Note From Tongal: “Copywriting From Anywhere and For Anyone" is part of a series of Tongal Community-written blog posts that were originally sourced in the Tongal Blog Open Call Project. Read more Tongal Community-written posts here and then Pitch us a topic you'd like to write about for the Tongal Blog!
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Borderless creativity is what makes today’s work environment different and exciting. Our parents and grandparents couldn’t even dream of a world where you could be a digital nomad. With a good internet connection, you can work, play, procrastinate or learn from the comfort of your hometown coffee shop or the decadence of a tropical beach.
Across advertising agencies and marketing departments worldwide, it no longer matters where Creatives come from. Their background is only relevant when it comes to their work and the power of their ideas. So you can write ad copy from anywhere in the world, but how do you write for anyone in the world?
I live in Romania. For those of you without a mental map of Eastern Europe, we're higher up than Greece and a little too close to Russia. But that hasn't stopped me or my friends from winning a Tongal pitch. How would someone like me come up with ideas for the US or Western European market? Isn’t that world too different for us to imagine?
Spoiler alert: turns out it’s not. It all comes back to the power of the Internet. And a little mental elbow grease on our part.
Being able to write advertising copy for anyone in the world means understanding basic consumer behavior, what drives people to prefer a brand over another, and how to summon your creative powers into crafting the perfect persuasive copy. Here are 5 tips and tricks of how you can achieve that:
1. Let your imagination roam free
Being a creative copywriter relies almost exclusively on imagination. You must be able to put yourself in the shoes of the final consumer, understand their fears and joys, and craft compelling stories that attract them to try said product or service.
It is at this point that the brief’s target audience comes into play. From those few lines of demographics, you can outline a portrait of an imaginary ‘ideal consumer.’ A young woman with halitosis who needs to get ready for her workday, for instance, will resonate with Colgate Plax’s message. A single dad who needs to get his daughters ready for a new school year will greatly benefit from Education.com’s resources, and so on.
Lastly, try to understand the local pop culture. Global streaming services and access to multicultural experiences will unleash a new world of creative possibilities. Be open to new cultures and experiences in your daily life and it will show in your writing as well.
2. Research a lot, then research some more
When you have a good internet connection, there's no excuse for ignorance. Anything can act as a consumer insight tool: forums, blogs and reviews give a more accurate view of the product and of the final consumer.
First and foremost, research everything you can about the brand, on every online platform. Google it, Facebook it, search for its Twitter and Instagram accounts. This will tell you more about the brand’s personality and tone of voice and the types of people who respond to it.
Next – remember your consumer prototype? Think about what kind of websites they visit, where they get their information from. Try to find them on forums and Facebook groups. If you want to go deeper, research Google Trends or search for the brand on Reddit and Amazon to get even more consumer insights.
3. Realize we are all the same deep down
If you’re familiar with Maslow’s hierarchy of needs (or seen too much of it), you know that what motivates people across the world is basically the same: food and security on the first levels, love, esteem and self-actualization at the top. Think about where your brand fits and how to make the message reflect that.
In Jonah Berger’s book Contagious: Why Things Catch On, he gives 6 insights into what makes news articles or YouTube videos go viral. They either provide social currency, trigger a behavior, appeal to our emotions, are popular and noticeable, give practical value or tell compelling stories.
Browse the marketing and business communication sector of your favorite online bookstore or local library. The most popular ones from the ‘80s or ‘90s are still relevant because consumer truths never fade. The way we consume media might have changed in the past 10 years, but our universal experiences have remained the same.
4. Experiment with your writing voice
Think about what your target audience is reading. Are they spending more time on social media and thus respond better to shorter sentences? Are they bookworms who love metaphors and stories? Try to alter your writing to fit that.
The way you do this might be as simple as trying to imitate the style of one of your favorite writers. Not word for word, of course, but by getting a sense of what makes their words captivating.
Add sensory words that make your readers almost see, touch, smell or taste the product. Make that cookie a tantalizing treat for their sweetest yearnings. Or vary the rhythm of your writing. Sounds fun? Try it out. Yeah, kind of like that.
5. Find a creative online platform for crowdsourced ideas
The beauty of Tongal is that it allows for ideas to roam free, effectively wiping out the borders of creativity. This online community of writers, directors and production companies creates freely and candidly on any projects they see fit for their capabilities. And because it is connected with real businesses, big or small, in need of creative work, Tongal makes sure every idea has a chance to turn into a successful campaign.
Phew! See, it’s not that hard. You don’t need a marketing degree or experience in the advertising industry to be able to persuade someone about a product or business. Think about what makes you tick, what convinces you to buy something. Chances are you’ve stumbled upon an insight that you can transform into an idea. Writing and conceptualizing ideas is one of the most challenging but ultimately rewarding activities you can do. And I highly recommend it to anyone, anywhere in the world.
