CNN launched in 1980 as the first live 24-hour news broadcast and spent their first decade on air redefining expectations of breaking news coverage.

They were first with ongoing coverage of the Space Shuttle Columbia tragedy, then the Baby Jessica rescue, and in 1991, the event that catapulted the small cable network past the big three broadcasters as the go-to news source… the Gulf War in Iraq.

CNN invented the 24-hour news cycle and made it the standard for others to follow.

It was no longer enough for a network to cut into programming with a big story. You needed your live news anchor to stop in the middle of the story he was reporting, put a finger to his earpiece and tell you what was happening, as it happened.

Back then, “We have reporters on their way to the scene and we’ll update this story as details come in…” was enough to keep you glued to a big event. You can’t ask for it to get any faster than that, right?

Cut to last week when a young woman attending a protest in Iran was gunned down in the street. In an instant, almost live as it happened, we were seeing graphic video of the event… and receiving real-time details from the scene as it played out via Twitter.

Suddenly CNN, restricted by the Iranian government on how they could report the story, were forced to cite “Twitter sources” for updates and scramble to verify facts. Caught somewhere between “with it” media outlet and grown-up news organization.

The result was as awkward your parents playing DJ at your college graduation party.

On Thursday, TMZ broke the story of Michael Jackson’s death a full hour before it could be confirmed by any more “legitimate” news sources.  Choosing to decipher the information for ourselves, we collectively muted our TVs and logged in to Twitter.

In that exact moment, 29 years after CNN’s first broadcast, the expectations for breaking news were redefined once again.

We discovered, as did frantic media moguls, that we no longer have to wait for some talking head to describe what’s happening. Our bullshit meters, it turns out, are keen enough to filter out nonsense and find the truth just fine.

Sure there will always be a few rubes who fall for the obvious hoax. But take, for example, the rumor on Friday that Jeff Goldblum had also died after falling in New Zealand.

The report was quickly dispelled by friends of the actor like Kevin Spacey via Twitter. And the hoax was squashed before most people even heard of it.

This is a new level of power for the information age. People will continue to expect real-time access and interaction with those they choose to “follow.”

The 24-hour news cycle is now the 24-second news cycle. And diminishing right along with it is our tolerance for formality… while growing is our colossal desire for immediate gratification.

This new shift in expectations should be a warning to marketers whose success hinges on a strong relationship with their customer list. (That’s you, everyone!)

For example, soon a simple email address or voice mail phone number will no longer be sufficient enough “support” for your buyers. If they can get live news feed of major events as they happen, waiting a week for a “staff member” to respond to their email will feel like an eternity.

On the flip side, the savviest marketers have already begun incorporating real-time media into their pre-launch promotions… assembling Twitter teams and manning their own accounts to squash rumors, sway perception and build hype.

The people demand access.

They also demand to be heard. And the message they are sending is is loud and clear: “Lose the tie, drop the double-speak and give it to us straight.”

The challenge for marketers hoping to establish legitimacy for themselves and their products is no longer to keep it real… but to make it real.

It’s time to get hip or get left behind.

That’s the story for now. Stay tuned to The Copywriter’s Edge for continuous live updates on how these events will effect your business.

“You talkin’ to me? Then who the hell else are you talking… you talking to me? Well I’m the only one here.”
- Travis Bickle, Taxi Driver (1976)

Copywriting legend John Caples famously said the key to writing an effective ad was to enter the conversation already taking place inside your prospect’s head.

But, when you sit down to write an ad, how often do you really know the person you’re “talking to” well enough to enter that conversation?

Can you truly picture your prospect sitting there across the desk from you? Can you see what causes her eyebrow to bend… her smile to widen… and what causes her to shift restlessly in her chair?

If you can’t, your ad will less effective than it should be. It may hit the target, but it will miss the mark – and with more precise writers drawing back their bows, it won’t stay the control very long.

Impactful writing lives or dies by the relationship between author and reader… and this is never more true than with copywriting. It’s no secret that people buy from people they like. So, it stuns me a little every time I see an ad that is completely void of personality.

One that does nothing but shout at the reader.

