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Copywriters always have operated on the principle that benefits are the guts of any promotion. We know our prospects don’t care about the products we’re pitching. The only thing they want to know is, “What’s in it for me?”
But with thousands of overhyped ads assaulting people daily, consumer skepticism keeps growing in direct proportion to the hype. Credibility is stretched razor-thin. As veteran copywriter Clayton Makepeace observes, “Pure benefit leads don’t work as well as they once did because they scream, ‘Hey, this is another AD! Read this so I can SELL you something.’”
With the deluge of me-too messages promising to help us save time, look younger, make a pile of money, boost our sex appeal, etc., benefit claims must be credible to be effective. The following are a few techniques marketers are using now to make their product benefits sound more believable and give their promotions more traction.
Consumer-generated Content. P&G used this technique recently in a full-page ad in The New York Times. Featuring a gonzo-sized, blood-red Heinz Ketchup bottle, the ad asks readers to do the heavy lifting by creating their own ketchup commercial. This approach turns traditional top-down benefit advertising on its head by having the consumer specify product benefits, not the advertiser. The copy on the ketchup bottle reads: “Hungry for Fame? Make the next great Heinz TV commercial.” The call to action directs readers to www.VisitTopThisTV.com. The tagline offers a financial reward (the winner gets $57,000) plus 15 minutes of fame (a place in the 130-year history of a cultural icon).
Advertorials. A cross between an ad and an editorial, advertorials are getting new respect because they make benefits, presented in the context of a newsworthy event, seem more plausible. Bob Bly, the guru of B-to-B promotions, explains that in the majority of cases, benefits still sell for his clients. But “wherever there’s a glut of marketing, prospects become skeptical of benefit claims, which is why advertorials work as well as they do.”
Pharmaceutical companies frequently use advertorials to integrate newsy content with product benefits in the form of helpful, actionable information and health discoveries. Copywriter Joe Vitale is on record as saying that “readers are up to 500 times more likely to read an advertorial than a straight ad.”
Testimonials. These are invaluable nuggets of advertising street cred that are most effective when used in conjunction with a few important caveats.
Because prospects expect them to be genuine, testimonials should be unsullied by a copywriter’s hand. In almost every case, believability trumps slickness. Attributed testimonials using both first and last names of satisfied customers are always more convincing than initials or first names alone. A full name followed by a location rings even truer.
A recent Big Brothers/Big Sisters campaign showcased Big Brothers and Sisters who described their grueling 60- to 70-hour work weeks in their own words. The headline for each testimonial was the same: “My Greatest Investment.” The last line was expressed in various ways but conveyed this feeling: “For everything I put into my Big Brother match, I receive back tenfold.” This ad is believable because it’s credible. And you’re given the photos, names and words of real people to prove it.
Secondary product benefits. Another way to bypass a prospect’s hype detector is by showing product benefits in new, unexpected ways. Several weeks ago, I received an anonymous e-mail listing 20 tips for using Bounce Dryer Sheets. One tip claimed that stuffing a Bounce sheet in a pocket would repel yellow jackets and mosquitoes. Doing some digging online, I found that P&G stated it was not the source of the e-mail. The company probably didn’t want to deal with EPA restrictions covering bug repellents. But the concept still holds. I personally know of five bug-haters who immediately went out to buy Bounce. And getting consumers to buy your product regardless of the reason is what breaking through the benefit barrier is all about.
Ruth K. Sheldon is a freelance copywriter and president of Ruth K. Sheldon & Associates in New York City. She has worked with Condé Nast, Meredith Corp., St. Regis Hotel, etc. Sheldon can be reached at shelru@aol.com
But with thousands of overhyped ads assaulting people daily, consumer skepticism keeps growing in direct proportion to the hype. Credibility is stretched razor-thin. As veteran copywriter Clayton Makepeace observes, “Pure benefit leads don’t work as well as they once did because they scream, ‘Hey, this is another AD! Read this so I can SELL you something.’”
With the deluge of me-too messages promising to help us save time, look younger, make a pile of money, boost our sex appeal, etc., benefit claims must be credible to be effective. The following are a few techniques marketers are using now to make their product benefits sound more believable and give their promotions more traction.
Consumer-generated Content. P&G used this technique recently in a full-page ad in The New York Times. Featuring a gonzo-sized, blood-red Heinz Ketchup bottle, the ad asks readers to do the heavy lifting by creating their own ketchup commercial. This approach turns traditional top-down benefit advertising on its head by having the consumer specify product benefits, not the advertiser. The copy on the ketchup bottle reads: “Hungry for Fame? Make the next great Heinz TV commercial.” The call to action directs readers to www.VisitTopThisTV.com. The tagline offers a financial reward (the winner gets $57,000) plus 15 minutes of fame (a place in the 130-year history of a cultural icon).
Advertorials. A cross between an ad and an editorial, advertorials are getting new respect because they make benefits, presented in the context of a newsworthy event, seem more plausible. Bob Bly, the guru of B-to-B promotions, explains that in the majority of cases, benefits still sell for his clients. But “wherever there’s a glut of marketing, prospects become skeptical of benefit claims, which is why advertorials work as well as they do.”
Pharmaceutical companies frequently use advertorials to integrate newsy content with product benefits in the form of helpful, actionable information and health discoveries. Copywriter Joe Vitale is on record as saying that “readers are up to 500 times more likely to read an advertorial than a straight ad.”
Testimonials. These are invaluable nuggets of advertising street cred that are most effective when used in conjunction with a few important caveats.
Because prospects expect them to be genuine, testimonials should be unsullied by a copywriter’s hand. In almost every case, believability trumps slickness. Attributed testimonials using both first and last names of satisfied customers are always more convincing than initials or first names alone. A full name followed by a location rings even truer.
A recent Big Brothers/Big Sisters campaign showcased Big Brothers and Sisters who described their grueling 60- to 70-hour work weeks in their own words. The headline for each testimonial was the same: “My Greatest Investment.” The last line was expressed in various ways but conveyed this feeling: “For everything I put into my Big Brother match, I receive back tenfold.” This ad is believable because it’s credible. And you’re given the photos, names and words of real people to prove it.
Secondary product benefits. Another way to bypass a prospect’s hype detector is by showing product benefits in new, unexpected ways. Several weeks ago, I received an anonymous e-mail listing 20 tips for using Bounce Dryer Sheets. One tip claimed that stuffing a Bounce sheet in a pocket would repel yellow jackets and mosquitoes. Doing some digging online, I found that P&G stated it was not the source of the e-mail. The company probably didn’t want to deal with EPA restrictions covering bug repellents. But the concept still holds. I personally know of five bug-haters who immediately went out to buy Bounce. And getting consumers to buy your product regardless of the reason is what breaking through the benefit barrier is all about.
Ruth K. Sheldon is a freelance copywriter and president of Ruth K. Sheldon & Associates in New York City. She has worked with Condé Nast, Meredith Corp., St. Regis Hotel, etc. Sheldon can be reached at shelru@aol.com
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