LG InfoComm seems to have made a breakthrough in handheld devices – but it’s hard to tell
THIS COLUMN is supposed to be devoted to putting disappointing direct response ads under the microscope and seeing how they could be improved. Some of you may feel I’m stretching that mandate a bit this month by examining an ad that’s not really direct response. But surely the advertiser, LG InfoComm U.S.A., wants us to do something. It does no good to be aware of a product if we don’t know where to get it.
Buying a newsworthy high-tech product isn’t like strolling down the aisle in the supermarket, seeing a new brand of coffee and saying, “Oh, I’ve heard of that. I think I’ll try it.” Instead you’ve got to really seek it out.
And the motivation to do that is fueled by persuasive factual information, including, yes, details on where and how to get it.
So I felt the ad for LG’s 3000 JoyPhone that I clipped out of The New York Times was fair game. If it wasn’t a direct response ad, it should have been. I thought the ad was not very informative, not very factual and certainly not very persuasive. Life, liberty, and the pursuit of joy? That’s a pretty strong claim, but also a pretty broad one. More specifically, exactly what are the features of this new device, and what will it do for me?
It will be my “pilot” and my “electronic backpack”? If so, how? Those claims are so vague, they end up meaning nothing. They might have been intriguing 10 years ago, before the cascade of handheld devices that’s poured into the market. But in today’s fiercely competitive scene, advertising for any new advance needs to “put up or shut up.”
Advertisers like this one keep making the mistake of thinking that customers will be bored and scared away if you give them too much information. But when you go on the Web, what do you find? An estimated 1.2 billion pages of information!
Following my Who-What-Why rule, I have visualized the prospect either as someone who is thinking of joining the club and buying a handheld organizer and/or a cell phone – or someone who already has both but is always looking for the latest grown-up toy that will put him a step ahead of his friends.
This prospect knows that while there’s a bewildering choice of cell phones, the Palm Pilot and the Handspring Visor are the leaders in handheld devices. My headline, positioning the JoyPhone right up there with the big boys, will certainly get this individual’s attention.
But in doing so, I make a very bold claim that’ll have to be substantiated in order to be credible. This is what my subhead and body copy do.
The subhead spells out the Unique Selling Proposition – that this is the only handheld wireless device thus far (I hope) that combines all three functions of phone, Internet connection and organizer.
And the body copy provides all the details and advantages techies are hungry for. Included is a plug for the service provider and distributor, Sprint PCS, helping to give the relatively unknown LG brand more credibility.
I’m sure some of my critics will scoff, “Nobody will read all that copy.” And they’ll be right. Non-prospects won’t read any of it unless they’re bored out of their skulls. Eager prospects won’t need to read it all to know they must have this new toy. But prospects who are interested but not yet convinced will want to know more before they make a buying decision.
My ad could simply tell people to get additional information at the company’s Web site and let it go at that. But why not provide it right on the page?
Finally, I have provided two ways to respond: LP’s Web address, to learn more about the product; and Sprint PCS’ address, to find out how to order both the product and the service.
I also think of good direct response copy as a conversation between the writer and the reader.
The reader thinks: “Forget the other part for a moment – just how good is it as a cell phone?”
Ad copy replies: “It’s a slim, smart wireless phone, with voice-activated dialing, built-in speakerphone, wireless fax, voice recording, and one-touch 911 dialing.”
The reader thinks: “How do I switch over from using it as an Internet connection to using it as an organizer?”
Ad copy replies: “It has a touch panel with an intuitive graphic menu for easy navigation between phone functions and Personal Information Manager applications.”
And so on.
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