Today I’ve got something you will probably want to forward to someone you know, because I’m going to talk about something you’ve almost surely been hammering on someone else about for quite some time.
It’s this: Marketing Message.
I have to admit, I used to hate the phrase. I would gag when I heard it.
With good reason.
For what I saw in the past when people talked about “Marketing Message” was empty words, cotton-candy slogans, paint-by-numbers mission statements.
“Best in the West”
“Service so excellent you’ll never go anywhere else”
“Our mission is to create a high-integrity customer relationship while serving the needs of all of our publics.”
The kind of politically-correct drivel that does nothing for anybody when push comes to shove.
Here is why I have changed my mind:
World Copywriting Blog Executive Contributor Jim Van Wyck helped me see something my own pointy little head was inclining me to miss. Basically, he gave me one of those million-dollar breakthroughs.
It’s this: That when you come up with a headline, or an opening sentence, or a USP, or a hook for your sale copy, or a great sales story that really grabs people where they live…
… then it is TRANSFERABLE.
Meaning…
… if it works in a sales letter, then it will work in an ad.
… if it works in an ad, then it will work on a Web site.
… if it works on a Web site, then it will work on a radio commercial.
So far, so good… but there’s really nothing new here. Until Jim gently led me to see how the transferability of a good marketing message (like, for example, an old nickname I used to use when I was first starting out and seeking a lot of clients: “the man who makes your phone ring”) – goes way beyond advertising.
Into…
… phone scripts
… speeches
… press releases
… scripts for sales people
… and even copy on product packaging.
Now I finally understand the incredible leverage, power and beauty of a good marketing message. Not merely a memorable one, but a message bursting with meaning, promise, uniqueness, and excitement-filled potential.
I mention all of this because I was just handed the opportunity to co-author a book on public speaking. You probably don’t know this – and I almost wish I weren’t telling you – but I used to be a speech coach and it’s just not what I do anymore.
HOWEVER, what I realized after my conversation with Jim is that a good speech is the ultimate way to deliver a marketing message – whether for public relations, sales, fundraising or merely reputation-building purposes.
(I know that at the end of the last sentence, some readers would have liked me to use the adjective “branding” instead of “reputation-building.” Sorry… that word is responsible for so much tragic waste of advertising money that I just can’t do it.)
Anyway, back to our topic today: Marketing Message.
Once you have some copy with a good Marketing Message in it, do you now see all the ways you can get more mileage (kilométrage) out of it?
If the copy contains a good marketing message, you’ve got multiple ways to gild the lily.
David Garfinkel
Publisher, World Copywriting Newsletter