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Contextual NarrativePurpose
One of the companies owned by Market America, Motives cosmetics, had three eye shadow palettes coming out in spring of 2019. For the launch of the three palettes, Motives had a series of national events. They wanted to design a postcard for everyone who attended the events that had an overview of all three palettes and a description of what type of woman fit each of the palettes. I wrote these descriptions from the voice of Loren Ridinger, the creator, in partnership with my supervisor. Audience One--Makeup Artists and Lovers The audience was makeup lovers who would be attending PR events. Most likely, the audience members of these events already know a lot about the quality of Motives cosmetics and are experts in the field. The job of the postcard wasn’t to tell them what they already know about the makeup, but to create a narrative of female empowerment around the palettes to increase the likelihood of purchase. Audience Two--Celebrities and Media The postcard was not only passed out at PR events, but also was given to Loren Ridinger’s celebrity friends and media contacts in PR packets. This audience probably knows a decent amount about makeup, but are not experts like audience one. However, in order to get celebrities or the media to cover a product launch, you have to have a strong narrative woven around the product. The decision to focus on female empowerment created the strong narrative this audience wanted. |
Rhetorical Decisions
Decision to focus on the theme of female empowerment
Motives cosmetics’ branding is centered around the theme of female empowerment. After careful research of the creation of the brand, Loren Ridinger’s latest speeches, and why she created these specific palettes, I decided that this theme would be the narrative interweaving all three palettes. Each of the palette descriptions invites women who feel empowered to buy the palette they feel resonates with them the most, but they are all vague enough to apply to a wide variety of women. I also wrote the overview of all the palettes and what Motives cosmetics means to the owner to tie the three descriptions together into a narrative of female empowerment. In the overview, I pulled part of a direct quote from a Loren Ridinger speech that hits on empowerment: “...to be bold enough to use your voice, brave enough to listen to your heart and strong enough to live the life you imagined.” Using this direct quote from Loren not only captured her voice and what the palettes meant to her, but also her view on empowerment.
Decision to write from the perspective of Loren Ridinger
At first, I had written these from a third-person perspective. However, after discussion with my boss, I revised the copy to be written from the voice of Lorden Ridinger. For example instead of saying Loren Ridinger started Motives cosmetics because she loves the way makeup inspires women, I described why she loves makeup and how it empowers women in the first few sentences: “I love makeup. I love how it makes me feel. I love how it made my mom feel. I loved how her face lit up when she looked her best. I finally figured out that's why she wore makeup in the first place. It was because of how beautiful it made her feel. That’s why I created Motives® cosmetics. Makeup empowered my mom. It empowers me and it can empower you.” This decision was made because her entire brand and personal career is centered around female empowerment and she designed these palettes around that branding and personal message. The audience feels like an internet mogul and successful female entrepreneur is talking directly to them in the final version of the copy, contributing to the message of empowerment.
Decision to write about the woman who would buy each palette
At first, I had written descriptions that linked each palette to achieving the different outcomes; for example, goaldigger would allow you to achieve your wildest dreams. However, after discussion with my boss, we revised the entries to describe the type of women that might buy each palette. The description of goaldigger changed from how it will allow you to achieve your wildest dreams to “You wake up prepared to crush all your goals and know no dream is too big. I designed this palette with you in mind”. This decision was made because the original copy promised too much and was more forceful than inviting; an eyeshadow palette can’t help you accomplish all your dreams, but you might feel more confident in the makeup of your choice. We decided to revise the descriptions to make it sound like each eyeshadow palette was tailored to a specific type of woman.
Final Thoughts
This copy had to go through serious revisions and was a collaborative process with my boss. The collaboration and revision process allowed me to consider how the narrative surrounding one piece of copy relates to an entire company’s brand. It also gave me the opportunity to experiment with different rhetorical decisions and complete research on everything from how the company was started to how to write Loren Ridinger’s voice, in order to complete the strongest final copy possible.
Decision to focus on the theme of female empowerment
Motives cosmetics’ branding is centered around the theme of female empowerment. After careful research of the creation of the brand, Loren Ridinger’s latest speeches, and why she created these specific palettes, I decided that this theme would be the narrative interweaving all three palettes. Each of the palette descriptions invites women who feel empowered to buy the palette they feel resonates with them the most, but they are all vague enough to apply to a wide variety of women. I also wrote the overview of all the palettes and what Motives cosmetics means to the owner to tie the three descriptions together into a narrative of female empowerment. In the overview, I pulled part of a direct quote from a Loren Ridinger speech that hits on empowerment: “...to be bold enough to use your voice, brave enough to listen to your heart and strong enough to live the life you imagined.” Using this direct quote from Loren not only captured her voice and what the palettes meant to her, but also her view on empowerment.
Decision to write from the perspective of Loren Ridinger
At first, I had written these from a third-person perspective. However, after discussion with my boss, I revised the copy to be written from the voice of Lorden Ridinger. For example instead of saying Loren Ridinger started Motives cosmetics because she loves the way makeup inspires women, I described why she loves makeup and how it empowers women in the first few sentences: “I love makeup. I love how it makes me feel. I love how it made my mom feel. I loved how her face lit up when she looked her best. I finally figured out that's why she wore makeup in the first place. It was because of how beautiful it made her feel. That’s why I created Motives® cosmetics. Makeup empowered my mom. It empowers me and it can empower you.” This decision was made because her entire brand and personal career is centered around female empowerment and she designed these palettes around that branding and personal message. The audience feels like an internet mogul and successful female entrepreneur is talking directly to them in the final version of the copy, contributing to the message of empowerment.
Decision to write about the woman who would buy each palette
At first, I had written descriptions that linked each palette to achieving the different outcomes; for example, goaldigger would allow you to achieve your wildest dreams. However, after discussion with my boss, we revised the entries to describe the type of women that might buy each palette. The description of goaldigger changed from how it will allow you to achieve your wildest dreams to “You wake up prepared to crush all your goals and know no dream is too big. I designed this palette with you in mind”. This decision was made because the original copy promised too much and was more forceful than inviting; an eyeshadow palette can’t help you accomplish all your dreams, but you might feel more confident in the makeup of your choice. We decided to revise the descriptions to make it sound like each eyeshadow palette was tailored to a specific type of woman.
Final Thoughts
This copy had to go through serious revisions and was a collaborative process with my boss. The collaboration and revision process allowed me to consider how the narrative surrounding one piece of copy relates to an entire company’s brand. It also gave me the opportunity to experiment with different rhetorical decisions and complete research on everything from how the company was started to how to write Loren Ridinger’s voice, in order to complete the strongest final copy possible.