Copywriting

Copywriting- the activity or occupation of writing the text of advertisements or publicity material. Also providing the words to sell a service, product or a person.

​

After learning the definition of copywriting, we discussed websites and/or brands and how they used copywriting to promote a product.

We looked at 3 websites and wrote down our initial thoughts and what stands out.

• words, images and other distinguishing features

• Why, who what are they selling and to who?

I chose H&M as one of the websites to observe and wrote down the features i noticed:​

• Bold website and large text

• Catchy phrases ('feel good freebies' and 'advent adventure')

• Lots of marketing all at once

• Images of the product as well as relevant pictures and icons

• Punchy words and phrases- short and concise but grabs attention​

​

Questions before starting your copy:

• Who is going to buy your product?

• What are the particularities of this audience?

• What are their habits, language, style, and persuasion methods?

• Create an attention grabbing headline​

​

Paragraphs should flow nicely to capture the audience's interest, for example:

• Text should be easy to read

• Use of simple words

• Short sentences

• Clear message

• Concise text

• No redundancy 

• Focus on the headline

​

What makes a good marketing copy?

Readability:

• No confusing language​

Personality:​

• What kind of tone or voice?

• Help the audience to easily connect with what you are trying to sell, and understand why they should by the product or service

Calls to action:​

• Helps readers know exactly what they are supposed to do- should they download or purchase something?

• Show/tell them exactly how they should do it

Make sure that you understand your target audience and create an advert that answers what they are struggling with.​

• Selling the lifestyle

• Frame the product as the solution

• Paint a picture of how the customer will use the product

• Use plausible garuntees to bolster the appeal of the product (money back or replacement)

We then were given the task to do our own research and dicussions of examples of adverts that fit this criteria. I found a specific vintage advert selling tea, which I thought was striking due to it's bold colours, words and claims.​

​

How can it help to write fiction?

• Newswriting- structure and style

• Decluttering- editing 'fluff'

• Word choice and sentence structure

• Creativity and imagination

​

Our next exercise involved studying the advice of copy writer and novelist Robyn Bradley, and taking notes of what she said.

• Copywriting doesn't wait for the muse

• Copywriting embraces word economy- clearly explaining something in as few words as possible

​

We then took part in a task to help us write headlines and practice using as few words as possible. We had to think of a headline to sell the course we are doing (Creative writing and Journalism) and cut it down word by word until we had a singular word that we deemed most important to describe the course.

I found this exercise helpful as it helped to practise decluttering and making a headline short and concise, while still selling something effectively.

First, I came up with 3 different ideas for a headline, as well as one containing only 7 words:

• Unleash your creativity and map out a successful career with this course.

• Creative writing and Journalism- the only course you need for a lifetime of opportunities.

• A lifetime of opportunities from one course (7 word headline)

Next, we removed one word at a time from our chosen 7 word headline, until we were left with only a singular word at the end:

6 words: Thousands of opportunities from one course

5 words: Thousands of opportunities- one course

4 words: One course, amazing opportunities

3 words: Course's amazing opportunities

2 words: Course opportunities

1 word: Opportunities

• Which is the strongest headline?

I think that the original 7 word headline is the strongest as it effectively displays information in a way that makes sense, whilst still being snappy and concise, and makes an audience want to read more.​

​

Team marketing exercise

For this activity, we were set the task to create a product or brand to help make Primark more sustainable. We could create a brand, product or business to help Primark fight fast fashion and help them become greener. My team and I created a sub-brand within Primark, called 'Rearrange and exchange'. The aim of this brand was to reduce waste when it comes to buying clothing whilst encouraging sustainable shopping by swapping clothes with others. The main premise was to create a small section in Primark, in which customers could bring in unwanted clothing and swap this clothing with other customers, with no fee added. With this idea we hoped to reduce the amount of clothing waste going into landfills, as well as reducing fast fashion to help stop the exploitation in the sweat shop industry.

To promote our brand, we decided to create an advertising poster, explaining what the brand does as well as including key facts into why we should promote sustainable fashion, and the harm that fast fashion causes on many around the world.

I also created a social media account to spread the word, which included answering frequently asked questions and a post about our team members and our roles.

Finally, we shot an advertisement video inside of a nearby Primark, explaining the business and what we do. This was an informative, yet fun way to get the message across and catch the eye of the public. The visual advertisement was effective in getting the word across to young people who are our main target audience, as well as using simple, straightforward yet educational language in our script.

​

​

​

​

​