Don’t sell to me…tell me a story (communication tips for non-creatives.)

 Writing a script for an advertisement can be one of the most daunting things on the planet.  It requires thinking through the power of every single word and arranging them in such a way to have an impact.  It needs to be short, impactful and memorable all at the same time.

No wonder a lot of the advertising and communication out there is garbage. 

Let's pick something boring…How about Financial Planning?

It all started when a friend of mine is in a script-writing class felt a little stuck.  She is fairly analytical and tends to think logically.  Her scripts were…well…a little boring. She asked for a little help and I thought the response may work well to help all of us get in touch with our inner-creative.

The assignment:  Create a 30-second TV spot and a 60-second radio spot for targeted toward 35 to 50 year olds making more than $30K per year. 

I could start trying to write 30-seconds of copy right off the bat, but that would be starting in the wrong place.  We need to brainstorm our way through the creative process before getting to the script itself.

Could you brainstorm me a story, daddy…

To start, every commercial or marketing effort is a story.  It has a beginning, a middle and an end.  We need to focus on telling the story in a compelling way so people listen.  It sets up a problem and then resolves it.  It is a micro-story that draws you in and provides a pay-off in 30 seconds.

There is a story-telling process we need to work through:

1.  What problem am I trying to solve? (Beginning)  While many marketers feel like they can sell anything, people won't buy unless they think it fills a perceived need in their life.  Sometimes, the need is real.  Sometimes it is not.  Your job is to make them feel the "pain" of the problem and then offer a solution.  Can you make them feel the pain in the spot.

Why to I financial plan?  I won't have enough money once I stop working.  Why is that a problem?  I will have to live with my family.  I will be stuck in a beat up trailer.  I will have to flip burgers at McDonalds….  AND SO ON….  Brainstorm at least 25 problems.

2.  What is the benefit? (Middle)  What are the benefits of the thing you are trying to advertise?  For example:  In retirement planning, what is the benefits of retirement?  Why do people want to retire?  What feelings to they want to have?  Time for me?  Time to rest?  Getting out of the rat race?  What are the functional and emotional benefits to retirement.  What is the benefit of retirement planning?  Freedom to do what I want to do.  Live in comfort.  Get some rest.  Improve my golf game.  

Brainstorm at least 25 benefits and then link benefits to the problems you brainstormed above.

3. How does your solution solve the problem? (End) This about this in two parts:  The general category of the solution (financial planning) and the specific brand you are selling…

Part 1…Why does financial planning solve the problem?  A little planning now can ensure the future you want.  Plan now and be free later…  Do what you want to do…  Stay connected with family… and so on.  Brainstorm 25 reasons why….

Part 2…Why is your solution better than the other solutions out there?  Why is it better than money in the mattress or piggy bank?  Why is it better than other financial services companies?  Why is it better than not doing anything at all?

4. How can I bring the story to life in an interesting way? (Bringing the story to life).   It may be funny, heart-wrenching, or even just makes me see something in a new way?  This is were awarding winning creative comes from.  How can I articulate the benefit in a heart or mind opening way?

Look for creative ideas by examining other advertising.  Look at spots in the industry.  Look at spots that focus on the same problem with a different solution.  Look at spots that just catch your eye.  Now, morph them to fit the different problems, benefits and solutions.  It is kind of like a jigsaw puzzle start to work through it.

Now you have a stimulus to create your spot.  It will help jog your brain to start putting it all together.

My bad attempt at script writing…

I noddled the financial services space for a while and found myself remembering a Monster.com spot from 1999.  

Stretching the idea (or ripping off and reapplying…)  This is what I came up with…

(Kid 1) When I retire, I want to sit in the senior center all day.  

(Kid 2) I wanna flip burgers at Mickey Dee's,

(Kid 3) scrape by on Social Security,

(kid 4) ever leave my house.

(Kid 5) I want to work until I'm seventy,

(Kid 6) seventy-five,

(Kid 7) eighty,

(Kid 8) drop over dead and donate my body to science.

(Kid 9) When I retire…

(Kid 10) When I retire…

(Kid 11) I want to move into my kid's basement,

(Kid 12) Be forced to take a reverse mortgage,

(kid 13) I want to leave nothing for my children or grandchildren to fight over.

Text on screen:  "Is this your idea of retirement planning?"

Fade to logo, "Why settle for an accidental life?" and URL.

OK…I know it rips off the commercial pretty badly but I used it as a thought starter to pull together the message.  We could then run it by some people and see if they even liked the concept and refine it.

Can we use this same approach for the church?  Write your own church commercial in the comments and we can all provide a little feedback.