Politics aside, Michele Obama’s speech to the Democratic National Convention was brilliant. She was able to paint her husband as the quintessential, mythical American, ‘common man’ hero. And in so doing, she held a metaphorical mirror to Mr. Romney and the reflection was as unflattering as it was clear.
How’d she do it? C’mon, you know the answer is the story she told. And while you can disagree with the politics, you simply cannot ignore the lesson she gave to marketers: there is nothing more powerful than a convincing, moving, compelling, slightly understated narrative.
Here’s what the
LA Times said:
The principal narrative of her nationally televised speech was about President Obama’s ability to maintain his ideals, and even his gentle touch as a father, despite the heavy strains of office…
Narrative is the operant word.
Notice, there was not a single mention of facts… the narrative spun a series of images that had nothing to do with facts, per se. If you intensely dislike Mr. Obama, there’s still nothing you can point to in his wife’s speech that was inaccurate… nothing that stretches the truth.
The First Lady had an airtight story grounded in a shared myth and these gave her the focus needed to decide which anecdotes would be included and which would be discarded as off point (and thus, seemingly untrue). In marketing terms, she found her niche message and gently stayed on it until the audience was in tears.
Mrs. Romney, on the other hand, told story after small story but to no real end, or to the overly large end of showing her husband to be kind, generous, one of the guys, caring, smart, witty, a great father, a shrewd businessman, etc. That was too big a task to bite off, so her message was scattered. Consequently, you can’t summarize what she said as succinctly as did the
LA Times with Mrs. Obama’s narrative.
Ann Romney is an attractive and articulate woman. But her speech was just so much talk show chatter. She had no narrative focus and no way of deciding which stories to include and which to leave out; consequently, she seemed to have told them all, hoping that the totality of her speech would miraculously move the audience.
Here are a few narratives that would have been better for Mrs. Romney. Just pick one – ONE – not all of them.
1. Mr. Romney was born into privilege but walked away from it to help those who had far less. (Myth of the benevolent aristocrat who, like George Washington, put aside his interests to help fight for his country.)
2. Mr. Romney used his privilege and power and money to help others in need, and without fanfare or self-gratification. (Myth of the Lone Ranger, when you think of it.)
3. Mr. Romney used his privilege to educate himself. He studied long and hard so that he could put his knowledge to work in finding new, better ways to improve the lives of others. (Dr. Salk or George Washington Carver.)
4. Mr. Romney’s background shows a man who understands the plight of blue collar Americans, something he learned at his father’s knee. As president of American Motors, George Romney was very concerned about the life of his workforce. (Myth of the benevolent aristocrat who, for example, pays for the education of his workers’ kids or pays the hospital bills for the gardener’s sick wife.)
Again, pick one.
And whatever you do, don’t use the wrong myth. Why try to paint Mr. Romney as coming from humble beginnings? He’s not Abe Lincoln nor do we expect him to be. We admire wealth and don't care if candidates were born into the upper class. How disingenuous would it have been for JFK to speak in his posh Boston accent about his childhood struggles delivering newspapers on his little bike in the pouring rain?
Kennedy’s narrative was that he was born into wealth and taught that it carries responsibility, which is why he (JFK) went to war, saved a fellow seaman and dedicated his life to serving his fellow Americans after the sacrifice of his older brother.
Bottom line? Mrs. Romney chose the wrong mythical backdrop for a man of means and used a narrative shotgun; Mrs. Obama chose a classic American middle class myth befitting the child of a single parent and used a narrative laser.
We should do much the same with our marketing. But experience tells me we won’t. In spite of the clear lesson about the power of a tight, cohesive story, we’ll continue to produce work that’s fact-driven, repetitive, dull, boring and does not connect with our target audience… then scratch our heads when nothing sells.
“Consumers want a new story... authenticity, not spin... participation, not propaganda.”
Showing posts with label new wave. Show all posts
Showing posts with label new wave. Show all posts
Marketing Veterans Don’t Get It: I’m 100% Certain
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I ran across a blog/article written by some
older guy (I’m of the approximate same age so I can say that with no
disrespect) that demonstrates why so many marketing ‘veterans’ just don’t get
it.
He’s on about eliminating weak words in
marketing pieces… like ‘I think” or “We believe” or “Perhaps,” etc.
He wants us to replace conditional words
with meaningful ones. “Be forceful… Use assertive language… As (someone) attempting to persuade an audience, your job is to
provide them with as much certainty as you can. The way to get from doubt to
certainty is to switch from the conditional to the declarative mood by eliminating
the offending words.”
[Note: Your job is not to provide
certainty. It's impossible.]
That’s writing 101 – I should know because
I taught Comp & Rhetoric 101 at an Atlanta college for more than a decade.
And yes, in student essays and some academic dissertations you want to
eliminate (most) conditional phrases.
But ‘Mr. So-Last-Century' is big time wrong
when it comes to advertising and marketing to today’s well-informed and sceptical consumers.
