I was supposed to be working at the AWAI BootCamp this week. (I’ve been a copywriting coach/mentor for AWAI since 2003.) Illness in the family forced me to cancel my plans, but I’m following the activities via email. Today’s missive included the following:

"The best way to be sure your benefit outweighs the cost and risk is to trigger a deeper benefit.  One that is practically "unmeasurable."  It’s those MasterCard commercials that somehow get me to associate using my MasterCard with having all those "priceless" things like time with my son, trips abroad with my husband, or seeing the sunrise from Mt. Everest."

The Meta Message Behind the Benefit

This deeper benefit is what I call the "meta message" — it’s the ultimate reason we do anything. Whether it’s love, respect, wealth, adventure, or whatever it is that motivates prospects to move beyond their comfy inertia toward action — it’s the meta message, the ultimate promise, to which we respond as purchasers of products and services.

"Bill Bonner once said that in order to be a great copywriter, you’ve got to first realize that the customer is not really looking for what he says he is looking for.  He is looking for something much deeper. Once you realize that, you can explore the more profound motivations that lie deep below the surface."

Why do we want a toothpaste that whitens our teeth? Sure, we want a dazzling smile, but why? The dazzling smile is the transitional benefit from POINT A: FEATURE to POINT Z: META MESSAGE. We want sparkly, glow-in-the-dark smiles to feel attractive as we move toward the promise of romance, love, approval, and acceptance.

Man, that’s a lot to ask from a toothpaste, ain’t it.

Let’s look at toothpaste again. This time from the health angle. I use Colgate Total because now that I’m in my (ahem) middle years, it will keep my mouth AND my smile healthy and free from nasty gum disease and the like. TRANSITIONAL BENEFITS - healthier mouth, better check-ups, my teeth won’t fall out. META MESSAGE: With my own teeth in my head, I’ll look younger, more attractive, and maybe even live longer. But mostly, I’ll look younger and more attractive.

See, it’s always about sex :=)

Writing to the meta-message is generally easier in B2C copywriting, but you can do it in B2B, as well. Since most B2B sets up the product/service as a solution to a problem, the transitional benefits are pretty easy to articulate. The meta-message? With the right solution in place, you’ll look smarter, gain notice, get promoted, etc. which will all make you (rimshot, please) more attractive.

Getting down to the real nitty gritty

So when you’re sitting down to outline your new project, and you’re organizing your material (outline or mind mapping or a flurry of post-it notes), don’t forget to spend some time thinking about the meta message behind the USP and primary benefit. Features = benefits = transitional primary, second benefit = ultimate meta message. If you can work in the sex angle, you know you’re golden :=)

Maven’s Maxim 
In the movie, "Moonlighting", the Olympia Dukakis character shares a
drink with a stranger at a neighborhood restaurant. Stung by her
husband’s flagrant adultery, she asks the stranger why men cheat on
their wives. I don’t recall if he had an answer for her, but she was
prepared with her own. "Men cheat", she says, "because they fear
death." Now that’s a meta message you can use!

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