“Suck for the Duck” – an example of an effective slogan: brief, memorable, and yes, it rhymes. Read on.
Memorable Slogan: “Suck for the Duck”
Reply
Author Archives: michaeltcreative
9 Public-Speaking Lessons from the World’s Greatest TED Talks
Here’s how you can inspire your audiences.
Common Mistakes in Copywriting Part 1
by Michael T. Shishido
Anyone can write a commercial for a business. But is that spot effective? I often see copy written by business owners or new marketing directors that’s full of mistakes and seemingly clever clichés that make the copy sound amateurish, cluttered, and ineffective. Avoid these mistakes for better copy.
WE
Believe it or not, I’ve seen lots of copy written by clients (or agencies!) that don’t mention the name of the business enough. One of the things I see often is the use of the word “we.” Sometimes it’s warranted. But unless the perspective is that important to the spot, dump “we” and go with another mention of the name of the business. You cannot mention the name enough.
THE CALL
Assuming your commercial is supposed to drive traffic and increase business, there are certain things you want your spot to have. Many writers forget to tell the listener exactly what to do. There’s no call to action. Your spot needs to tell the listener, in no uncertain terms, what you want them to do. Call, buy, visit. Tell your listener what you want them to do.
PACK ‘EM IN
Some businesses feel the need to list every product and/or service they offer in 30 or 60 seconds. There’s no way the listener is going to remember any of this. Choose one thing you do well or one thing you want to feature and focus on that one aspect of your business. Listen to the Kaiser Permanente commercials featuring actor Allison Janney as the main voice. Most, if not all, of these commercials focus on one aspect of Kaiser’s organization. They’ll go for 60 seconds and just talk about their nurses or the choice of doctors or how eating veggies is good for you. One subject is all you need. Pound that one subject for the length of your commercial.
These are just some of the more common mistakes copy writers make. Eliminate these mistakes, and your copy will be that much better than many spots you hear on the radio.
7 Tips on How to Use Your Voice Effectively for Presentations
Whether you have a commanding voice or not, you CAN inspire and engage the people you’re talking to.
http://soappresentations.com/7-tips-on-how-to-use-your-voice-effectively-for-presentations/
10 Most Common Rookie Mistakes in Public Speaking
Here’s how you can be a better presenter.
http://blog.prezi.com/latest/2014/2/7/10-most-common-rookie-mistakes-in-public-speaking.html
Why You Need a Voice-Over Talent for your Message
by Michael T. Shishido
One of the critical decisions advertisers have to make is the voice behind their commercials or presentations. Here’s why it’s an important decision that shouldn’t be taken lightly.
In local TV and radio, a lot of the commercial production is done quickly and on the fly at the station where the buy is made. No doubt these media professionals do their best, and quite often excellent commercials are the result.
But more often than not, especially at radio stations, there is little thought to whose voice is on the commercial. I can say that at my radio station group, where I serve as Production Director, we take great pride in pairing clients with the right voice. But it doesn’t always happen that way. Many times the voice that’s on a commercial is the guy or girl who happens to be available when the spot is being produced.
For a business owner, ad agency or marketing director who is making decisions on advertising, take the time to know what voices are available at a station. If you don’t have time for that, be clear in describing the type of voice you hear for your commercial. Male or female? Big voice or whispery? Strong delivery or soft sell? These are just some of the questions you need to answer.
One of the practices we employ is using the same voice for the same client over and over again. The first thing this does is give consistency to the overall marketing effort for a client over time. If there’s a budget, I would recommend a client record one version of their commercial and use that one voice across all media. This gives your message a consistency throughout the market.
You also want to use a voice talent in your commercial because often times, these are the best-trained individuals for commercials. Many have studied marketing, acting, drama and similar disciplines that all aid in creating a memorable commercial.
Resist the cute but ineffective child voice for your spot. For the most part, using an untrained child for a commercial is more about getting someone’s kid (usually the owner) in the commercial and less about getting the message across. Of course, if you can secure a widely known child star for your commercial and this child can deliver a message effectively, go for it. These kids are few and far between and might cost you big time.
A voice talent will bring a needed level of professionalism to your commercial. You’ll more than likely get someone who knows how to phrase copy, where to breathe in a spot, and what words need to be emphasized. An amateur voice-over person may not have this skill set and your commercial will show for it.
In the long run, your commercials should make a statement about your business. Having a voice talent to read your copy is always the best choice.
Reading, writing. No arithmetic.
Featured
That’s what you can find here at Michael T Creative.
This is Michael T., radio guy, writer, reader, marketer. I can write your commercials. I can voice those commercials. Accounting? That’s all yours.
Tell me about your business or service and I can turn that info into an effective commercial. It’ll be creative, but not too funny. It’ll be informative, but not boring. The goal with any commercial is to help you reach your goals.
I also provide voice-over services. Whether it’s your copy or mine, all my years of commercial broadcast experience will go into voicing the very best commercial for you.
Michael T Creative 