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Copywriting

Learn the language of advertising copywriting and how to create effective messages for print, radio, television, and the web. Understand the key elements of each medium and how to capture and retain audience attention.

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Copywriting

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  1. Copywriting Part 4: Effective Advertising Messages Chapter 13

  2. Chapter Outline • Chapter Key Points • Copywriting: The Language of Advertising • Copywriting for Print • How to Write Radio Copy • How to Write Television Copy • Writing for the Web • Copywriting in a Global Environment

  3. Key Points • Explain the basic style used for advertising copy • Describe the various elements of a print ad • Explain the message characteristics and tools of radio advertising • Discuss the major elements of television commercials • Discuss how Web advertising is written

  4. Copywriting: The Language of Advertising • Four types of ads in which words are crucial • If the message is complicated • If the ad is for a high-involvement product • Information that needs definition and explanation • If a message tries to convey abstract qualities • Copywriter • The person who shapes and sculpts the words in an ad

  5. Copy should be as simple as possible Should have a clear focus and try to convey only one selling point Every word counts; space and time are expensive Practical Tips Be succinct Be single-minded Be specific Get personal Keep a single focus Be controversial Be original Use variety Use imaginative description Advertising Writing Style

  6. Advertising Writing Style • Tone of voice • To develop the right tone of voice, copywriters write to the target audience as if they were in a conversation • Grammar • Copywriters must know the rules of grammar, syntax, and spelling, though they will play with a word or phrase to create an effect • Adese • Formulaic advertising copy • Brag-and-boast copy

  7. Display copy Elements readers see in their initial scanning Body copy Elements that are designed to be read and absorbed The Headline Key element in print advertising Conveys the main message Works with the visual to get attention and communicate creative concept Copywriting for Print

  8. A good headline will attract those who are prospects The headline must work in combination with the visual to stop and grab the reader’s attention The headline must identify the product and brand, and start the sale The headline should lead readers into the body copy Direct-action headlines Indirect-action headlines How to Write Headlines

  9. How to Write Other Display Copy • Captions • Have the second-highest readership and serve an information function • Subheads • Sectional headlines used to break up a large block of copy • Taglines • Short, catchy, memorable phrases used at the end of an ad to complete the creative idea

  10. Slogans Repeated from ad to ad as part of a campaign or long-term brand identity effort Can also be used as taglines Slogan Techniques Direct address A startling or unexpected phrase Rhyme, rhythm, alliteration Parallel construction Cue for the product Music How to Write Other Display Copy

  11. How to Write Body Copy • Body copy • The text of the ad • Primary role is to maintain the interest of the reader • Lead paragraph • The first paragraph of the body copy • Where people test the message and see if they want to read it • Closing paragraph • Refers back to the creative concept and wraps up the Big Idea • Call to action

  12. All media in the print category all use the same copy elements The way these elements are used varies with the objective for using the medium Newspapers Copy does not have to work as hard to catch audience’s attention Straightforward and informative Writing is brief Print Media Requirements

  13. Magazines Better quality ad production Ads can be more informative and carry longer copy Directories Use a headline that focuses on the service or store’s personality Little space for explanations Print Media Requirements

  14. Posters and Outdoor Primarily visual Words try to catch the consumer’s attention and lock in ideas An effective poster marries words with visuals Product Literature Also called collateral Used in support of an ad campaign Typically a heavy copy format Print Media Requirements

  15. How to Write Radio Copy • Must be simple enough for consumers to grasp, but intriguing enough to prevent them from switching the station • Ability of the listener to remember facts is difficult • Theater of the mind • The story is visualized in the listener’s imagination

  16. Voice Music Sound effects Radio Guidelines Keep it personal Speak to listener’s interests Wake up the inattentive Make it memorable Include call to action Create image transfer How to Write Radio Copy

  17. How to Write Television Copy • Moving action makes television so much more engaging than print • The challenge is to fuse the images with the words to present a creative concept and a story • Storytelling is one way copywriters can present action in a television commercial more powerfully than in other media

  18. Video Audio Voice-over Off camera Other TV Tools The copywriter must describe all of these in the TV script Tools of Television Copywriting Talent • Announcers • Spokespersons • Character types • Celebrities

  19. Planning the TV Commercial • What’s the Big Idea • What’s the benefit • How can you turn that benefit into a visual element • Gain the viewer’s interest • Focus on a key visual • Be single minded • Observe rules of good editing • Try to show the product

  20. Planning the TV Commercial • Copywriters must plan • Length of the commercial • Shots in each scene • Key visual • Where and how to shoot the commercial • Scenes • Segments of action that occur in a single location • Key frames • The visual that sticks in one’s mind

  21. Scripts and Storyboards • Script • The written version of the commercial’s plan • Prepared by the copywriter • Storyboard • The visual plan or layout of the commercial • Prepared by the art director

  22. Writing for the Web • More interactive than any other mass medium • Copywriter challenged to attract people to the site and manage a dialogue-based communication experience • Banners • Most common form of online advertising

  23. Web ads Create awareness and interest in a product and build a brand image Focus on maintaining interest Other Web formats Games Pop-up windows Daughter windows Side frames Writing for the Web

  24. Copywriting in a Global Environment • Language affects the creation of the advertising • Standardizing copy content by translating the appeal into the language of the foreign market is dangerous • Use bilingual copywriters who can capture the essence of the message in the second language • Back translation

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