About this Course

A savvy marketer leverages on each and every piece of material that goes out to his/her customers. Communications could be in the form of a print ad, poster, brochure, catalogue, DM or even a personal letter or e-mail blast. An effective marketing collateral includes not just an attention-grabbing visual but highly persuasive copy that puts the customer in the right frame of mind to purchase that product or service or evokes the customer's goodwill towards the company.

Using the AIDA (Attention-Interest-Desire-Action) structure, coupled with good grammar and attention to language use, you can reach out to your customers and convey your message effectively. Whether you are writing the copy yourself, or assigning a copywriter to do the job, understanding the expectations and purpose behind the DM, print ad, brochure, press release or catalogue etc. is crucial to producing an effective marketing collateral.

During the course, you will also be introduced to elements such as the concept and how copywriting, concept and design are so integrated in the creative process that you cannot think about one without the other. As a portion of the course will be on discussing concept and visual, be prepared to work on these elements as well. Samples of B2B and B2C print ads (B2C ads comprise the majority of samples) will be analysed for effectiveness. E-mail and web ads, TV and radio ads will be covered only minimally as the focus is mainly on print ads.

This hands-on course will focus on writing persuasive copy for the various marketing print materials. You will pick up tips for coming up with taglines, main copy and call-to-action. There will be extensive writing exercises during the course. Please bring along your laptop if you have one.

Learning Outcomes:

• Produce an effective marketing collateral, write persuasive copy for various marketing print materials using the AIDA structure and a variety of tools.
  
• Understand the elements and concepts of what makes a good ad.
  
• Convey your message and reach out to your customers in the most effective way through good copy.
  
• Deploy DMs, print ads, brochures, press releases, catalogues, etc. to maximum effect according to “push” or “pull” factor of your product/service.
  
• Acquire tips on coming up with effective taglines, main copy and call-to-action.
  

Course Outline:

Here come the wordsmiths

• What is copywriting?
  
• How do ads persuade?
  
• Six techniques of persuasion
  

Gospel truths for copy

• Attention: taglines; universal copy themes for taglines
  
• Interest: features vs. benefits; USPs
  
• Desire: emotional and logical appeal
  
• Action: minimal length, maximum impact
  

Get literary

• Descriptive, Explanation, Analysis and Narration in ads
  
• Dealing with old and new information
  
• Breathing life into dull facts/copy
  
• KISS: keep it short and simple
  
• The sound of words: alliteration, repetition and rhyme
  
• Picture this: using allusion and imagery effectively
  

Know your audience

• Checklist for customer profile
  
• The "you" attitude
  
• Tone: are you talking to, or talking down to, your customer?
  

Briefly speaking

• Purpose
  
• Product/Service
  
• Target Audience
  
• Medium
  

The concept

• What's a strong concept?
  
• Case studies
  
• How to take a strong concept across different media
  

Last words

• Grammatical mistakes: a sure-fire message killer
  
• Proofreading: word and sentence order
  

Who Will Benefit?

Marketing personnel, especially those who have to write copy for their marketing collaterals, and anyone who has to deal with copywriters.

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