creative masterclass

Creative Masterclass

October 14

Herschell Gordon

Lewis

Exploit the

21st century difference:

1. Increasing informality

2. Increasingly emphatic

persuasion

3. Inclusion of validation

4. 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 actionhas 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:

Tiger

Presto

Xecrovtu

Holiday

Sunlight

No surprise…

By a huge margin, the

one most recalled was:

XecrovtuWhy?

And so what? Is “recall”

parallel to “salesworthy”?

Why people are skeptical of online

marketing: This is the “come-on.”

Click on “Get Your Sample” and…

An indication of the hypocrisy behind a

Facebook “Like” … Let‟s look closer:

How sincere will your

“Like” be?

If you take nothing else

away from this session,

remember this:

Imperative

outpulls

declarative.

Careful –

The amount of

perceived

imperative alters

receptivity:

Combination of “official”

notice and threatening tone

How do you transmit

an imperative?

“Let‟s”

leads convivially…

“You should”

shows authority…

“You must”

can generate

resentment…

all for the same directive.

SUGGESTION:

Instead of

You must…

use

You have to…

(Why?)

Don‟t fall in love with

the current buzz-term,

BIG DATA.

In a marketing

situation, analysis

cannot compete with

salesmanship.

It isn‟t the data that

delivers consumer

satisfaction; it‟s the

professional application

of data.

That‟s why “Creative” is

still an operative term.

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.

Face of jumbo postcard:

What were they selling?

Address side:

What were they selling?

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?

What

makes

this

an

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”

this

b-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

is

she

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 response

3. 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

Entrepreur

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…

“The

Genie

Wish”

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.”

Face of a

provocative envelope.

Flip it over and…

Provocation realized:

Did the copywriter and

layout artist ever meet?

Both “Free” and “Pre-Paid”?

Irresistible. Heat up the oven!

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 is

amonga 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 earnweakeners?

1. Because they suggest the

sender of the message is

superior to the recipient.

(The recipient should be in

apparent command.)

2. Because they imply

a two-step conversion.

(One-step outpulls two-step.)

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?

The

e-mail

catechism

(Follow these five steps

religiously and you‟ll

be hypercompetitive.)

The rule is easy.

The rule is obvious:

1.Make a

clear 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.

Why would anyone bother

downloading, from this flat email?

Page one of two-page download: Where is a

motivator, a grabber?

An absolute:An

unsolicited email

demands a FAST

motivator.

The proper way to make a fast offer

Subject: Take the Americash 4500 best mortgage rate challenge

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.

Subscription

renewal

offer…

Note point 1

–

“The lowest

rate

available”

Note the

quoted

rate for

The New

Yorker:

$49.99

Included in the same mailing…

Note New Yorker rate: $39.95

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 me

so 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.

So

in an email message,

“I”is infinitely superior

to

“We.”

Simple and

logical way

to convert

a negative

to a

positive:

one-to-one

email

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 visitor

has the

attention-span

of 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.”

Do you accept or reject this

advice from

“Socialmedia Today”?

The best time to post on

Facebook is between 10 am

and 4 pm

Monday through Thursday…

Twitter

between 1 pm and 3 pm

Monday through Thursday.

Do you accept or reject this

advice from

“Socialmedia Today”?

The worst time to post on

Facebook is between

8 pm and 8 amweekdays…

Twitter

between 8 pm and 9 am

weekdays.

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 a year ago…

blink and ratios change

Suggestion:Use Twitter for lead

generation, not for actual

offers…

and have super-clear

materials as quick follow-

ups.

From “Net Applications”

two years ago: Valid now?

Example

of the

two-

edged

social

media

sword

“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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