Here’s part of my response to the gentleman:
"Perhaps writing has more rules and exceptions than any other human activity."
That's
my opening sentence and I stand by it. If I remove 'Perhaps,' what seems an
equivocation to you, the sentence is weaker, not stronger... at least from an
advertising/marketing perspective. The tone has changed from friendly and open-minded
to dogmatic. Who am I to say definitively what rules writing has or does not
have? If writing/marketing is about opening a conversation, and it is, the use of
absolutes is often wrong. Absolutes stop discussion rather than encourage dialog.
I understand the ideological tenets from
whence the old writer comes: show strength, say you're the best, be definitive…
all of the old direct response rules right out of New York City circa 1960 or
Sham-Wow. What goes unsaid is an inherent belief that "people are ignorant sheep and need to be told
what to do." That's the mantra of all the old school writers I've ever
known (and I’ve known a few).
Look, physicians can't agree on the value
of aspirin; yet this guy wants you to stand up and speak in absolutes: "Joe’s
Widgets are the best ever, the only ones that really work; we are the #1
company for innovative, world class customer care; next year will be a record
breaker for Joe's Widgets."
I don't believe any of it. And I don't like
Joe... don't trust him as far as I can throw him.
Alternatively, "Our widgets can be
found in many of the world’s most sophisticated designs. Next year could be a
record breaker with a bit of luck, some hard work and the support of our
customers" sounds truer to me and shows Joe is a reasonable,
professional fellow with the same hopes and concerns and work ethic we all
have.
I like that Joe. I trust him.
The earlier tell-me-what-to-do Joe seems shallow,
as if he has no respect for me and, quite frankly, he seems to be just one more
narcissistic prat with whom I don’t want to do business.
Pride is one thing; macho, egotistical advertising/PR is another.
Hercule Poirot had a great line: “A doctor
who is 100% certain is an assassin.”
The same idea applies to old school
marketers. Their blowhard ads are so ‘sure’ of the truth and so convinced that
consumers can’t or won’t verify the facts, they’re murdering your campaign and,
what’s worse, killing your relationship with customers… dead!
Twitter, NBC and Corporate Hubris
It's
the age of empowered consumers. Enlightened companies get this, but most don't, particularly those who are used to being in total control... you know, the NBC's of the world, the Bank of America types and most of the classic corporate giants from the last century.
Consumers are armed with instant information, the entire history of a company, every good and bad word ever said. We no longer take anyone's word for anything without stopping by Wikipedia for a quick glance.
As
obvious as this new consumer strength may be, experience tells me that most companies
don’t get it. And that indictment applies to large and small alike. You’d think larger, multi-billion dollar corporations with
hundreds of marketing experts and social scientists on staff would see
the pattern, but they don’t.
Why? The Greeks had a word for it… hubris.
Why? The Greeks had a word for it… hubris.
It’s really the same principle you see in play with some politicians. They choose high-risk behavior – nights with prostitutes, illicit sex in men’s rooms, etc. – because they feel they are powerful enough to be above the law. Of course, they never are, particularly when that ‘law’ is in the court of public opinion.
Companies are the same – and the bigger they are, the more ignorant and arrogant are their actions.
But you would think that a huge media conglomerate like NBC and the social media darling Twitter would be one of the few that understands.
They don't and they didn't when it came to closing the blog of a reporter critical of NBC's (pretty bad) Olympic coverage.
NBC, the media giant and defender of first amendment rights, couldn't take the criticism from one, just one reporter's Twitter account. That tells me that all this crap about NBC being online and in-touch and part of the new media revolution is all... well... crap. They haven't a clue about how the billion or so of us who use the Net regularly feel about any type of censorship.
Even worse, the folks at Twitter -- who should be savvy about social media and its users -- responded just like a 19th century robber baron wanting to crush the unions. Twitter acting like US Steel? Sickening but oh so funny. So much for Twitter being cool. Yeah, they're cool, just like the Stasi.
Recall how in the past 12 months or so big companies have given in to consumer demands. Remember when Bank of America announced that it would charge a monthly fee for users of debit cards. Consumers hit the roof, then the Internet. One month before implementation (after swearing they would not go back on the policy) BofA scrapped the plan.
Netflix decided to raise its monthly charge several dollars and people were outraged. OK, says the CEO, then we’ll change the service plan from a combination of online and DVDs by mail to online only. Another public outcry. Netflix loses 250,000 customers overnight. They relent but too late. The damage has been done to the brand and its bottom line.
No
more. Yet companies continue to act as if they are in control... just like NBC and Twitter. And no
matter how many times the newly
empowered consumer wins, you can’t get 50-something executives to see
it. Instead they keep alienating consumers and scratching their balding heads as
to why ‘nothing in marketing works anymore.’ But you would think that a huge media conglomerate like NBC and the social media darling Twitter would be one of the few that understands.
They don't and they didn't when it came to closing the blog of a reporter critical of NBC's (pretty bad) Olympic coverage.
