And the winner is…
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It’s awards season in Hollywood right now. And you know what that means? A lot of completely boring, unmemorable acceptance speeches from artists who “can’t believe they actually won.”
Yeah, right!
I understand that an artist might not believe he or she has a shot at winning. But, with only 3-5 other nominees (on average), the artist still stands at least a 20% chance of grabbing the coveted prize.
Too often, artists will take the stage and babble incessantly about how they didn’t think they would win, they don’t know who to thank and other nonsense. Here’s classic example: Catherine Zeta-Jones’ acceptance speech at the Tony’s last year.
I could care less. Whether or not you are the dark horse, it’s worth the 15 minutes to think of a few points that you would want to mention, and more importantly, that a huge global audience will embrace.
Here are some acceptance speeches that have caught my eye over the years:
- Katie Finneran of Promises, Promises at the 2010 Tony Awards
- Chris Colfer of Glee at the 2011 Golden Globe Awards
- Tom Hanks in Philadelphia at the 66th Academy Awards in 1994
All of these speeches have a few things in common:
- They give thanks to only a few people.
- They use the award as an opportunity to reflect on the project as a whole and what they learned.
- They speak from the heart. The viewing audience has a chance to really connect.
So, what does all of this have to do with marketing, and specifically, copywriting? It’s an opportunity to reinforce some key tips:
- Prepare – Did you spend your 15 minutes creating a basic outline of your piece before you started writing?
- Go for brevity – Does your copy hit home in as few words as possible? Have someone else review it to ensure objectivity.
- Insert passion – Put yourself in your audience’s shoes. Does the copy pull them in, make them care or spur them to action? If not, start tweaking.
Here’s raising a glass to your award-winning copy!
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