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April 20, 2014

A copywriter's dilemma



Brace yourself for you are not alone. Think about this huge idea, great concept, something you have written with a keen sense of understanding of your consumer and yet it is received by a lonely stupor with the lack of critical cognitive function and level of consciousness by the so called people who matter the most. Yes, your 'clients.' Of course they have a very good understanding of what the product is and what the consumer is all about, for they have been at the pinnacle of glory in the most fashionable way you may want to imagine yourself in. Of course they have done their homework, they've met your consumer time and again, not just in focus groups but also been a part of all the research that has made it into their values and product building through the best interests of their company and brand vision and mission. 

Sometimes, that is something which we feel is a huge dilemma for a copywriter. Trying out a new idea, a new concept or something new that your consumer would not know is a big risk. Yes, beyond Apple and Steve Jobs, we all know the overused and abused adage of 'Your consumers don't know what they want.' is something that is hardly accepted with a huge sense of conviction by marketers and advertisers alike. Of course, Jobs was a genius, he had his time and his reality distortion field to work for him many a times. But if you have an idea today and you know for sure that it's something that will put the P (read:Punch) in the 4 Ps of Marketing that most MBA marketers brag about, then I say, bring it out!

A copywriter's dilemma is not the fact that he lacks the conviction to sell his idea, his concept, his thoughts to everyone, but it's the simple fact that sometimes his customers' don't just get it. Even if they do, it isn't about them buying your product and you helping the brand reap success in leaps and bounds. It isn't about them trying out the product because they read, saw, heard or viewed your Ad somewhere. It's a simple definition of whether the writer understands his customer, deals with something as simple as thinking like one, and simply put devoid of any form of exhaustion, brings in an energy that will make them think how on earth did this phenomenon occur. Creates a curiosity for something that he will remember for a long long time! 

A copywriter's dilemma is not the fact that he doesn't believe in his product. It is the fact that he believes in them so much that it becomes hard to sell the idea to anyone else because of the fact that he just doesn't let go of his bubble for the beauty of what it has become. He tries to delve deep into what remains to be seen as a simple product. Something inspiring, something catchy, something beautiful that will not just change lives of people, but their beliefs and philosophies and understanding about a certain segment of commodities that aren't just created to appease to the senses of an ordinary world, but more to be ingrained as a lifestyle. 

A copywriter's dilemma isn't in the mere belief of a symbolic metaphor that is an inception within his audiences or a catchy jingle that the customers hum around for days, weeks, months and sometimes, very rarely, years! It is the fact that he believes that this metaphor isn't really a figure of speech but something magical that has been woven in form of a story to make you understand that the life as we are living, isn't just about hoardings, billboards, consumerism, TV ads, radio jingles but a lot more beyond that. The life we have, is all about our beliefs, the life we have is about the chance to go out there and try out something new. The life we have is to feel what everyone else find difficult to even fathom. Something that the copywriter tries hard to but fails a lot of times. Not because he doesn't believe, but believes in everything more than the consumers do. And that my friends is the worst thing for anyone who has a dream, just like you, just like each and every one of you!

Image Credit: Tom LaBaff on AlexanderPollard
Srinivas has been a communications professional for over 15 years. He has worked with and built India's largest digital agencies from the ground up and been part of their acquistion journey. Social Wavelegnth (now Mirum, part of the WPP group) and Kinnect, now part of the Interpublic Group (IPG). He's also been a public speaker, keynote speaker at various large panels/events of the likes of BBC Knowledge Summit, Blockchain Summit Bangalore. And has been a guest lecturer at IIM, Symbiosis, Indian Institute of Digital Education.
He has been blogging since 2005. And also been author at various publications, that include Startup India by ZDNet, Social Samosa, Lighthouse Insights.  His passion for Writing, Advertising, Creativity, Digital, Blockchain and Future Tech is what drives him each day.

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