‘Beanz meanz Heinz’… fresh cream cakes: ‘naughty… but nice’… ‘An apple a day keeps the doctor away’… ‘Vorsprung durch Technik’
These, and many dozens more, are the work of the copywriter, the verbal wizard of the dark arts of advertising.
And their finely crafted phrases have reaped rich rewards for their clients, be they the ever-so-humble bakers of beans or entire cities with an image problem – who can forget ‘Glasgow smiles better’?
In case you regarded copywriting as a Johnny-come-lately profession, think again. Would Julius Caesar have been quite the colossus he became without Plutarch and Suetonius publicising the phrase: ‘I came, I saw, I conquered’?
But fine copywriting is much more than fashioning superb slogans. If you imagine an advertising campaign to be like a newspaper article, the slogan is the ‘splash’ headline, but the story beneath needs to be worth the candle, or the whole effort falls down.
The copywriter stands or falls by the maxim: Keep it clear; say it simply.
How many gadgets and gizmos end up gathering dust in the back of a cupboard because their brilliant, usually Oriental, designers failed to secure the services of a technical copywriter to compile the instruction manual?
Despite the widely-held view that our attention spans are getting shorter by the day, research suggests most consumers will spend at least 30 seconds checking out a new product.
This is the product provider’s ‘window of opportunity’. Sale or no sale? In effect, this means the copywriter has roughly 100 words in which to win – or lose – a potential purchaser.
It’s also a myth that a good product sells itself. Sharp, simple, accurate and informative copy can’t guarantee a product or service will sell, but it can tilt the scales firmly in its favour.
It’s this edge only a skilled copywriter can provide.
Not every campaign will become part of national parlance like the examples above, but every marketing effort can be significantly improved by quality text.
Think about it. Then pick up the phone and call Signum, the professionals on 01437 781333
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Composed and submitted by Roger Wilkinson.
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