Hit your audience where they live

When you think of driving right now, what do you think of?

The price of gas.

It’s in the news every day. Presidential candidates are discussing it. People are altering travel plans to minimize it. Airlines are going under because of it.

What if someone told you that the simple act of putting some air in your tires is like saving 10 cents a gallon on gas?

Actually, I don’t know the correct figure and can’t even estimate it. I’ll bet the Rubber Manufacturers Association can, though.

So during last week’s National Tire Safety Week, in all the RMA’s press releases and consumer materials, why wasn’t that the message?

Instead, the big news was that 25 states issued proclamations or statements supporting the tire industry’s motorist education efforts, and that an RMA survey showed that only one in seven drivers check their tire pressure.

I’m not arguing with the need to check your tire pressure. Under-inflated tires contribute to hundreds of fatalities and thousands of injuries each year – important information to share with consumers. But first you have to catch your audience’s attention, and there’s no better way to do that than to start where they are, with what affects them immediately and personally.
 

 

Pulitzer Prize for feature writing well deserved

Gene Weingarten, staff writer for The Washington Post, is this year’s deserving Pulitzer Prize winner for feature writing for his story “Pearls Before Breakfast.”

This piece unfolds slowly, drawing you in. The violinist is identified only as “he,” someone who is seemingly playing for money just outside a Washington, D.C., metro station. Pedestrians begin to pass by. We’ve all been there. So Weingarten puts us, the readers, right there, into his story. We become his pedestrians. Do we stop to listen? Do we throw in a couple of bucks to assuage our guilt? Do we pretend not to notice the guy? Without realizing it, we are now part of what’s happening. And to stop reading now is nearly impossible.

Then Weingarten lets you in on the secret. This performance is a setup. He tells you who the musician is – gasp! You sit back and smile. Now you know what’s going to happen next.

Boy, are you going to be surprised – another writing hook to keep your readers intrigued.

And so is the musician. This world-renowned figure ends up sharing his own unexpected feelings about what occurs, giving readers a most rare, honest glimpse into the moments of uncertainty of a genius. For me, this was the hidden gem in the story. Because this was a new experience for the violinist, I got to share his feelings right along with him. Worth the read all by itself.

In the end, there’s a sadness to this story, yet a feeling of triumph, too. There’s controversy – of course no one stopped; they’re on their way to work! But I was left most with a feeling of wonder, that something like this could occur in any of our lives at any moment – and hoping that I would be smart enough not to miss it.

This is feature writing at its best: A story that pulls you in, makes you a part of the events, and stays with you long after you’re done reading. Congratulations, Mr. Weingarten. And thank you.

Read Pearls Before Breakfast