NBC, the media giant and defender of first amendment rights, couldn't take the criticism from one, just one reporter's Twitter account. That tells me that all this crap about NBC being online and in-touch and part of the new media revolution is all... well... crap. They haven't a clue about how the billion or so of us who use the Net regularly feel about any type of censorship.
Even worse, the folks at Twitter -- who should be savvy about social media and its users -- responded just like a 19th century robber baron wanting to crush the unions. Twitter acting like US Steel? Sickening but oh so funny. So much for Twitter being cool. Yeah, they're cool, just like the Stasi.
Recall how in the past 12 months or so big companies have given in to consumer demands. Remember when Bank of America announced that it would charge a monthly fee for users of debit cards. Consumers hit the roof, then the Internet. One month before implementation (after swearing they would not go back on the policy) BofA scrapped the plan.
Netflix decided to raise its monthly charge several dollars and people were outraged. OK, says the CEO, then we’ll change the service plan from a combination of online and DVDs by mail to online only. Another public outcry. Netflix loses 250,000 customers overnight. They relent but too late. The damage has been done to the brand and its bottom line.
Verizon announced that it would begin charging
customers $2 to pay their bills online (and not through direct
debit). Less than a day later, the outrage was so great the idea was
dropped.
Seeing a pattern yet?
Never
in my lifetime have such large companies been forced to give in to
consumers. Up until now it’s been all their way and consumers could like
it or lump it.
NBC -- big network still acting like big shots. So thin skinned it can't take even a hint of criticism... like politicians, like the old Soviet Union, like all bullies everywhere.
New Wave Marketing 101: Hemingway, Cezanne and What To Leave Out
This is deep: so much so that at first glance it seems easy.
It’s not. It sits at the heart of artistic and creative endeavors, not the
least of which is the marketing narrative.
Hemingway claims that he developed his terse, poetic style
by looking at Cezanne’s work. That sounds a bit romantic and perhaps
apocryphal. [We all realize that great artists often give enigmatic answers
because they don’t like the idea of talking about art.]
Later, Hemingway said that the key to good writing is understanding
what to leave out. An expert can leave things out because he knows them… the
less knowledgeable and less talented leave out important things and include the
obvious and the unnecessary.
These ideas mesh if you think long and hard.
As an impressionist/post-impressionist, Cezanne was obviously
not trying to be realistic. Not every detail had to be exact or included. He
painted only those colors and strokes and images that were needed to create the
physical effect on the optic nerves and the emotional impact he was seeking. Not
one stroke more or less.
You already know that Hemingway was the same. Read “Hills
Like White Elephants” and notice how little description it takes to convey the
emotional tension between the man and woman. At first glance, it appears that
Hemingway has told you nothing of importance. The dialog is like eavesdropping
on a couple at dinner. “Would you like a drink?” “No, I’m not thirsty.”
“Hungry?” “Perhaps a little.” “It’s a simple thing, really.” “Yes, it’s always
so simple.”
There’s seemingly nothing there, yet we’re emotional wrecks
by the end of the story. That’s art.
We know that good marketing is both factual and
emotional and I believe more emotional than facts because these days consumers hear
so many contradictory facts that we’ve lost all scientific certainty.
So let’s say we’re trying to build an emotional connection
with our audience by describing a scene… a couple on a park bench. Think –
there are thousands of words and pictures we can use to describe the park, the
sky, the couple, the bench, their clothing down to the color of their socks…
skin texture, grass, birds, squirrels, etc. It’s endless.
You’re getting it. The artist takes a long hard look and chooses
to describe only those things that best convey the emotion he or she is seeking… let’s
say one close-up photo of the couple’s feet barely touching and short
descriptions of their posture, the rickety bench seat and a child that goes
running past. That’s it! From all the limitless possibilities (again, the
weather, the sky, their complexions, the sounds, the smells, virtually millions
of things) the artist has chosen the three or four essentials that few others
have noticed, and has left out all the rest. That’s Cezanne; that’s Hemingway;
that’s great marketing storytelling and design.
Most of us include too much of the obvious… and ironically
we still manage to leave out the essential bits that someone like Hemingway picks
up on. Why? Because he ‘knows’ about couples the way Cezanne knows how two
colors placed side by side make a third. All the rest is just so much
unnecessary bull that clouds the mind and kills emotion.
Plus, Hemingway and Cezanne took the time to really see; and
they never describe the obvious things we all grasp at first glance. To do so
is to be trite and tired.
Marketing is the same. You need to be an expert in humanity
and emotions and have a keen eye for subtleties that contain the whole truth (all
of this takes years); you don’t really need to be an expert on the product
because you’re selling emotion more than facts – and consumers can easily find any fact they like.
Tell and show the consumer only those few, simple things to
best convey emotion – and little else (facts here and there are fine, depending
upon the product, if it’s B2B or B2C).
Be more like Cezanne and Hemingway and less like the
directions you get in a box of IKEA furniture.
