Double U.
Double U.
Double U.
Dot.
It takes about 1.4 seconds to say, which doesn’t seem like a lot of time until you realize you’ve just spent 5% of your 30-second radio spot on a prefix that is, more or less, rhetorical for your audience.
And besides, who really memorizes URLs anymore? If you’re intrigued by the product or brand, most normal human beings simply plug the name into Google or Bing and let the web search do the walking.
DoubleUDoubleUDoubleUDot is the bane of all copywriters desperate to hit a tight voice over time, and the archenemy to all art directors attempting to create a clean layout. We see it plastered across the tailgates of plumber trucks and bemoan the tragedy of wasted space.
But is there a case to be made for WWW Dot?
Marketing is about squeezing the triggers that compel your audience to commit a profitable action. In advertising, we use all kinds of tried-and-true triggers: Buy Now, Free, For a Limited Time, New, Log On, Learn More, Click Here.
Cumbersome and unsightly, WWW Dot is nevertheless a trigger that alerts the audience to prepare for a website. When you hear that awkward crescendo of Ws, you know a URL is about to follow. And if that’s where you want your audience to LOG ON and LEARN MORE about your brand, then perhaps that 5% of valuable airtime isn’t wasted after all.
For further consideration, note that web banner ads with a “Start Here” directive generate more click-thrus than banner ads that assume the audience knows the obvious. Start Here is a superfluous waste of space that, strangely, seems to work.
The string of consonants may be a linguistic speed bump and a visual eyesore, but WWW Dot might have value that’s worth the airtime and whitespace.
