November 09, 2004
How (Not) To Sell A Novel Product
From Dan Brown (via email) comes a compare-and-contrast exercise in using marketing content to communicate what a novel technology does. This is the Tivo problem -- it's hard to get across what the thing does, but when people use it, they love it. In this case, we're talking products that wirelessly connect your music with your whole house.
In this corner, Roku
And in this corner, Sonos
Guess which, when you're setting it up, asks if you're wi-fi password is "ASCII" or "Hex."?
And when you click in to Sonos, you get a remarkably easy-to-understand page devoid of techspeak.
I'm collecting good examples of web marketing copy. Ideally, ones that use *the Web* -- linking, multimedia, etc. But clarity and engagement will do, too. You got any favorites? Place them in comments.