NOTE: This has nothing to do with length! It might take you
1,000 words and 10 pictures to convey a simple emotional truth. Rather, this
has to do with your ability to get to the core of a product or a service or a
cause with as few unnecessary words and obvious images as possible.
No one said this would be easy.
Marketing 101: Niagara Falls… Hitting Bottom
Sitting here, standing here, pacing here… trying to come up
with a fresh story for a product that is not new, not needed and, truthfully,
cannot work as claimed by the manufacturer.
The marketer's dilemma in a nutshell.
This product will fail: 25 years experience and basic common
sense tell me. Still, I am reluctant to express my severely negative doubts.
Isn’t the American Way to push ahead and give it your best shot, damn the torpedoes and all that
Dr. Phil kind of stuff?
I can hear the client’s responses: “Oh, so you CAN’T do it,”
or “I thought you were a CREATIVE writer,” or “you only want to work on
products that are a slam dunk,” and best of all, “this may look like just
another acne cream but this one REALLY WORKS!”
I’m not clairvoyant… and I’ve read enough about quantum
mechanics to know that all we can offer are probabilities, not certainties… the
wave function hasn’t collapsed… the electron is probably here but not definitely here… using Planck's Constant, Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle and the FTC's penchant for discouraging false advertising, I put the probability of this product succeeding at 1 in 1,000.
Life’s too short and writing talent too fickle to risk either
on something that’s very, very likely to fail; yet part of me wants to give it
a try: like taking a barrel over Niagara Falls for the pure hell of it.
“This product will change your life!”
Ahhhhhhhh, it’s coming now….
“The first and only acne cream specifically formulated to give you a smoother, clearer, sexier complexion…”
Yes, the end is in sight… but the end of what?
New Wave Marketing 101: The Fallacy of Making It Local
I helped write an ad
that created the largest, most successful, single SKU in the cosmetics
industry (2004 - 2007). Eventually, the print ad ran in, I think, 40
countries.
Here’s the story:
The ad remained essentially the same for six years, and ran unchanged in dozens of countries, even though ‘experts’ in each would insist that we had to alter the ad to fit the market. We refused to change a thing and had to fight almost daily with company directors and designers and marketers who insisted the ad had to be localized. Our stand: we want a literal translation, changing only those very few phrases that might not translate correctly.
The result? The product became the #1 skin care cream in several countries, including France. And if you know the French, they were the most adamant that the ad had to be completely rewritten because the French market is different… more sophisticated, needs a more glamorous looking ad… the usual BS.
The marketing ‘experts’ at the company that sold the product in France (with huge banners on the Champs Elysees that used our original text) still won’t admit they were wrong. I guarantee that if you were to send them an American-style ad, they would DEMAND that it be changed to meet the French market. Old, stupid habits die hard!
Granted, some products are country or area specific. (For example, facial whiteners are more popular in Asia because of the cultural prejudice that lighter colored skin is somehow a sign of class superiority.)
For universal products, however, people are people… women everywhere want to look younger… men want to be virile… computer geeks want things to run faster. Don’t let local company bureaucrats or so-called ‘specialized’ agencies convince you to change a successful ad. It’s their way of making a few bucks from you and grabbing control of YOUR ad.
They win either way: if the ad sells, it was their changes that made it successful; if it fails, it will be your fault for not changing the ad enough!
Stand your ground! Don’t take a good story, a good ad, and ruin it by making it local.
New Wave Marketing 101: Nice Guys… Bad Business Cards… Very Bad Marketers
Marketing is brutal… no doubt about it. Either you can or you can’t… most can’t, everyone thinks they can.
In a past life I made a living as a musician, on the road playing in bars across the country. That’s brutal, too… you play a song and people either applaud or they don’t. There’s no equivocation: the audience likes you or hates you… or worse, ignores you. No way to spin their response.
In a past life I made a living as a musician, on the road playing in bars across the country. That’s brutal, too… you play a song and people either applaud or they don’t. There’s no equivocation: the audience likes you or hates you… or worse, ignores you. No way to spin their response.
As someone who makes a living as a marketer, I have come to learn that my almost 10 years on the road have stood me in good stead. An advert works or it doesn’t, and all the slick- talking, self-justification, excuse-making in the world won’t change the result.
So — a little while back I ‘took a meeting’ (I was in LA) with two very nice young men in charge of their father’s fortune. They have an idea to sell a product or two and I’m involved because I know the formulator.
During the meeting, they tell me how special their company is… right, just like everyone else. They’re a family company and they REALLY care (as if other family companies don’t give a damn). In a minute or two, my ADD kicks in and I’m lost in Supertramp's 'Gone Hollywood' ("I'm in a cheap hotel beside a Taco Bell without a hope in hell" how appropriate).
Here’s the kicker: these guys swear to me that “We have some of the best designers and creative people in the country.” This is code for, “We don’t need any help marketing our stuff.”