Shouting impossible claims. Shouting empty promises. Shouting dire warnings of action not taken.

Like the late-night TV commercial for the local car dealer that screams ”no money down” offers hoping to shake you awake in your easy chair. As if anyone pops out of a deep sleep in a buying mindset. I don’t quite get it. But, those ads run in every town I’ve visited for as long as I’ve been roaming the U.S., so they must be working on someone. (People with “bad credit or no credit” apparently)

But, what I find so strange about shouting ads on the Internet is that the medium is so obliging to a different approach. The Internet offers endless choices for how to express yourself to your prospect. So, why not use it to your full advantage and start a relationship with your prospect?

Even Budweiser gets that the Internet is best used to start a relationship. They could easily put sarcastic frogs on their website and gain some free viral attention – it’s worked in the past. But instead, they draw their consumers in with the “company heritage” approach, because they understand that funny frogs inspire a fickle loyalty. As soon as a rival introduces a “funnier” beer-loving forest animal, all their efforts will be lost.

But, get a consumer to digest a bit of your brand’s history while he guzzles your brew and you succeed in creating a deeper bond. It’s that kind of bond that makes sports fans carry team loyalty out of state with them if they move away. And it’s the same secret behind the longevity of certain rock legends compared to the flash in the pan burnouts.

Bruce Springsteen packs stadiums despite his Billboard chart position because his fans are loyal to his legacy. His songs speak to them on an intimate level and remain anchored there… they become part of the person. His live shows are a chance for fans to visit that intimate place in a communal atmosphere. This is why Springsteen shows feel more like a church service than a rock concert. (And more like a church service than most church services for that matter.)

Compare that to the likes of MC Hammer, who enjoyed a meteoric rise in the music biz, but fizzled to dust upon re-entry. Why? Plenty of circumstances played a role in these vastly different careers, sure, but… listen to “Can’t Touch This” and “Thunder Road” back-to-back and the mystery is solved.

On the surface it may seem easy to disregard that comparison as lopsided; they are 2 very different artists in very different genres, after all. But, stick with MC Hammer, and compare him to another hip hop artist, Jay Z. Same thing. Jay Z continues to dominate the genre more than 10 years after his first commercial success in 1997.

So, what’s the difference?

The same difference between shouting ads, and those that succeed in forming a relationship with the reader – creating intimacy.

So, how do we write intimately to our prime prospect when meeting them in person is not an option? When all we can see of our prospect are numbers and demographics – and if we’re lucky, some survey responses?

All skilled copywriters have their secret methods for getting at the heart of their reader. It can be one of the most difficult challenges we face. But, once you find the technique that works for you… the one that puts your reader right there on the bar stool next to you at the neighborhood pub, the writing tends to get much easier.

One tactic I’ve relied on is to take the facts the client gives me about his market, and search for a discussion board where users of similar products like to hang out. This is a cool way to interact with the people you’ll be writing to.

People chat openly on message boards, and they also tend to enjoy helping out a newbie. So, become that newbie with a lot of questions. You’ll be amazed at the amount of useful insight you get. You’ll pick up the lingo, you’ll find the hot button topics, and you’ll know what makes users of similar products say “so what” and “yeah, right” about new products like the one you’ll be pitching.

And if you really score, you’ll make a “board friend” that inspires your writing, and will become the person you write your sales letter to.

Forming this relationship will help you to anticipate the questions – and objections your prospects will have as they read your letter. Knowing you have answered those objections, and removed any “so what” and “yeah, right” land mines hidden of your letter will go a long way to gaining – and keeping – control of your market.

Now that you’ve watched the CEOs of the big three U.S. automakers plead with congress for “loans” to help them avoid bankruptcy… doesn’t it seem odd to see those same companies running happy-go-lucky “end-of-year-blowout” commercials.

It makes me think they’re even more out of touch than congress accuses them of being.

The 3 CEOs (wasn’t that the job-slashing robot from Star Wars?) insist that bankruptcy would be the death-knell to their company because, “Who’s going to buy a car from a bankrupt company?”

Oh, I don’t know… Probably the same group of NO ONE currently buying from car companies who pretend they aren’t on CNN begging for my tax dollars between “end-of-year blowout” commercials.

