We have 2 cars in our household. One is a fun and funky Fiat 500, the other is a sensible, reliable family car.
Both manufacturers write to us from time to time, either to try and entice us to buy another car or with general maintenance issues such as servicing.
The post that comes from Fiat is always bright, colourful and eyecatching. There’s normally some clever wordplay or catchy headline, and the packaging just demands that you open it.
The mail from the family car is plain, unexciting and uninspiring. There’s usually a typed, business-style letter and occasionally a straightforward leaflet or brochure.
It’s like the difference between a birthday party and a weekly finance meeting.
When I’m helping clients with copywriting or marketing messages, they are often keen to get everything in, not wanting to miss out on any of the facts, but the danger of that is that you cloud your message with too much detail and your personality gets lost.
In the case of the cars, these are some of the issues the manufacturers could talk about:
- Reliable
- Safe
- Technically advanced
- Available in different colours
- Stylish
- Comfortable
All of those are true of both cars … but Fiat have chosen to focus on the fact that Fiat 500s are FUN! And this is what gives their cars personality. I haven’t met a teenager yet who doesn’t wish for a Fiat 500. But I see a huge variety of people of all ages driving them, so they’re not just for youngsters.
They’ve managed to make the fun element into a desirable asset.
When you’re marketing your product or service, don’t let the detail drag you down. Focus on what appeals to your target market and let your product’s personality do the talking!