OK, fair enough. I get up to leave and they give me their business cards. OMG — were these atrocities the work of “the best designers in the country"??? The first card is unreadable… 6-point white text on a soft beige background… Superman and his X-ray vision would have a challenge deciphering the copy. The other gentleman’s card looked like it came from the Microsoft template library: ugly, large black text, no kerning, so the letters looked like a n e y e t e s t placed at an angle the human brain can’t comprehend.
Oh… I see, the best designers in the country, huh?… you don’t need help?… you’re marketing experts?!?
Look — just because you wrote a paper in high school doesn’t make you a writer… just because you know how to open Photoshop and resize a picture doesn’t make you a graphic artist… just because you sold $100,000 worth of product in a market that’s worth $5 BILLION doesn’t make you a marketer… it makes you a poser (a great British term).
In a moment of epiphany, I realized what the best thing was about being a musician! It’s the ability to shut up amateurs.
At just about every gig, some guy would come up and say, “I play saxophone, too.” My response? “Here’s my horn, play it… let’s hear what you’ve got.”
No one ever took me up on the offer.
I wish I could do the same when a couple of well-meaning but ill-informed guys with ugly business cards tell me they know how to market.
At just about every gig, some guy would come up and say, “I play saxophone, too.” My response? “Here’s my horn, play it… let’s hear what you’ve got.”
No one ever took me up on the offer.
I wish I could do the same when a couple of well-meaning but ill-informed guys with ugly business cards tell me they know how to market.
Really?
There's Research, Then There's RESEARCH
In a former life I made a living doing research… at the library and with
a 2400-baud modem, pre-Internet. (I've written this bit before.)
All these years later and somewhat
ironically, I am not a big believer in research when it comes to
marketing and advertising (particularly things like consumer focus groups, surveys and the like).
OK, so now I’ve made myself a pariah to a lot of agencies that love to do consumer research on their clients' behalf for the money it brings in and the time it takes, which allows agencies to talk and meet and talk some more about potential strategies without ever implementing a plan.
Why the wait? Once implemented, there’s a chance of failure: the longer you can stall before you place your bet, the longer you can sit at the table and pretend to be a player.
I'm from a direct response background... there's no pretending... trust your instincts, take a stand, move forward, adjust to circumstances... and leave most research to the posers!
BUT THEN AGAIN...
There is a lot of very clever research going on, particularly among big box stores where there's fierce competition between Wal-Mart and Target and Costco and Sam's Club and... well, the list goes on and on.
You'll love this bit or research -- I did. Listening to the radio (NPR) and an interview with the author of The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business a guy by the name of Charles Duhigg.
OK, so now I’ve made myself a pariah to a lot of agencies that love to do consumer research on their clients' behalf for the money it brings in and the time it takes, which allows agencies to talk and meet and talk some more about potential strategies without ever implementing a plan.
Why the wait? Once implemented, there’s a chance of failure: the longer you can stall before you place your bet, the longer you can sit at the table and pretend to be a player.
I'm from a direct response background... there's no pretending... trust your instincts, take a stand, move forward, adjust to circumstances... and leave most research to the posers!
BUT THEN AGAIN...
There is a lot of very clever research going on, particularly among big box stores where there's fierce competition between Wal-Mart and Target and Costco and Sam's Club and... well, the list goes on and on.
You'll love this bit or research -- I did. Listening to the radio (NPR) and an interview with the author of The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business a guy by the name of Charles Duhigg.
The interview was excellent and makes me want to buy the book. For example, did you know that Febreeze was a failure until P&G made one change. Get the book to find out what that was -- it has to do with people's habits (of course). And the point was that had P&G actually asked consumers, they would not have told the 'truth' because they don't recognize their own habits.
But here's the research bit. It seems that Target can accurately predict not only if a woman is pregnant but also her due date within two weeks! And they can do this oftentimes before the woman herself knows she's with child.
What? How?
It seems that some smart cookie at Target noticed how a woman's buying habits change when she's pregnant, before the woman knows she's with child. The giveaway? When a woman of child-bearing years (of course) begins to buy unscented body lotions and creams, there's a good chance she's pregnant! Then, when she starts buying Q-tips and cotton balls, Target knows roughly how far along she is and voila they have a due date. Then the coupons start rolling in, appropriate to the trimester.
That's either brilliant or they're all going to one of Dante's special levels of hell.
It seems there's research... then there's RESEARCH! You gotta love it.
New Wave Marketing 101: If I Say I'm Cool... I'm Not Cool
These days marketing is all about talking around your product. The usual corporate hype and gibberish you see on every B2B site about 'world class service' and 'innovative breakthrough solutions' just won't do; neither will the B2C hype about how a product will change your life. (Don't you wish changing your life was that easy?)
Two examples of what I mean.
1. An entrepreneurial young man starts an executive dating company and it takes off. So much so that he is invited to speak on "The Today Show,” the stalwart national morning TV program that's watched by millions. He's excited and expects to pick up a lot of business. The result? A few more visitors to the web site, but that's it. Are you kidding? National TV and not one new customer?
