Mobile Cocktail Company

Most websites have “content” – inert words that fill a space, do nothing in terms of expressing what makes a business different, and leave the reader totally unmoved.  I think this is a crime, punishable by death.  Unfortunately it is not the writer or web company that dies, but the client’s business.  I always attempt to avoid visiting this fate on my clients.

You don’t hire a bartender to bore you

I was approached by a chap called Nigel to help write the website for his company, the www.themobilecocktailcompany.co.uk.   We met in a pub (it seemed appropriate).  Unfortunately I had flu.  Despite feeling awful it was obvious that he was a very outgoing and bouncy character who had almost certainly enjoyed a misspent youth and was now hugely enthusiastic about making cocktails and organising great parties for people.

Like many of those running a small business, he had written his own website.  He was, however, smart enough to realise it failed to bring his offering to life.

The home page started with “Based between Bristol and Bournemouth, The Mobile Cocktail Company offers a flexible, portable bar hire service, guaranteed to add impact to your event” and continued in the same vein.  It was accurate, but flat as an abandoned beer you discover the morning after.

Let’s tie one on

The problem?  The words were telling, not selling.  For a start they expressed none of Nigel’s infectious enthusiasm.  And they just provided features, facts about the product.  To be engaging, exciting and compelling, they needed to focus on the benefits, and do so in a way that was enticing – the pleasure of the experience.  Instead of using logic (which only leads to conclusions) the words should tap into the emotions (which lead people to take action – if you want to move people, arouse their feelings).

So I changed the opening lines to “The secret of a great party, one that people rave about for years, is simple – get a bunch of your favourite characters, shake them up with some drinks, and watch as the stories, the laughter and the friendships flow.  But achieving that with a portable bar takes a bit of careful preparation.”

A few barrels of beer and some cases of wine will do the trick when you’re eighteen. But those with a few more hangovers behind them thirst for something a little more imaginative and exciting. The Mobile Cocktail Company, after years of dedicated practice and thorough research, has perfected the recipe.” 

People aren’t buying a bar, or a bartender, or cocktails – they’re buying a good time.  So the words have to be fun and talk the language of someone who wants to throw a bloody good party.