The Drama of Copywriting: Character
In this installment of my series on applying Aristotle’s Six Elements of Drama to modern marketing copy, I’d like to look at the element known as Character.
You know what characters are, of course. They’re the lifeblood of plays, films, novels, and even nonfiction works such as biographies and autobiographies. Anytime you tell a story about people, those people become characters in your story — even when you’re only referring to them in the third person. Sometimes a character who never appears in a drama makes the biggest impact in the story, if that character’s memory or offstage presence hovers over the other characters and influences their behavior.
Typically, though, the main character, or protagonist, is the person we follow and sympathize with as he or she struggles to achieve an objective. The roadblocks to achieving that objective are often personified in another character known as the antagonist, so we can watch the struggle play out in the conflicts between these two characters.
All that stuff is fine for a book or a play, but who are the “characters” in a company website or brochure? Well, you’re certainly one of them. The point of view you choose for your marketing materials defines a persona. A website’s home page might project an impersonal, monolithic persona, or it might give the impression of the business owner speaking directly to a group of friends. What’s best for your particular brand? As a freelancer and sole proprietor, I use a direct first-person address. If your business consists of a team, you’d probably use “we” instead. If you want to seem really huge or formal or corporate, you’d use the third person.
So, is your “character” the protagonist in your marketing pieces?
No!
Your business only exists because you have customers. The marketing you produce must address their hopes, dreams, frustrations, fears, and needs. Your customer is your protagonist because your business isn’t about you, it’s about that person out there who has a need for what you offer. Your character is the helpful friend, the confidante, the trusted advisor to that main character.
Who’s the antagonist? It’s whoever is causing pain for your customer. It’s the competitor’s product that costs too much and doesn’t work. It’s the lost time, extra work, or other frustration caused by not having your product or service. You, then, are the protagonist’s sword — the magical weapon that cuts the enemy down by solving the problem and bringing the final goal into view.
Stay tuned for more Drama of Copywriting!