Is there a difference between buying a car from a company about to go bankrupt, rather than one that already is bankrupt? Either way you’re wondering exactly who will honor your awesome 10 year 100,000 mile service agreement if there no longer is a Ford Motor Company like it says on your papers.

If there has ever been a time for straight-talking car commercials, this is it.

The 3 CEOs should take a selling tip from Dan Hessey, CEO of Sprint and hire an excellent cinematographer to follow them around NYC and making us feel like they’d be a cool friend to have.

Maybe I’m gullible, but when I see multi-millionaire Dan Hessey sitting alone at a diner counter pondering the wonders of his blackberry, I secretly wish it was me he was texting. How cool would that be?

You’re sitting around one morning watching The View when your cell vibrates across the coffee table. It’s a text from Hessey: AT TRAIN CAR DINER BY CNTRL PK. BEST OMLTS IN TWN. TURN OFF WHOOPIE N MEET ME.

You text back: OMW.

He replies: WEAR GLVS. FKN COLD OUT.

Hessey seems like the kind of guy you can really talk to. Someone you could tell to spend a day or two looking into the atrocious customer service issues plaguing Sprint and spread some of that good guy vibe to all departments.

That’s just the kind of straight-talking commercial magic the 3 CEOs need. That and a logical reason to buy a new car from a collapsing company.

This one’s on me guys…

OPEN ON: A smiling Rick Wagoner leaning casually on his desk:

RW: “Hi. I’m GM CEO Rick Wagoner. As you may have noticed, we’ve pretty much screwed the pooch over here at GM.”

If you watch the news at all, you’ve seen me begging the government to loan us your money. This money is vital to our business. See, if we don’t get a few billion dollars this month, we’ll no longer be able to sell you cars.

Ironic isn’t it? Us begging for your tax dollars so we can stay open and sell you expensive cars? Seems kind of… backwards.

Which is why I’m proposing another solution. A solution that can put a new Cadillac in your driveway – almost free. That is, if you haven’t lost your house yet.

Since Washington is eager to avoid turning our assembly lines into unemployment lines, they’re likely to give us at least a few billion of your tax dollars. Which means you’ll soon be paying for us to make new cars. So, doesn’t it make sense that one of them provide a smooth, pleasant ride under your ass as you drive around town filling out job applications?

Of course it does. That’s why I want you to visit your local GM dealer anytime this week and take advantage of our “You Bought It, You Should Drive It” sales event.

Here’s the deal: This week only, we’ll put you in a new car at the regular price… And if congress approves the bailout, we’ll deduct your personal portion of those tax dollars from the price of your new GM. Good deal, right?

And here’s the greatest part… If they don’t approve giving us billions of your tax dollars, shit here goes apocalyptic and you won’t have to pay for your new car anyway!

So, you can see how this is a win-win situation for you. The only way you can lose is by not buying a new GM this week.

You’re welcome.”

   So, here we are smack in the middle of the most important political match up in America’s history… and in the space of a week, 2 of our most capable referees were taken out of the game.

   Tim Russert and George Carlin were the kind of guys we counted on to filter out the cacophony of political and cultural spin to give us something resembling the truth.

   Both men started from a similar place… escaping the low expectations of hard-knock New York neighborhoods, and rose to positions of enormous influence.

   Yet, they were very different… Russert was polite, Carlin was profane.

   Russert penned moving memoirs honoring his father’s character. Carlin counted the absence of his bullying dad among his luckiest breaks.

   Russert earned his law degree and became part of the political machine… Carlin earned a loyal following by raging against it…

   Still, I think they both spent their lives trying to get at the same thing: The truth.

   If there’s a message in the sudden passing of these mismatched media icons, I say it’s this…

   Seek your own truth.

   It’s easy to count on moderators, commentators, and anyone else armed with sincerity and a microphone to sift through the constant stream of political pyrite and deliver golden nuggets of truth.

   But, ultimately it’s up to each of us to grab a pan and do our own sifting. It’s tedious work, I know. But whatever you find is yours to keep. And if you’re lucky, you might even get to share it.

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