By Jeffrey Hedquist
My wife has very good intuition. She takes no particular pride in it, she’s just used to making right decisions. My intuition is…flawed. Sometimes I’m right, often I’m wrong. Then, I correct course, lick my wounds, and try to learn by my mistakes.
What I pass on to you, my media colleagues, is the result of this experiential learning process, so you can be right more often than I was. Still…I want to be right the first time. I think we all do.
That desire, shared by each member of our audience, is something to keep in mind as we create commercials.
It’s why we welcome logical reasons for emotional decisions (or even irrational actions). Deep down, we’d rather get support for our actions, rather than admitting we were wrong.
We’ve all experienced buying a car, adopting a computer operating system, voting a certain way. Post-purchase/decision we start seeing more of those vehicles, noticing how many of our buds use the same OS, etc., and we feel a little happier because our actions are supported by those of our peers.
In crafting a commercial message, assure the prospective customer that they won’t have to worry about being wrong. Give them ammunition to justify their decision to use your client’s product or service. Make it easy, safe, and comfortable for them to invest with your client.
Get clarity from your client what kinds of problems they solve for their customers, then turn those into stories.
“My daughter needed an inexpensive, safe car to get to her first job. Barb at Ralph’s Reliable Rides found her a good starter vehicle with good miles left on it that fit her budget.”
“Karen’s Second Chance bridal got me a beautiful dress and with a few alterations, made it my own. No one knew it was the gown’s second wedding and I saved hundreds.”
“When my son & I enrolled in Aikido classes at White Dragon Academy, we figured we’d get solid martial arts training. The new confidence we both gained and the bond we’ll have for the rest of our lives is a bonus we can’t put a price on.”
If you’ve been reading my articles you know there are hundreds of ways to tell stories – dialogues, narrative, customer or owner-voiced stories. Use what works best for the audience you want to reach.
That’s what my intuition tells me.
Hundreds of broadcasters are using this technique to turn clients into long-term advertisers. How about you? Email me
© 1997-2017 Hedquist Productions, Inc. All rights reserved.
