Chapter 9: Promotional Writing

Question:

Take 1 campaign idea, try to create different copy for different types of media. Which one is the most difficult to write? Why? Which one is the easiest? Why?

Answer:
Having tried to create various copy for the newest Coca Cola Vietnam’s campaign Share a Coke - Share a Feelings, I found that copy writing is indeed a challenging task, especially television writing.

Compared with those of print and online media, writing a television message seemed to be the most difficult since there are too many elements to consider. Television provides the use of both visuals and audios, which helps to reinforce the power of a message. However, it also challenges the writer to transform a creative concept into a story. The story is not only have to meet brand communication’s objective, but it also need to be relevant with the target audience. In particular, an effective copy Coca Cola commercials must be able to portrait young people and what interests them because the brand target the youth. For instance, the official commercials of this campaign is about how to make a good impression and share your feelings with Coca Cola. Besides the content of the copy, there are many matters that a write have to think of as well. For example, how long the message will be, where and how to shoot the commercial or whether the cast were appropriate. Moreover, knowledge about movie-making is also required.

Share a coke, share a feeling TVC

In contrast to writing for television, writing for print media seemed to be easier since it only uses words, in my opinion; but that does not mean it is less challenging. As a fact, the copy is affected by writing style and words use, especially in a high-context language like Vietnamese. The overuse of some words is also a big issue in many print in our country. Moreover, Vietnamese young people nowadays are less exposed to print ad since they are more likely to use the internet than reading. Therefore, to be effective, the print copy for this campaign have to be specific, along with using magical phrases that can grab consumers attention and stick the message to their memory.


Along with print media and television, I also tried to write copy for social media, which I found the most exciting since we can interact with other people. All these types of media require an appropriate copy for each.

References:

• Sandra Moriarty, Nancy Mitchell, William Wells (2015) Advertising & IMC: Principles and Practice, 10th Edition. Present Hall, pp. 268-299