Only months later, after his company is mentioned in various blogs related to online dating, does my young friend realize a significant amount of new business. These blogs did not talk about his company directly… they were speaking about the problems of online dating and, ‘oh, by the way, there is a company that supposedly helps executives find dates.' That simple line delivered by someone other than a company spokesperson is all it took.Two examples of what I mean.
1. An entrepreneurial young man starts an executive dating company and it takes off. So much so that he is invited to speak on "The Today Show,” the stalwart national morning TV program that's watched by millions. He's excited and expects to pick up a lot of business. The result? A few more visitors to the web site, but that's it. Are you kidding? National TV and not one new customer?
2. A now best selling author releases his first ‘how to' book and does the usual talk show rounds. The response? Same as above… not much. But… the release of the book is blogged about on a very popular lifestyle site – ‘oh, by the way, has anyone read this book'? – and sales go through the roof. Literally 10,000 copies fly out of Amazon.
You see a pattern, don't you? Cynical consumers do not believe most of what companies and their agencies say about a product. The idea of speaking directly to a possible consumer about your product is seen as ‘sales,' as hype, as one step up from snake oil.
(One very important caveat: if you have the money to run with enough frequency, forget all of the above. Frequency works and it doesn't matter if the creative is good or not. Keep showing the ad and people will eventually get on board – like Goebbels' ‘big lie' theory of propaganda.)
Today, consumers believe something when they get the message in a more round about way… which is the beauty of social media (because it's the engine that powers 'round about' information distribution). When design engineers, for example, are exchanging ideas on LinkedIn about robotics systems, and one of them says, ‘I saw a system today that used Brand X flexible cables', that kind of talking around the product is seen as real, unbiased, truthful and leads to sales.
If you've been reading this blog for the past few months, I know what you're thinking: "You always say that social media allows you to talk directly with customers, now you're saying that companies shouldn't do this?”
No that's not what I'm saying. You can and should talk directly to potential customers, but about things like new technologies, problems and solutions, general industry developments. This seemingly ‘direct' communication is actually a form of talking around your product. But as soon as the discussion turns to, "our product is the result of years of research making the new XB-1000 a world class walnut cruncher,” you've lost the sketch and the customer's attention.
It's tricky… there's a fine line… this is not direct response so new business isn't going to develop overnight. But talking around your product is the only way these days, unless, as I said, you have very deep advertising pockets!
What a tome I've written. So much for less is more.
Let me try to say this simply: If I walk into a party and say "Hi, I'm Nick and I'm very cool,” people hate me. If I walk into the same party an hour after two women were talking about how interesting Nick is, well… I'm golden.
Marketing and Advertising: It's Amateur Hour
Recently, a LinkedIn group for copywriters was in a flutter over the fact that companies are advertising for 'digital copywriters'. They're all agog: "copy is copy, if it's good it can run anywhere... advertising for a digital writer is absurd, there is no such thing."
OK -- in theory I'm on your side: good writing is good writing who cares if it's for digital media.
But my God, you don't get it, do you? Look at music, look at book publishing, look at photography, look at video production: all have fallen into the hands of amateurs and so has writing copy. And this won't change anytime soon, if ever.
Stop acting like you're stunned: Digital copywriter is code for "amateur/semi-pro word pusher who doesn't charge too much -- because after all, people don't read anymore so the copy needs to be short and uninspired."
Marketing and advertising are now crafts, not art... like paint-by-number Picasso's. They are the province of amateurs with high-tech equipment: amateur photographers who can get one decent shot with an 18 megapixel camera; videographers who are good enough for web and youtube and reality TV; digital 'designers' who are coders with minimal Photoshop/InDesign skills; writers who use templated press releases and/or web sites and can move a few words around.
Like it or not, that's the lay of the land. Why pay professional prices when amateur stuff is pretty good; when the vast majority of (amateur) marketing directors can't tell the difference between between good and great; when consumer expectations of ad quality have been lowered by Internet, reality TV and years of bad, uninspired marketing?
Plus, consumers are so turned off by ads and marketing that spending thousands more on great work rarely makes sense (at least to the minds of CFOs, and if you can find great work).
And who's to say this move to amateurs isn't smart? After all, the key factor to determining an ad's success is frequency: if you have the cash to run a piece of bad creative time after time after time, it will eventually get into people's heads.
Look at the music industry: big record labels and expensive, sophisticated studios gave way to do-it-yourself recording and self distribution. Same thing applies to marketing and advertising... we may be just starting down this same path but we're moving quickly thanks to better photography, easier web design, a lowering of standards and expectations and a flood of 'communications' majors pouring out of colleges and all with the idea that marketing is 'fun'.
I was taught that marketing was difficult, artistic, psychological, existential, problematic, courageous, confrontational, mind changing, frustrating, etc. But now it's fun, as in: "here's a 'fun' thing we can do -- let's give away stuffed animals to the first 50 people who send us a video of how they use our hair conditioner to 'tame' loose ends.
