The Inherent Drama of Things…
What is the inherent drama of a word? Of a product? Of a name?
Who named the Bell Jar? An encompassing enclosure of self contained resonance sometimes used to create a vacuum or a protective environment in a garden. Named for the shape yet implying the sound of its name sake.
Picture from www.yellowbellygardening.com
We cannot live within a Bell Jar or so says Sylvia Plath. No, our lives are spent outside the glass, naming the birds, calling the trees by fancy Latin names, pointing down at the metaphor proclaiming this to be that, but living outside of the glass we cannot completely understand the inherent drama of things.
Even in stillness there is movement. Even as a word sits placid on a page there is a voice. Leo Burnett coaxed us to unearth the voice. His art was commerce, the pleasurable exchange of things from hand to hand. He pleaded for better advertising and for the esteem of the sometimes lowly ad-man because he knew there was a gift to be had in the simple act of exchange. He simply understood the allure of the inherent drama of a product.
I can’t think of a name more all encompassing than ‘The Bell Jar.’ It rings, it has shape, it can be void of all things, but is still used to contain. As business owners and advertisers we must peek on occasion beneath the glass. We must seek the inherent drama of our products and find the voice within it that makes a buyer buy. Within every brand there is an emotional element that speaks. Every brand or product has the resonance of a bell jar.
Lunch at the local diner is not about cheesecake and coffee. It is more about the moment before you eat and the sun falling on the patio. It is no longer only the poet’s job to unearth these things that Leo Burnett was coaxing his staff to speak and write about nearly fifty years ago. Home based businesses are popping up everyday as the shift is made from job seeker to gainfully unemployed. If you understand what drove you to start your business then please understand what will emotionally compel someone to buy your product. It is now also your job to unearth the emotional element of your product and to coax buyers with good marketing skills and practices.
There is more to a pair of shoes than a price sticker and a sale. It is about the type of person who will wear those shoes. And please understand that the love of shoes may simply be more about kicking them off at the end of the day than about the task of choosing them. A love hate kind of product don’t you think?
What is the bell jar of your product or service? What is beneath the bell jar? There is an encompassing self contained resonance within each thing that the advertising giant, Leo Burnett, called The Inherent Drama. There is an emotional ring within the art and craft of good advertising. Its message is clear, crisp, simple and speaks loudly to the right person. Have you found it yet? Have your found the message? Have you found your ideal market?
One of the greatest tips for bringing clarity to your marketing is to write to a specific person. Narrow your market down to one person and sit them next to you. There may be hundreds of people who read this article, but of those hundreds, I am only looking for the one who gets it; the business owner who just heard the silent word of resonance singing their name.
Live Your Message,
Hello My Friend,
You pose a great question here: What is the bell jar of your product or service? What is beneath the bell jar? My is pretty simple – INSPIRATION, ENCOURAGEMENT AND changing perspective one person at at time….
I love your analogy of shoes – for I truly LOVE shoes and you are so right – they are beautiful on a woman’s foot but at the end of the day you can take them off and know that you wore them well!
In gratitude for your wonderful words and voice,
Nancy
Nancy Shields recently posted..POWER OF POSITIVE THINKING
Thanks Nancy. You are definitely inspiring many and so many people need a shift in perspective right now. Keep the dream going.
Great post, Nicole. What happens when you have a lot of passions? How do you define the bell jar so it resonates? I have heard that if you choose one passion and allow it to resonate within the community, you will have the opportunity to introduce the other bell jars. But how do you choose. I love so many things and can help so many different types of people.
Wow, just had insight. Isn’t it funny when we define our challenges the answers come….I want to help women find their way and find their voice and then help them shout from the mountain tops. (at least today…)
Debbie Lattuga recently posted..Light Shield Meditation – Video
If you have many passions and things you want to do it is more about finding the Inherent Drama In YOU. What is it about Debbie that is different from all other coaches? Strangely; if you were a pair of shoes what kind are you? Who would wear them? That is your market. I have the same issue. So many things and so many paths. What to choose? What to choose?
You certainly have a way with words. Your post is so eloquently written. Good question too on “What is the bell jar of your product or service? What is beneath the bell jar?”. That is really something to think and ponder about. This is the first time I’ve heard about The Inherent Drama.
Lian recently posted..4 Tips To Achieving Success As A WAHM
Leo Burnett talked about Inherent Drama a lot. He wanted his advertisers to think outside the box and drive home the emotional aspect behind a product or a service. He has some great insights into advertising. The friend I work with in Punch Advertising worked for the Leo Burnett company for twelve years but I think Leo had died a year or two prior to that. What a great experience though.
How thrilled am I to have read this article … Unmeasurable thrilled… Nicole your way of writing captivated me til the last word and I was left wanting more.. You are genius girl… Thank you so much for this beautiful piece <3
And yes I agree with the shoe analigy… LOL.. "And please understand that the love of shoes may simply be more about kicking them off at the end of the day than about the task of choosing them."
For me last night… it was my boots..
Nathalie
Nathalie Villeneuve recently posted..For Your 90 Day Plan To Work It Has To Flow
I love coming up with tag-lines for products. Most business owners just want to throw all the information out at one time and it makes for cluttered copy and very uninviting ads. Sell the sizzle not the steak is always a good motto. Thanks for reading.
