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What you are about to read
will probably sound familiar. Indeed, it has been said many times before.
However, I believe this formulation is original and may help you better
apply it in your marketing communication. I immodestly call it Yaffe’s
Law.
Yaffe’s Law If you give people
what they want first, then they are likely to accept anything else
you want them to have. If you give them what you want first, chances
are they won’t accept anything at all. This is simply the classic
principle that you should write from the reader’s point of view.
And of course we all do this. Or do we?
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How often do we interpret writing from the reader’s point of view as
telling people: “What I have to say will be of benefit to you, so you
should pay close attention”? When we do this, we are in fact writing from
our point of view, not theirs. We may sincerely believe that our message
is important and beneficial to our potential readers. But unless they
agree—and agree almost immediately—the argument is lost.
We have all been guilty of such self-serving logic, and some of us do it
more often than we would like to imagine. This is why this new
formulation of the classic principle is potentially so useful. It
forcefully reminds us that the readers are king. And like royalty they
must be served first. Only after readers have sampled what we have on
offer and find it palatable will they be truly inclined to listen to
what we want to say. Assimilate it. And hopefully act on it
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The power of Yaffe’s Law lies in the fact that it is more than just a
reminder. It is in fact a formula for ensuring that you will always
write from the reader’s point of view. The trick is first to apply the
formula, then check how well you have applied it—and, if necessary,
reapply it.
The formula
consists of three steps:
1. Determine what your readers really want to know, rather than what you
want to say.
2. Give this to
them--first.
3. Link what you want to
say to what they really want to know.
Here are a few examples of how Yaffe’s Law works in practice.
Corporate Image Brochure I was
once commissioned to write a corporate image brochure. Two things
are certain about these expensive, glossy booklets:
• Almost all companies of any size feel compelled to produce them.
• Virtually no one ever reads them.
By applying the formula, I created a brochure that people not only read.
They called the company to request additional copies to give to friends,
clients and professional colleagues!
How? I started from the assumption that no one would want to read
anything about the company itself. So I asked myself: What things does the
company do that people might really want to read about?
The company’s basic activity was producing vaccines. We are all naturally
interested in health and virtually everyone knows the importance of
vaccination. Here were already two things people might want to read about.
I was able to define seven areas of the company’s activities that
could be naturally attractive to potential readers. However, it
didn’t stop there. If all this interesting information were mixed
up with company publicity, people would still probably not read
it despite their natural inclination to do so. The brochure was
therefore laid out in seven double-page spreads, i.e. each of the
seven areas of activity would be allotted two facing pages. However,
the text would be rigorously segregated.
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• Theory
The left side would be pure science; the company’s name would never be
mentioned.
• Practice
The right side would explain how the company used the science to produce
vaccines. |
In short, I gave the
readers what they wanted first (scientific information), then what
the company wanted them to have second (company information). When
I proposed this to the company, the reaction was one of shock. “You
mean people could read the brochure left side only and never ever
see our name?” Exactly. But having learned about the basic science,
wouldn’t they naturally want to learn how the company was using
the science?
It took a while for management to accept the idea, but finally they did.
When the brochure was ready, they couldn’t print enough of them. Of
course, not all companies would be suitable for this particular type of
corporate image brochure. The important thing here is not the specific
structure of this specific brochure, but the thinking process that led to
it.
Stand Specific Video
I have done considerable work for pharmaceutical companies. This often
included attending medical congresses. The first couple of times I did
this, I noted something strange.
Pharmaceutical companies regularly erect exhibition stands to inform
specialist doctors about new drugs and new applications of older drugs. I
noted that many of the stands had several video monitors at their edges
running videotapes. I observed the behavior of the doctors. The vast
majority of them watched the tape for only a minute or two, then went
away.
I asked an international
marketing director why he was using these monitors and tapes. “To attract
attention to our stand,” he said. “But the doctors stay in front of the
monitor only a couple of minutes, then leave.” “Yes, but they were
attracted to our stand. They know we are here and may come back.”
Frankly, this didn’t make much sense to me, but being young and
inexperienced I accepted it. A couple of years later, when I felt
I knew better what I was doing, I made a suggestion. The videotapes
ran anywhere from 10 - 15 minutes, then automatically recycled.
The problem was, doctors who began watching after the tape had started
never knew how long they would have to wait for it to finish and
restart. Moreover, hardly any were likely to stand in front the
video monitor for 15 minutes or more, even if they had known how
long the presentation was.
The tapes were so long because they had not been conceived for medical
congresses, but for a totally different purpose. They were used simply
because they already existed.
I suggested making a “stand-specific videotape”, which would concentrate
all key information about the company’s product into no more than 90
seconds. The fact that the tape ran only 90 seconds and then automatically
recycled would be prominently posted, so that the doctors would know
exactly how much time they were being asked to invest in it.
Consider the benefits:
1. Virtually all doctors who started to watch the tape stayed for it to
recycle.
2. Because they got all the key points, many who wanted more detailed
information immediately came onto the stand.
3. Those who were interested but were short of time probably came back
later.
4. Even those who were not certain they were interested nonetheless went
away with a complete picture of what the company’s product was all about.
In short, virtually 100% effectiveness!
There was no way to gauge the effectiveness of the previous system. But if
it had been as much as 10%, I would have been shocked.
Interactive Stand Animation System
Another thing I noticed at medical congresses. Doctors would come onto the
stand, pick up the brochures and scientific papers, put them in the
congress bags, then move on to the next stand and do the same thing. The
problem is, pharmaceutical companies could never really tell if doctors
actually read the materials they take away. Estimates are that up 95% of
it ends up in the hotel’s wastepaper basket without ever being opened.
Using the method of Yaffe’s Law, a few years ago a colleague and I created
what we call the Interactive Stand Animation System. It is applicable not
only to medical congresses, but virtually every other kind of professional
trade show.
There is not room here to describe how it works, but I can tell you its
results. With this system, you are certain that your brochures, data
sheets, etc., are being read, because people read them right in front of
you on the stand. Even better, they actually study the documents, then
discuss, debate and compare notes with their colleagues. At the same time,
they provide you with valuable market research information that would be
difficult to obtain in any other way. This can be very important for
determining the best ways of presenting your products, which features to
emphasis, which aspects may require change for later versions, etc.
I once described this system to the international marketing director of a
major pharmaceutical company. He was very sceptical. Basically he said: “I
have been in this business for nearly 30 years and I have attended dozens
and dozens of medical congresses. What you are telling me just isn’t
possible.” He maintained this position until he went to a congress where
we were running the system for another company. His reaction: “I’ve seen
it, but I still don’t believe it. I never would have imagined anything
like this could possibly be true.”
But it was.
Editor’s Note Philip Yaffe is a
former reporter/feature writer with The Wall Street Journal and a
marketing communication consultant. He currently teaches a course in good
writing and good speaking in Brussels, Belgium. In the “I” of the Storm:
the Simple Secrets of Writing & Speaking (Almost) like A professional, his
recently published book, is available from Story Publishers in Ghent,
Belgium (storypublishers.be) and Amazon (amazon.com).
For further information, contact:
Philip Yaffe
61, avenue des Noisetiers, B-1170 Brussels, Belgium
Tel : 32 (0)2 660 0405,
phil.yaffe@yahoo.com
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