Have you ever watched a television commercial and thought, “Wow, I have no idea what you, Mr. Advertiser, are trying to tell me.”  It happens all time.  Advertisers, with everything they’re attempting to accomplish, can very easily find themselves communicating nothing.  You can speak in a language consumers don’t understand. You try to be too clever.  You can be too forgettable.  You can say too much.  You can say too little.  Indeed, there are a million ways to mess up your message.

In direct response television, bad communication makes for bad results.  In DRTV, the commercial lengths are often longer; the copy is heavier; and the need for understanding is even greater.  Thus, while the longer format provides a great opportunity to really make your words work wonders, it unfortunately also can become a showcase for one’s failure to communicate.  So when it comes to your TV commercials and relaying what you want to say, here are 5 ways to move your message in the right direction.

1  Make your words relevant and relatable

Instead of telling the viewer this is what my product or service does, try expressing what it means to them. For example, rather than saying, “This phone is equipped with a state-of-the-art global, galactic, digital-mapping navigation system,” try something more like, “With our phone in your purse, you’ll never know the feeling of being lost again and you’ll always know where closest coffee shop is.”

2  Stay focused

What is the main message you want people to take away?  Think about it.  Think some more.  And then do everything you can to ensure it does not get lost.  In longer format television spots, the big advantage is the ability to add more and more information. This is certainly a terrific thing because very often a 30 second spot simply does not offer enough time to tell your story.  However, if your big message is “our product will make you better looking,” and you open with that statement, then go on to talk about how the product makes you smarter, taller, funnier, faster, stronger, happier, less stressed out about your job and better at Sudoku puzzles without continuing to reinforce your main message, your spot quickly becomes less clear, less concrete and less compelling.

3  Speak their language

No, this does not mean if you’re airing your TV spot in Texas you need a cowboy for your voice.  What you need to consider is the fact that you understand your product or service in a completely different way than the guy sitting on the couch watching your commercial.  The internal, corporate jargon needs to be locked away in a file cabinet.  Be conversational. Be human. Be personal.  Make your message feel like it was written from one person to another.

4  Don’t forget your tone

Especially in direct response television, the tone of your spot can often fall into the category of “what tone?”  This is a big mistake.  Because it’s not only what you say, but how you say it.  First, you must think about the personality of your product, your brand or your service.  Is it friendly, serious, smart, energetic or something else?  If you don’t know the personality, envision what you would like it to be.  Tone can help your ad stand out from the clutter and really get noticed.

5  Lead them on a clear path

Okay, so you’ve done everything you can to get a consumer interested in your product.  You’ve made it relevant, spoke their language, stayed focus and engaged them with your tone.  Now you must make sure they know what to do.  If you want them to call, say it loud and proud. If you have a website in mind, put it up there on the screen as clear as can be.  Or if there is a store to go, let the people know.  Unless your product is well known and where it’s sold is super obvious, don’t be shy about telling the viewer exactly how to take action.  And don’t give them 8 different call-to-actions either.  Make their path simple and smooth.

The message you send in your TV commercial is everything.  The words you choose, and of course the visuals you use, should work effortlessly to convey your story.  Whether your story is easy to tell or much more challenging, you should always be thinking about that person on the other side of the TV and asking, “Do THEY get it?”

Tim Burke is a Creative Director at A. Eicoff. one of North America’s largest DRTV agencies.

Tags: advertising, direct response television, DRTV, short-form TV commercials

This entry was posted on Tuesday, October 6th, 2009 at 4:19 pm and is filed under DRTV Best Practices, DRTV Creative, DRTV Messaging. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.