Hit Their Hot Button

9/11/2009

Posted by BJ
Jon and I have often talked about the need to “hit the Client’s hot buttons” and “cut through the noise level”. I saw a sign in a store recently that did this well and is a great example of how to hit a hot button and get the reader’s attention.

Most of us have been in a store, especially a store with items which are easily broken, reminding parents of their responsibilities regarding the behavior (Jon would spell that behaviour) of their children while in the store.

Some of these signs are very direct – “Parents are responsible for any breakage caused by their children.”

Other take a gentle approach – “Parents are kindly reminded to keep their children with them at all times.”

Still others take a humorous, light hearted approach – “Unattended children will be sold.”

I saw a sign recently that took a different approach. It went right to what, for most parents, would be a “Hot Button”.

This particular sign read, “Unattended children will be given a double shot of espresso and a free puppy.” I suspect this caused more that a few parents to keep a very close watch on their children while in that store.

4 Comments

Julian Smith

3/25/2016 05:05:03 pm

May I suggest that you kick who ever red teamed this. The last line should have a “than” not a “that ” in it

BJ Lownie

3/25/2016 05:05:15 pm

You suggest we, “…kick who ever red teamed this.”* That seems a bit harsh, but certainly a reminder to proofread more carefully next time is in order here. Good spot.

That said, much as we’d hope such errors didn’t make it into our entries, we understand that they occasionally will and we’re ok with this happening. As Jon and I have both commented previously, we do try to proof read what we’ve written prior to posting. However, our entries are usually written very quickly and the writing is often done in less than ideal circumstances (such as between appointments with clients and/or on moving trains or planes, with lots of distractions, etc. In fact, I’m composing this reply while in a crowded, noisy coffee shop.), so we know there’ll wil be the occasional typo.

If we’re writing a piece wherein it is critical that the details are correct (such as when we’re commenting on a process), we will have it properly proofread. But it is more typical that we write up our thoughts, give it a once (maybe twice) over and then submit it for posting. We save the heavy duty proofreading and quality checks for our proposals and articles.

*I could be mistaken but it seems to me that the pronoun in your suggestion should be “whom” rather than “who”. I’ll check witho our Grammar Guru. But no need to kick yourself, it happens.

matt

3/25/2016 05:05:24 pm

Where was that store – I need a couple of puppies…

BJ Lownie

3/25/2016 05:05:52 pm

That’s NOT the way to get a puppy Matt!

Much as I appreciate your clever comment and the chuckle it caused, as one who is involved with dog rescue, I can’t pass up the opportunity to point out that the place to go if you’re truly looking for a puppy is http://www.petfinder.com. This is a site that lists various organizations with dogs (and other animals) available for adoption. Most of these organizations will have a comprehensive screening process to ensure the animal and the family are a good match. Sadly, on any given day there will be literally thousands of animals awaiting homes and which will ultimately be euthanized.

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BJ Lownie and Jon Williams are the co-founders of Strategic Proposals.

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