ZoomCrunch is a series of practical case-studies that will help boost your communication power by showing you what works, and what doesn’t.
ZoomCrunch Communication Case-Study No. 1
Newspaper article: “The eight-second fitness secret”
The following article appeared recently in the Sydney edition of the Sunday Telegraph newspaper.
Zoom factor – what works:
a) High value per word title: The title ‘The eight-second fitness secret’ is strong because it conveys high value in just five words. It attracts attention and effectively targets one of the biggest barriers to people getting fit – lack of time.
b) Strong link question: The question “Can you get fit in just 20 minutes a day?” provides a realistic bridge from the more sensational title to the main text. This helps build credibility and interest. Phrased as a challenge, it sets up nicely for the answer.
c) Action-oriented dot points: Four simple actions allow the reader to skim the article to get a quick overview. These points are well phrased and again provide stepping stones to the succinct body copy. Use of interesting customized language like ‘Life Sprints’ builds curiosity.
Crunch factor – what doesn’t work
a) Messy left justification: moulding the copy around the image probably works from a design point of view, but adds friction to the communication. This works against the ‘grab and go’ design of the article.
b) Fluorescent pink: the pink colour is used to be consistent with the cover of the book, but adds friction to the communication. It’s hard to read.
c) Weak product signposting: although the book name and author are mentioned in the first paragraph, there is no website URL and the image of the book in the bottom right-hand corner is impossibly small.
Your thoughts
What about you, what did you notice?
More RADSMARTS
Get a 1-minute business boost by watching BLACK CHAIR Business Mentoring TV
Share your opinion by commenting on an ILLUSTRATED discussion
Stay inspired, motivated and right up-to-date by subscribing to RADSMARTS
Love this... 
14 Responses to this post
March 16, 2010 at 8:37 pm |
Too much info. Just give me a small taster to make me curious and I`ll investigate your site etc by myself. I am bombarded by people trying to sell me stuff. Any more than a couple of sentences and I think “you`re in my face, getting on my nerves, and I really don`t want to know you now.”
I`d rather see just the top 4 lines, web etc details and a picture of the book cover so I know what I`m looking for.
Gosh I sound grumpy today don`t I?!
March 16, 2010 at 8:44 pm |
I’m with you, Sheridan. Sounds like good advice to me. It’s amazing how disconnected much of the offline communication is from our expectations online. It’s like two different worlds. Is that your experience? Do you think it’s changing?
Grumpy? No. Just give me the ‘skinny’ and clearly signpost where I can get the rest if I want it.
Thanks for your input.
Are you blogging?
Best, Robin
March 17, 2010 at 12:10 am |
You know Robin, it occurs to me that there is an awful lot of time wasting that goes on in the world today. We lead complicated lives in an uncomplicated world. I believe in the past it was the other way round. I`ll explain.
My obsession is history and I spend a great deal of time meddling in the lives of my dead ancestors. Their world, to me, seemed so complicated. No washing machines, limited medical and health care, long travelling and communication times… but everyone seemed to know what was expected of them and this seemed to simplify things somewhat. There were very defined roles. The struggle these people endured was, for the most part, immense. After their own immediate needs, they did it all for us. And here we are, enjoying all our freedoms. Shouldn`t we be trying to honour the ancestors part in our future by being a bit more substantial? I`m so fed up with being shouted at by advertisers every few minutes of the day, of forces trying to influence me and mine – buy this, trust us, buy that…
I want to be informed, educated, engaged, inspired. I want to give and receive value – emotional, intellectual, spiritual value.
I don`t want to spend my very precious time stressing over Easter or Christmas, holidays, whether I buy/use the correct brand or whether I`m fit and firm AND managed to do it in less than 20 minutes!
No I don`t blog. Maybe I should – a grumpy old woman blog! I do have a site sheridangreenwood.com but have so far only managed the `about` page.
March 18, 2010 at 7:39 am |
Thanks for your link. These are topics I love to discuss and debate. I look forward to our future conversations. Robin
March 16, 2010 at 10:02 pm |
Interestingly, I read the title and skimmed the subheading. As soon as I read 20 minutes I felt like I was being a little manipulated. Why? Perhaps there is too much difference between the 8 seconds and 20 minutes.
I agree that the great title and that it was undermined by the length and format of the article. It looked complicated/time consuming to read – incongruant
I’m with you guys. I would rather see less information. If you are trying to attract the attention of people interested in an 8 second fitness solution, then you should probably only give them 8 seconds worth of reading to do in your ad. It think it would demonstrate respect for your target audience.
What do you think Robin?
March 18, 2010 at 7:44 am |
Thanks, Kathleen. Yes, the reader of today – especially the web-savvy reader, demands clear, clean ‘gimme right away’ value that has integrity.
Slick copy, squeeze pages, words that negatively manipulate etc are ‘techniques’ that work the numbers – the volume – rather than authentically deliver real value.
This just spells opportunity for the rest of us.
Best, Robin
March 17, 2010 at 10:16 pm |
An excellent paper – they published my travel article. I love it but have to say it’s a bit of a sleazy tabloid really. I read this one and it’s actually a rip off and all about interval training which you can’t do in 8 secs at all.
I think if you go for the sensational headline you have to deliver the goods or you leave your readers disappointed.
Just back from my 90 min dance class. Now that’s a real work out and at the end of it we all look quite disheveled unlike the lady pictured in this ad:)
March 18, 2010 at 7:46 am |
Thanks, Annabel. That’s excellent…and funny.
When are you going to start to do short, funny, informative video posts about your travels and tips? It’s always such fun talking to you on skype, and you offer such amazing value on your blog.
Best, Robin
Trackbacks