So well put. Perfect analogy.
There’s something so satisfying about the process when you get it right, too. It’s like you blow a whistle that only certain people can hear, and when they come running, they’re happy they heard it.
Rebecca Woodhead recently posted..My First Week as an Author
I suppose we should only be concerned about the ones who hear the whistle anyway. You have to have a strong back and a lot of conviction to put your art and yourself out in the world. There will be those who have nothing good to say. Glad you enjoyed the post. Thanks for stopping by, Rebecca.
I believe you have found the process of passion – or impassionating – to work for you as a cog in the wheel of commerce. Beautiful!
As my first boss and beloved manager at my bookstore job said, “Sell, sell, sell!”
Holly
p.s.: I made up a word, and I LIKE it
Impassionating ~ an interesting word. All for the love of commerce. Whether we are trading services or money it is still commerce. We can’t survive without it. Namaste~
Hi Nicole,
Great metaphor – the bell jar. Great questions to ask. I am still creating my message and I am living it with helping women. But for sure, for every business there is a person who will resonate with it. You are really blossoming into your own. Your fan
Lesly Federici recently posted..Walk the Talk
I really like your new message about celebrating essence. I guess it is a matter of narrowing down the woman you are talking to. Narrow it down to even one person so that what you are writing is directed to them. Thanks for your support in this crazy journey we have chosen.
Nicole this is spot on. “One of the greatest tips for bringing clarity to your marketing is to write to a specific person. Narrow your market down to one person and sit them next to you.”
Precisely! You nailed it. And I adored your example of the bell jar…and the true magic that good marketing can create.
Ylva Jansson recently posted..3 Sure-Fire Steps to Boost Your Motivation
I do have a specific person that I write to and bounce ideas off of. It is a strange and ironic story of how she came to be my ideal market, but we all have angels, don’t we?
Thank you Nicole for this wonderful post. I especially like this statement: “If you understand what drove you to start your business then please understand what will emotionally compel someone to buy your product.” You’re so right that it’s vital to understand our own motivation and the concerns of our target market. That way, both the business owner and the customer will win.
Hazel-Ann La Fortune recently posted..Politics vs Leadership In A Country School
Their is a pyramid of hierarchical needs that you bounce any product off of. What is the most important aspect of a product? Is it basic to survival, is it a form of insurance? The top of the pyramid is existential. Does it make a person feel better about their goals or their existence? We have to really dig deep as business owners and figure these things out.
Hi Nicole,
One of my favorite books! Yes, you need to know your target market intimately to do well. Your marketing strategies and success depend on knowing that one ideal customer that you’re trying to reach. I didn’t always know this when I first got online and wasted a lot of valuable time chasing after the wrong people.
Great post!
Janette
The Bell Jar, by Sylvia Plath, I assume that is what book you mean. She was so mixed up. We are lucky to live in a day and time where mental differences are more accepted. It is very hard to hone in on your market but once you get it you get it and your messages will speak so loud and clear afterward. It has been a long journey for me to figure out my market. Thanks for stopping by Janette.
Oh, Nicole I am in awwww. LOVE your analogy!! Sometimes lifting the jar to take a peak can inspire or hinder you. BUT, finding out what’s REALLY underneath is truly the ticket.
Thanks for your beautiful words, as always!!
Kim recently posted..WordPress Distractions “Re-Think Your Side Bar”
Hi Nicole
You know I think I am going to do exactly that! I am going to imagine that my perfect prospect were sitting next to me and I am going to ask them exactly what it is they are looking for and what I could do or tell them that would help them to move forward.
You certainly have a way with words Nicole.
Thanks for sharing.
Sue
Sue Collier recently posted..Internet Home Business – Concentrate On Income Producing Activities
It is always about the customer and it is really kind of fun to create a character as your ideal market. You end up knowing everything about them. Where they shop – hence you know where to put fliers or what businesses to work with. You know where they search on the internet – you know what keywords to use. The list goes on and on. I was talking to a retailer about this at a spa because she said she was so sick of people calling her wanting to advertise. We went through the scenario of creating her ‘person’ and I said – now when these people call you can easily say – no – this is not somewhere my customers would even be. She was having trouble figuring out where to advertise. Have a great day Sue. It is beautiful here today.
Hello Nicole
I am glad that I found this post through TSAmastery. In this post you have gone far beyond “Selling the sizzle not the steak.” Nicole thanks to this article I have many ideas as to how to achieve this in my business. You have great use of words.
Thanks
Perry A Davis Jr
Music City USA
Perry A Davis Jr recently posted..What is the real reason people quit network marketing
Hi Perry, glad I could inspire you and can’t wait to see what you come up with. I had a really good post up a while back called Marketing as Art http://www.nicolerushin.com/marketing-as-art/. I used the Bear Paws advertisement as an example of how to sell the sizzle not the steak.
I agree, what a great metaphor…the bell jar. I really love this post and your writing is fantastic! I was really captivated and drawn into your post. This has given me plenty to think about.
Thank you so much for sharing. I look forward to reading more on your blog.
Thanks LeeAnn. I also saw you gave me a like on my FB page. Thanks so much. I just added an opt in form for e-mail updates. Feel free to sign up.
The Bell Jar is a perfect word. It implies so much. I think people understand best by stories and metaphors. Glad you liked the post.