2. File: Store that name with a distinguishing feature. If the name is Jeff, for example, think of Jeff as a chef and his eyebrows as spaghetti, White cited.

3. Picture: The mind remembers in pictures, so picture that face when you hear the name.

4. Glue: Think action and emotion. When you meet the person (White used Jeff the chef as a continuing example), picture yourself stirring the spaghetti happily with lots of stirring motions.

5. Review: Immediately after you meet the person, review the name and the picture you’ve associated with that person to keep it in your memory.


Read the full summary here.

In direct marketing, shortcuts play a profound role in helping consumers understand and consider a pitch based upon a series of conventions and expectations they have become familiar with. As outlined below, such shortcuts are vital to the marketer’s arsenal because first, they help prospective buyers quickly recognize what it is they are watching and, secondly, they enable them to decide whether a given offer is relevant or not.. Here are some of the most common shortcuts direct marketers can leverage to break through media clutter:

1. Problem/Solution In the Form of a Question/Answer: You’ve heard it dozens of times – a spot that beings by asking, “Are you tired of…?” quickly followed by the solution to the problem announced with a declaratory, “You need the…!” As hackneyed as this practice may seem, its economy of expression is unbeatable. In seven seconds or less, a marketer can establish both the problem its product solves and its unique selling proposition. With Nielsen reporting that 40% of TV viewers are now “watching” at the same time they are being distracted by a smart phone or tablet, this is aural shorthand for arresting attention. Think about it – depending upon the pitch, doesn’t your curiosity get the best of you? You have to look up and see what new-fangled gizmo is being proffered.

2. The Infomercials Three Act Structure and CTA: Most paid programs are structured into three “pods” or acts. Consequently consumers know that if they come across a show while channel surfing that it is only a matter of minutes before there will a “commercial” break. In infomercials that commercial is the Call-to-Action or CTA where an offer build and price is often revealed.

3. Taglines: memorable taglines such as, “Set it and forget it,” and “Knock out the fat!”, while kitschy, serve an important purpose: they help make products and their pitchmen memorable and distinctive. In fact, the latter tagline, for the George Foreman Grill – which has sold of 100 million units – was accompanied by a second tagline, “So good, I put my name on it!” which leads us to the next shortcut…

4. Celebrity Endorsements: The best use of a celebrity endorsement lends credence to the product and its claims of superiority. When a celebrity at the height of their star and earning power such as Katy Perry endorses a product such as ProActiv, it’s easy for a viewer to connect the dots between the idea that they don’t necessarily need the money, so if she’s backing the product, it must be good.

5. Catch Phrases: As overwrought as they may seem, the use of catch phrases such as, “But wait, there’s more!” and “But we’re still not finished!” serve a critical purpose. They keep viewers hanging on to see exactly what the breath and scope of an offer build is going to be, adorned with a bit of good humor.

6. Vanity and Memorable Toll-Free Numbers and URLs: While vanity numbers have fallen out of favor with direct marketers because response cannot be finitely tracked to specific media, they should be reconsidered. Here’s why: with the majority of direct response sales now occurring online, results cannot be necessarily tracked with precision anyway, so why not use a number that is highly memorable? It may just increase sales because with an indelible telephone number, your audience will be less tempted to go online where your competition can siphon them off. Another alternative is to have a number that is easy to recall such as a date number, i.e., 1-800-250-1994. Likewise, URLs that are as close to the product name as possible such as snuggie.com versus buyasnuggienow.com create shortcuts for consumers that are easy for them to recall and act on.

The danger with relying on this shorthand too much is that while such conventions create simple standards for consumers to take in information, following a rote formula does not necessarily assure success. A product’s innovation and the creative execution of an advertisement in the form of language, demonstrations, testimonials and other variables will help a marketer avoid the pure banality of cliché and stand out from the pack. Why, I guarantee it!

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