The Intensification Technique (13 Methods)
Expand desire by presenting continually new images of satisfaction through your product
Intensification is the first and most fundamental technique of body copy. It takes unformulated desire and translates it into one vivid scene of fulfillment after another. The copy writer acts as the script writer for the prospect's dreams, showing in minute detail all the tomorrows that the product makes possible. The sharper the pictures and the greater their number without repetition, the more the prospect will demand the product and the less important the price will seem.
Schwartz identifies 13 specific methods of intensification: (1) direct detailed description of results, (2) putting the product in action, (3) putting the reader in the middle of a demonstration, (4) showing the reader how to test claims himself, (5) stretching benefits across time, (6) bringing in an audience (testimonials, case histories), (7) showing expert approval, (8) comparing and contrasting with competition, (9) painting the negative 'black side' (before-and-after), (10) showing ease of use, (11) using metaphor and analogy, (12) summarizing with catalogs, and (13) turning the guarantee into a final summary.
The key constraint is that you cannot repeat, but you can reinforce. Each new perspective must be genuinely fresh, or you lose the reader. When reinforcement becomes mere repetition, it is time to stop.
- Advertising is the literature of desire -- society's encyclopedia of dreams, our twentieth-century Wish Book
- A copy writer's first qualifications are imagination and enthusiasm -- you are the script writer for your prospect's dreams
- You cannot repeat, but you can reinforce -- every new perspective of the same promise makes it sharper and more real
- No matter what you do, the prospect takes only one basic idea from the ad -- but each new presentation deepens its emotional weight
- The sharper the pictures and the greater their legitimate number, the more the prospect will demand the product
- At the end of the ad, the guarantee itself becomes the climax of desire -- the final summary of all performances
- Present the Product or Satisfaction DirectlyBegin with a thorough, completely detailed description of either the product's appearance or the results it gives. Use concrete, sensory language. Show dimensions, colors, textures, and specific outcomes. This is your foundation image.Pro tipUse numbers, specific measurements, and sensory details. 'Cherry-pink 3-inch roses overlaid with tinges of red' is more powerful than 'beautiful roses.'
- Put the Product in ActionShow exactly how the product works in real use. Move from static description to dynamic demonstration. Describe what happens when the prospect uses the product, step by step, moment by moment.Pro tipPlace the reader directly inside the experience: 'You are going down to your car... you are going to lift up its hood... you are going to simply pour its contents...' Second person, present tense creates maximum immersion.
- Layer Additional PerspectivesApply as many of the 13 methods as fit your product: bring in audiences (testimonials, case histories), show experts being amazed, compare with competition, paint the black side of NOT having the product, show ease of use, use metaphor and analogy, stretch benefits across time, show the reader testing claims.Pro tipEach new perspective must be genuinely different from the previous ones. The moment you feel like you are repeating yourself, move to a different method or stop.WarningThere is a turning point where reinforcement becomes mere repetition. Re-read your ad several days after writing to identify this point.
- Summarize with the Catalog TechniqueUse a condensed listing of all performances, benefits, and applications -- each given a single line instead of full paragraphs. This serves as a 'shotgun' approach that hedges against the 'rifle' approach of your dominant appeal. Use either horizontal catalogs (expanding applications) or vertical catalogs (deepening desire).Pro tipThe catalog works best near the end of the ad, after the dominant desire has been fully developed. It provides a last-minute chance to catch prospects motivated by secondary benefits.
- Close with the Guarantee as Final SummaryTurn your guarantee into the climax of your ad by restating each major benefit alongside the guarantee. 'These plugs must give you up to 9 miles more per gallon -- or your full purchase price back!' The guarantee becomes not just risk-reversal but the final intensification of every claim.Pro tipStructure the guarantee as a numbered list of specific promises, each followed by the guarantee statement. This creates a powerful accumulating effect.
A rose advertisement used virtually all 13 intensification methods in sequence. It opened with vivid direct description (4,076 roses, cherry-pink 3-inch blooms), moved to the product in action (picking 3-4 dozen roses daily), stretched benefits across months (June through November), brought in expert audiences (college horticulturists 'astonished'), compared with competition (15 times more blossoms than average roses), and closed with a guarantee summary ('if your garden isn't the showplace of your neighborhood within one month, return the empty package for every cent back').
Schwartz developed these techniques primarily through mail-order advertising, where a single ad must accomplish the entire sale without campaign support, salespeople, or store displays. Mail order forced him to find every possible angle of desire-building because there was no second chance. He found these same techniques work in campaign advertising when compressed and distributed across a series of ads.