Godzilla on Messaging...

One of my all-time favorite “bits” I used to do on my Morning Radio show, was a game that combined a listener, a random phone call to Japan, and Godzilla!?

Here’s how it worked…

It all started one morning when I was getting ready to go “on the air”.?

In the back of the studio, there’s this giant phone book for Tokyo.?

How it wound up in the Radio station?... I still have no idea.

But, there it was!? Comedy was calling.

Our loose plan…

Live on the air, we would call a random phone number in Japan.?

Usually a small business or shop. Tokyo was 16 hours behind us, so it would be early evening there… perfect.

Why not just call someone in Japan. Anyone.?

Then, we’ll see how long we can keep them on the phone.?

(Luckily, our Program Director didn’t ask about these “strange phone charges to Asia” for a couple of months!)

We knew it would be boring to listen to some goofballs talking to some random Japanese person no one could understand. With no point whatsoever.

Not exactly “edge of your seat” excitement.?

We had to come up with a “Hook”.?

Why not Godzilla?

Godzilla, after all, is pretty universal.?

He comes from Japan, he’s got family there.

I was hoping that when we mentioned that lovable, flame-throwing monster to our new, random Japanese friends, they’d just think it was a prank.?

Especially when some weird Americans are calling for no apparent reason.?Strangers speaking really broken Japanese, with an occasional mention of a sci-fi legend. A creature, I’m sure they’re tired of discussing.

You’d think our ‘victim’ would just get disgruntled and hang up.?

Well, how would YOU react if somebody from Japan called you out of the blue… spewing a whole stream of words you can’t understand,?

then suddenly… they mention “John Wayne!”?

I’m guessing you’d hang up too!

Great! We have the basics, but how are we going to make this entertaining for the listeners??

Simple…

The “Godzilla Timer”!

Listeners would “sign up” and guess the length of time we could keep our new, random, Japanese friend on the phone.?

Closest to the elapsed time wins a prize (some were small-ish, others worth $100’s).?

Some of our calls lasted under a minute! Others would go on, and on.

Here’s kinda how it sounded on the Radio….

So, we would get Hiroshi (not his real name) from Tokyo on the phone (live) and just start talking to him like we were long-lost friends.?

I know a little Japanese, so I could throw in a few phrases.?

Most of these calls were just gibberish to an average English speaker.

We would also “comment” ?of course.

If Hiroshi got on a good “ramble”, we'd be saying things like?

“I love brisket too!” or “What kind of mileage you get with that?”?

Remember, the listeners are hearing Hiroshi say things like…

“燃費｛ねんぴ｝がいい”?

(I don’t do impressions, let’s just say there were lots of vowels)

Then, at some point, we’d mention the WORD…

“Godzilla”!

You’d usually hear a few more sentences, sometimes what sounded like very heated words, then…Click!

(Bonus-you get to hear all the weird international phone sounds)

Listeners loved it!?

Even if you don’t speak Japanese, you can sure pick out the word “Godzilla!”?

On a bunch of shows, we had to work in “Godzilla” 3-4 times before they hung up!?

Some Japanese laughed. We laughed right along with them!

None of us knowing what was being said.

It sounds stupid…and it was. It was also funny.

"OK, the official Godzilla Time is 3 minutes, 42 seconds."

Then I’d announce the winner with the closest time, etc.

How does this relate to Copywriting and the message you’re trying to get out to the world??

Here’s what I believe….

Just like a foreign language, if people can’t understand what you’re trying to say…

They hang up, click, scroll, say “Sayonara”, etc.

When trying to get your message to the peeps, remember the human power of ONE.

I know your product/service has tons of features and benefits you can’t wait to tell the world about.? That’s awesome!

But, for a message to be effective, stick to ONE thing!

One idea.

One clear message.

One call to action.

One “Golden Thread” that interweaves that ONE thought all together.

If people are confused (at all) they “book it” right outta there.

When you have a bunch of unique features and benefits that make your product truly stand out, tell the world!?

Just do it ONE IDEA at a time!

We all know – “A confused mind will never buy!”

If you get the urge to add “just one little blurb” to your next Email,?

just say to yourself…?

"Godzilla"

Royce Blake-Content Marketer

“Words That Make People Want Stuff”?

https://www.dhirubhai.net/in/royce-the-writer

https://www.roycethewriter.com