Copywriting is salesmanship in print. This classic statement has been a cause for major debate between advertisement copywriters and client servicing guy or advertisement account management guy in almost every ad agency in the world. Copywriters hold that copywriting is close to a high art, if not a downright high art, whereas, the other group tries to convince them that copywriting is nothing but mere salesmanship, a way to sell a product.
Having sat on both sides of the table, I am pretty much in position to see both side of the picture, and from the position I occupy, both the groups are right. Copywriting is indeed salesmanship in words but it is no less an art. Although I will not qualify it as a high art, but will always give it the credit of being a commercial art.
As I see it, advertisement copy performs two specific functions:
An advertisement copy needs to be creative in order to reach these two goals and that too in very limited times (typically in 30 to 90 seconds or in a few square inches). Attaining any of the goal using graphs, charts, numbers, and presentation will not be possible, as each one of them lacks the ability to form any connection with the audience which a well-written advertisement has.
An advertisement tells a story: a story that converts features of a product into benefits for the audience; a story that helps audience make sense of data; a story that touches their emotional chord; a story that helps marketer sell his product.
Each one of them is important: no matter how creative an advertisement is, it will not be considered good, if it fail to sell.
Selling is the end goal of an advertisement copy, and creative story telling is the tool a copywriter uses to meet the goal.
Tags: Account Management, Ad Agency, Advertisement Copy, Commercial Art, Copywriter, Copywriters, Copywriting, Creative Story, Emotional Chord, Graphs, Groups, High Art, Limited Times, Marketer, Salesmanship, Sight And Sound, Square Inches, Story Telling, Target Audience, Tool
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