That's marketing 2012 for the great unwashed! Well-meaning amateurs all around.
And when it comes to B2B, it's even worse... amateurs who don't like or enjoy what they do and don't think marketing is particularly useful! Stupid amateurs.
OK -- in theory I'm on your side: good writing is good writing who cares if it's for digital media.
But my God, you don't get it, do you? Look at music, look at book publishing, look at photography, look at video production: all have fallen into the hands of amateurs and so has writing copy. And this won't change anytime soon, if ever.
Stop acting like you're stunned: Digital copywriter is code for "amateur/semi-pro word pusher who doesn't charge too much -- because after all, people don't read anymore so the copy needs to be short and uninspired."
Marketing and advertising are now crafts, not art... like paint-by-number Picasso's. They are the province of amateurs with high-tech equipment: amateur photographers who can get one decent shot with an 18 megapixel camera; videographers who are good enough for web and youtube and reality TV; digital 'designers' who are coders with minimal Photoshop/InDesign skills; writers who use templated press releases and/or web sites and can move a few words around.
Like it or not, that's the lay of the land. Why pay professional prices when amateur stuff is pretty good; when the vast majority of (amateur) marketing directors can't tell the difference between between good and great; when consumer expectations of ad quality have been lowered by Internet, reality TV and years of bad, uninspired marketing?
Plus, consumers are so turned off by ads and marketing that spending thousands more on great work rarely makes sense (at least to the minds of CFOs, and if you can find great work).
And who's to say this move to amateurs isn't smart? After all, the key factor to determining an ad's success is frequency: if you have the cash to run a piece of bad creative time after time after time, it will eventually get into people's heads.
Look at the music industry: big record labels and expensive, sophisticated studios gave way to do-it-yourself recording and self distribution. Same thing applies to marketing and advertising... we may be just starting down this same path but we're moving quickly thanks to better photography, easier web design, a lowering of standards and expectations and a flood of 'communications' majors pouring out of colleges and all with the idea that marketing is 'fun'.
I was taught that marketing was difficult, artistic, psychological, existential, problematic, courageous, confrontational, mind changing, frustrating, etc. But now it's fun, as in: "here's a 'fun' thing we can do -- let's give away stuffed animals to the first 50 people who send us a video of how they use our hair conditioner to 'tame' loose ends.
That's marketing 2012 for the great unwashed! Well-meaning amateurs all around.
And when it comes to B2B, it's even worse... amateurs who don't like or enjoy what they do and don't think marketing is particularly useful! Stupid amateurs.
“When It Comes To Writing, Getting Started Is the Hardest Part” (Here Are Two Ways To Ease the Pain)
No truer statement has ever been made. Think about it, the headline and/or opening paragraphs of anything take the most time and cause the most pain… because there’s nothing worse than staring at a blank screen or piece of paper and expecting yourself to fill it. Frightening.
In many ways, the pain and fear can’t be avoided. Look at it like this: if you’ve ever jogged or bicycled any distance, you know the first mile or so isn’t fun… ever. There’s pain and doubt and your body hasn’t found its rhythm. But at some point down the road it all begins to work, your breathing levels out, things are fine.
Writing is the same. It takes time to get your brain in gear and your writing muscles loosened.
But there are a couple of tricks to ease the pain and/or speed the time till you’re hitting stride. Both can help, but generally I’ve found that people prefer one or the other, depending upon their personalities and styles. (I prefer the former, although sometimes the topic lends itself to approach #2.)
1. Think before you write! Too many of us sit down and try to write without having put any thought into what we might say. Make this common mistake and you’ll stare at that screen for hours and walk away with nothing. Take some time to THINK about where the ad or press release or article is going and don’t start writing until you have a clearer idea… save yourself the agony, doubt and inevitable self-loathing... and several starts and stops and starts and trash can basketball.
Most people believe that writing is something like 10% thought, 80% actual writing and 10% editing. Pros know it’s one-third, one-third, one-third. On the positive side, that means less time sitting at the desk and staring at a blank sheet of paper, but more time thinking and polishing the finishing product. Cheat any of the three sections and your work will suffer.
2. There’s a German saying, “Nothing makes you hungrier than eating.” Same with writing: the ideas start flowing from the physical act of writing itself. So start your article and continue on, even if the intro is weak and disorganized. Get as far as you can without stopping. You’ll see, the writing gets easier as you go along, just as jogging gets easier the longer you run.
But then go back and rewrite your intro and first couple of paragraphs. You’ll be in stride and have a better idea of where the article is going; you’ll see how to actually begin. Almost every writer will tell you that the first couple of paragraphs are generally s—t and need to be reconsidered because they were written before the author got warmed up and the essay or advert took shape.
Either one of these techniques should help get you going with less agony.
----------
PS: I can’t resist taking a shot at people who have no respect for how difficult the job is. You know, “all you did was write 100 words, how long did that take?” Generally this is a graphics guy who thinks his image is what’s selling. If images are the key, how did marketers sell before TV or photography or illustrations? With words! "In the beginning was the Word," even God uses words and stories (ever hear of a parable, Mr. Graphics?).
