By Jeffrey Hedquist
Having trouble giving your spot direction? Try writing that :30 or :60 first as a :10. Pretend you just have ten seconds to motivate a listener to respond to your commercial. This forces you to choose only the most powerful benefit, to pare your message to the bone, to polish the one gem that will catch that audience's ears and stick in their minds.
Once you have your :10, or your series of :10s, expand each into the length of time you really have. You'll find that this gives your spots more focus, helps you avoid stuffing too many wonderful selling points into a commercial, and may even lead to a campaign. You might even construct a spot by sequencing 3 to 6 of these :10 “sound bites,” or by sprinkling a few of them in between cuts of the client’s jingle.
Experiment. Hear what happens. Listen for results.
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© 1999 Hedquist Productions, Inc.