In case you don’t believe the average American’s attention span is shrinking, take a look at the video in this post. It’s a nearly 10-minute instructional film on how to dial a phone.
Sure, using a telephone may still have been a newer concept for some people in the 1950s, but can you imagine watching slow-paced, rudimentary video tutorials like this today?
I find everything about the piece charming, from the spokeswoman’s delivery style to the script to the giant phone. But, when crafting On Hold Marketing content, we’re always aware that we need to present tightly focused ideas and benefits.
One reason: we never know how long each of your callers will be on hold. So, the quicker we can deliver complete ideas to them, the more likely they’ll be to hear all the information.
Also, the people of 1954 weren’t exposed to the volume of messages that today’s audiences are. So, to make it easier for callers to retain your most important points, we work to keep your On Hold Marketing content concise and customer-focused.
About the Author
Scott Greggory is the Chief Creative Officer at BusinessVoice. A copywriter, voice talent and producer with the agency since 1993, he leads the writing team and helped pioneer Humor On Hold in the mid-1990s. His work has been recognized 150+ times by local, regional and national award shows for creative excellence, including the 2021 AAF Silver Medal Award. In 2026, Scott became the first inductee of Bowling Green State University’s School of Media and Communication Hall of Fame.