I did this once (an idea I stole from a one-time friend). In a room of salespeople, congratulating themselves on how well a product had done and convinced that they made it happen, I took offense at their egocentric,'we did it all' attitude. As if the story I'd told to position the product and attract consumers meant next to nothing.
"OK," I said, "here’s a new product (I had nothing but a box design with a product picture and the product name) go out and sell it... duplicate your success, I know you can do it!"
After a minute or two of silence came their response: “There’s no information. What are we selling?” Really! What happened to the earlier, self-congratulatory bravado?
Of course, they still didn't get the point?
Without the words, the story, the reasons behind the product, the sense of belonging if you choose to purchase, you’ve got nothing to sell. They had an image, a picture and the product name, supposedly that's all they need. Remember, images sell and now these crack salespeople have an image in hand -- they should be golden.
"So, who sold the product you or me?" I asked sarcastically.
“OK,” they said, “so write the new ad and we’ll start tomorrow.”
Tomorrow? Like it’s child's play to write a successful ad? I guess if you can write your name, you can write an ad. I supposed they figured about 125 words would do it and that should take 30 minutes, max.
So I gave each of them a blank sheet of paper and said, “Here, you fill the page if it's so easy" and left the room.
Never got one word back from any of them. This ain’t so easy, is it buddy?
In many ways, the pain and fear can’t be avoided. Look at it like this: if you’ve ever jogged or bicycled any distance, you know the first mile or so isn’t fun… ever. There’s pain and doubt and your body hasn’t found its rhythm. But at some point down the road it all begins to work, your breathing levels out, things are fine.
Writing is the same. It takes time to get your brain in gear and your writing muscles loosened.
But there are a couple of tricks to ease the pain and/or speed the time till you’re hitting stride. Both can help, but generally I’ve found that people prefer one or the other, depending upon their personalities and styles. (I prefer the former, although sometimes the topic lends itself to approach #2.)
1. Think before you write! Too many of us sit down and try to write without having put any thought into what we might say. Make this common mistake and you’ll stare at that screen for hours and walk away with nothing. Take some time to THINK about where the ad or press release or article is going and don’t start writing until you have a clearer idea… save yourself the agony, doubt and inevitable self-loathing... and several starts and stops and starts and trash can basketball.
Most people believe that writing is something like 10% thought, 80% actual writing and 10% editing. Pros know it’s one-third, one-third, one-third. On the positive side, that means less time sitting at the desk and staring at a blank sheet of paper, but more time thinking and polishing the finishing product. Cheat any of the three sections and your work will suffer.
2. There’s a German saying, “Nothing makes you hungrier than eating.” Same with writing: the ideas start flowing from the physical act of writing itself. So start your article and continue on, even if the intro is weak and disorganized. Get as far as you can without stopping. You’ll see, the writing gets easier as you go along, just as jogging gets easier the longer you run.
But then go back and rewrite your intro and first couple of paragraphs. You’ll be in stride and have a better idea of where the article is going; you’ll see how to actually begin. Almost every writer will tell you that the first couple of paragraphs are generally s—t and need to be reconsidered because they were written before the author got warmed up and the essay or advert took shape.
Either one of these techniques should help get you going with less agony.
----------
PS: I can’t resist taking a shot at people who have no respect for how difficult the job is. You know, “all you did was write 100 words, how long did that take?” Generally this is a graphics guy who thinks his image is what’s selling. If images are the key, how did marketers sell before TV or photography or illustrations? With words! "In the beginning was the Word," even God uses words and stories (ever hear of a parable, Mr. Graphics?).
I did this once (an idea I stole from a one-time friend). In a room of salespeople, congratulating themselves on how well a product had done and convinced that they made it happen, I took offense at their egocentric,'we did it all' attitude. As if the story I'd told to position the product and attract consumers meant next to nothing.
"OK," I said, "here’s a new product (I had nothing but a box design with a product picture and the product name) go out and sell it... duplicate your success, I know you can do it!"
After a minute or two of silence came their response: “There’s no information. What are we selling?” Really! What happened to the earlier, self-congratulatory bravado?
Of course, they still didn't get the point?
Without the words, the story, the reasons behind the product, the sense of belonging if you choose to purchase, you’ve got nothing to sell. They had an image, a picture and the product name, supposedly that's all they need. Remember, images sell and now these crack salespeople have an image in hand -- they should be golden.
"So, who sold the product you or me?" I asked sarcastically.
“OK,” they said, “so write the new ad and we’ll start tomorrow.”
Tomorrow? Like it’s child's play to write a successful ad? I guess if you can write your name, you can write an ad. I supposed they figured about 125 words would do it and that should take 30 minutes, max.
So I gave each of them a blank sheet of paper and said, “Here, you fill the page if it's so easy" and left the room.
Never got one word back from any of them. This ain’t so easy, is it buddy?
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