Right at this moment, we are working on a screenplay for a TV spot and a radio commercial for a client. Again and again, clients insist that various additional messages be inserted into their spots. Here it goes: for example, we are a restaurant where you can spend romantic evenings; so far so good, then client says that he wants to say: we also offers catering; well, I am not thrilled, but since the services are somewhat related, we will try to incorporate it in into the copy without much interference with the main message. Then, the client says that they organize funeral receptions, so it needs to be squeezed in as well. O my G…! When paying $XX for each broadcast, why not to include everything – the thinking goes, I guess.
It is time to realize that as soon as more than one message is squeezed into a short commercial, it competes with other messages, and the whole communication becomes less effective. The only exception I can think of is when messages are related, support the main communications objective, and/or reinforce each other. Introducing unrelated ideas into your communication piece – so common in the Polish-American market and in the small business universe – does more harm than good. It decreases effectiveness and wastes your money. So, next time when you work with your agency, do not force them to add your pets’ names into your bookstore business commercial, or take full responsibility for the end result.
