Quick-Pitch Tips From Browser Wars
I was so happy to come across this. A judicial ruling means Microsoft now must alert consumers to a choice of browsers. So BBC’s usually tepid Click team asked the main players to tell us why they should be chosen.
Just after 45secs in, the first of a quartet of main browser suppliers chimes in with their ‘elevator pitch’ for why you should prefer theirs.
Now, an obvious caveat. It is possible that the ‘seller’ is slightly stitched up through judicious editing and clouded context. Having said which, you would expect each one to be fully primed as an ambassador of their product and be duly able to lick a stunning pitch… so who’s the natural born seller?
Well, in a little under 90 seconds of footage, all four give it a shot. It’s a delicious test. Can you sum up why someone should choose you over any alternative supply in just twenty seconds?
I made up my mind instantly. But before I share my marks, I watched again to see if one idea or theme could follow from each presenter. What was the one thing that I could take from their pitch? In presentation order…
- Microsoft – most popular
- Opera – security
- Google – fastest
- Firefox – managing
Even this simple task illuminates the inspired from the insipid. Given the tight time constraint, you are surely well advised to pick one trait and hammer it home. What is the one thing you want your audience to remember?
Only two presenters got close to this; Microsoft & Google.
Poor old Opera and Firefox got caught up in telling a story (which by itself is a great idea) but ended up with either too many or too cluttered an idea. Both seem doomed to suffer from limited (zero) recall.
Microsoft’s CEO went for the ‘market leader’ approach. He didn’t do too bad a job, but left out the one thing that you must have when doing so; the reason why you’re top dog. His canine collar was of course that he couldn’t divulge without fear of derision. Being the default out-of-box factory-setting choice on arrival uncovers no real testimonial at all. And without any further colour, it’s simply a meaningless feature in search of greater meaning.
Which leaves Google. Their Product Management VP (Sundar Pichai) is a natural. Yes, it could’ve been editorial bias, but he was the only one to talk about the (importance of the) surfer having a choice. A great empathy-inducing pre-amble and wonderful pitch-intro lesson. Then he smoothed his way to the top with this firecracking speech:
“(in terms of) Why Chrome?
I love Chrome for its speed.
It’s blazingly fast.
We designed it from the ground up to be very, very fast for day-to-day use.
From the time you click on the icon as you browse around web pages it makes your browsing experience much faster.”
That’s why I would recommend Chrome.”
Just 55 words. 17 seconds flat.
You can analyse every sentences as I’ve displayed above and take something special from each.
Yes, so the penultimate line is a bit wobbly, but the rest is excellent. From putting himself in the customer shoes, to saying he ‘loves’ it, to having a lovely payday line (‘it’s blazingly fast‘), to an old-school feature-function-benefit snap. And hey, how easy would a Close morph from the final line?!
Good job, neat template.