Pop! is a lively, fun, and inspiring guide to getting heard, getting remembered, and getting results.
POP!: The Premise
In today’s information-saturated age, people are often too preoccupied to notice what you’re offering unless it’s packaged and presented appealingly enough to break through all the noise.
When people ask, “What do you do?” or “Why should I buy this?” it’s your job to make a long story short.
If someone can’t repeat your message back to you after you’ve told it, they didn’t “get it.”
If someone can’t remember your message, you wouldn’t get their business.
Word-y Techniques
The “alphabetizing technique” is where you take some of the “core words” relating to your product/service/message and make them more original by going through the alphabet and changing the sound of the first syllable.
A bar used the alphabetizing technique with their “happy hour” to produce “yappy hour,” a special hour for dog owners.
Spell Chunk
The “spell chuck” technique involves switching out words or parts of words with homophones, such as “Curl up and Dye” for a hairdresser or “VoluntEARS” for a Disney customer service program.
Using Humor
Anytime we elicit a laugh, people are more likely to like us and whatever it is we’re offering.
Use all sorts of humor (except adult, rude, and offensive humor) in your messages and pitches. Trashy newspaper headlines, etc.
Rearrange clichés to end up with fresh-sounding phrases. For example, “I rub people the right way.”
Saying The Unexpected
The “contraband” technique is when you take a contrary position in a message, such as a “TV is good for your kids” or an upside-down Christmas tree (“leaves more room on the floor for gifts!”) .
Difference stands out.
Think “how can I introduce something that causes people to rethink their assumptions and question their current beliefs?”
The Nine Ws You Need To Ask Yourself
You need to answer the “9 Ws” for your message/product/service:
- What am I offering?
- What problem does my idea or offering solve?
- Why is it worth trying and buying?
- Who is my target audience?
- Who am I and what are my credentials?
- Who are my competitors and how am I different from them?
- What resistance or objections will people have to this?
- What is the purpose of my pitch?
- When, where, and how do I want people to take action?
Sounds Good To The Ears!
Alliteration is given as a technique to make powerful titles. Examples: Weight Watchers, King Kong, Boombox, Dirt Devil.
Do remember to never sacrifice clear for clever.
Change a message to fit a beat or natural-sounding flow if one presents itself (e.g. rhymes).
Is your slogan in a beat that’s easy to repeat?
Your Pitch: The Three Requirements
The first requirement of a POP pitch is to be purposeful. People need to be absolutely sure of what you do/offer from your image/introduction/slogans alone. Examples of memorable slogans are given.
A pitch also needs to be original or unique. Things that are original are appealing or, at the least, novel enough to try.
Pithy means concise and precise. The top slogans of the 20th century, as selected by Advertising Age magazine, are all less than seven words.
The opposite of a correct statement is a false statement. But the opposite of a profound truth may well be another profound truth
Keeping The Interest: Storify
- Make your content come alive with first-person stories.
- Examples are better than explanations.
- Re-enact stories rather than “telling” them. Be visceral and active in your storytelling.
- People remember stories, even if they don’t remember anything else.
The Power Of Quotes
- Comb newspapers for current quotes.
- Quote yourself, if you wish.
- Quotations are a quick way to establish precedence. (And to validate ideas.)
- Open eyes, ears, hearts, and minds with Aha! quotes.
- You can “rip off” quotes by changing them to include your message in a funny way. For example, “I think, therefore iPod.”
Catching The Conversation
Try to “capture conversational catchphrases.”
Pick up on unique phrases used in your industry or in relation to your message or product.
Build a Rewarding Career: Job Search Techniques may sound tedious, but I Don’t Know What I Want, But I Know It’s Not What I’m Looking For This sounds catchy and conversation-oriented.
Come up with catchphrases that are linked to what the customer or reader wants to hear in relation to the product. For example, for a toothpaste company making a child’s toothpaste: Look, Ma. No cavities!
To Michael Jordan, it was said “Remember, Michael, there’s no I in team.” Jordan replied, “Yeah, but there is in win.”
Two To Tango
The “Half-and-Half Technique” is when you make columns of related words that are based on your message and then try combinations of them. This is a common technique for coming up with domain names.
Blend two words into one, like giraffiti, staremaster, Internut etc.
