Making Your Copy More Concrete Will Boost Ad Recall
The best approach to take in our overcommunicated society is the oversimplified message. In communication, as in architecture, less is more. You have to sharpen your message to cut into the mind. You have to jettison the ambiguities, simplify the message, and then simplify it some more if you want to make a long-lasting impression.
Jack Trout • Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind
Consider a few basic, macroscopic rules that will take your word and phrase from drab to fab:
- Show, Don’t Tell: Use concrete examples and anecdotes to illustrate your points. I worked with X to design Y and Z which led to an uplift in $AM and B%” says a lot more than "I am a great designer.”
- Use Active Verbs : Active verbs make your writing flow dy
Tom White • Why Less Is More When Pitching Yourself
Concreteness Boosts Memory
- People remember concrete, visualizable things far better than abstract concepts.
- GEICO's Gecko succeeds because it embodies the brand's values in a memorable, concrete character.
Behavioral Science For Brands: Leveraging behavioral science in brand marketing. • How GEICO Use the Principle of Concreteness to Make Memorable Ads
In addition, research has shown that well-written examples, (1) relate more closely consumer’s personal experiences, and (2) are easier to comprehend because they require less mental effort to