million times”, they’ll answer.

Then, I’ll make them think. (They hate this part.) “What was the commercial selling?”

“Hummm. Ummm.” Each is looking at the person next to him. “I don’t know, but it was pretty funny.”

That’s the answer I get about 98% of the time. It makes me wonder: What would happen to our economy if all ineffective advertising was prohibited. Or, maybe we could create value with all the ineffective TV commercials, by turning them into a reality TV show. Sounds silly, but is it any sillier than a guy who spends $3000 on a flat screen TV to be entertained by commercials?