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 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:
Tiger
Presto
Xecrovtu
Holiday
Sunlight
 No surprise…
By a huge margin, the
one most recalled was:

Xecrovtu
Why?
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
137 th

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 weight
Hundreds 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
among
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?
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 • “Remember,”
• service • What’s more
• value • …means
business
• needs (as
noun) • 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: Con:
1. Social 1. Marketer
media are loses
one-to-one. control.
2. Customers 2. Phony
become pitch
direct becomes
salespeople. obvious.
Do you see the marketing
point this satire makes?
 E-mail and social similarities and
differences
E-MAIL SOCIAL
• “This is for you.” • “Hi, there.”
• Demands fast action. • Reward for reply.
• Supposedly unique • Incentive matches
discount. the vendor.
• One-way • Two-way
communication. communication.
• Generally targeted. • Hyper-targeted.
• “We love you.” • “Prove you love me.”
• “I know who you • “I know who you
are.” 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 am weekdays…
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 • formulate
• approximately • indeed
• define • needs (as noun)
• earn • product
• facilitate • respond
• features • work
 A dozen words and
phrases with power

• free • not sold in stores

• free gift • first time offered
• limited time • good only until [DATE]
• right now • Don’t miss out
• surprise • I’ll look for your order
• hot • Try it at our risk
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Questions
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