…like requesting a picture framer to paint your portrait? There’s a reason we contract specialists to carry out specific jobs. We know they know their stuff. We back their expertise within their domain of knowledge. We’re confident their proficiency will deliver the best result the quickest. For example a General Practitioner doctor can help correct … Continue reading Is asking a designer to uncover your story…
Category Archives: Marketing
Perhaps our election selection should be based on a slogan that is “least likely to offend”. Or how about the slogan generating the biggest yawn should get our vote. Then of course, we might blame language blandness on Covid. Because, and this might be a reflection of an older mindset with an increasingly more cynical … Continue reading All this wonderful language at their disposal…oh how our political parties disappoint
Messaging and stories are going to be a key element of snuffing out Coronavirus over what will be a tricky target. Somewhere, but most likely spread, a bevy of government communications people are creating messages. You can’t envy their job. It’s no easy thing to nail important ideas so that all of us understand and … Continue reading ‘Stay home, save lives’ misses an opportunity to increase its impact – ‘Omne trium perfectum’
We should avoid using the term self-isolating. Instead we should use self-containing. Why? Because the language we use provides a feedback loop in our brain which can either be positive or negative. And negative or positive – our reactions are also contagious…much like Coronavirus. So isolate means alone. Isolate implies looking inwards continuously. Isolate suggests … Continue reading Andrà tutto bene – everything will be all right
It’s somewhat ironic and apt that Victoria/Wellington University’s name debate is now a political argument. Ronald Reagan can perhaps lay claim to the phrase ‘explaining is losing’ – and that is exactly what happens when you use the term Victoria University. (Reagan’s contention was that messaging needs to be as simple as possible, with as … Continue reading Explaining is losing – let’s kill the name Victoria University
Two words, two meanings and a demonstration of the power of the right question to…stop…and…make…you…think. You can’t help but flip between ‘over’s’ interpretation. It’s telling. Am I drinking too much? Am I sick of what drinking is doing to me? There’s no judgment, no high moral ground, no finger-wagging. There’s simply a little self-imposed jab … Continue reading A very telling two word question
Perhaps it’s indicative of alcohol’s margins that they often have great advertisements. That is, they can afford to get their words right. So, and in no way condoning or encouraging alcohol consumption (though I do drink), here’s a very clever way to remind people Stella Artois has stood the test of time. “600 years of … Continue reading A more than beerly acceptable way to promote yourself
As an individual, we are all many stories. From our sex to upbringing, religious and political affiliations, likes, food preferences…you name it, depending on your start point we can tell different yarns. Our businesses too are many stories. You could focus on many different aspects of what and how you provide a product or service. … Continue reading Why you can only tell one story (initially)
It would be interesting to know how long it took DHL to come up with its slogan/tagline (first, most important story). You can see it on their distinctive yellow courier vans – Excellence. Simply delivered. According to DHL’s website, this its actually its mission; its vision being to be the Logistics Company for the World. … Continue reading Three words – well chosen. Period
The great default word for businesses trying to describe their ‘what’ is…solutions. You see it everywhere, far too often. The trouble is, we all provide a solution of some kind. And by using the term, you then immediately have to explain what your particular solution is. So why not use the wonderful extent of english … Continue reading ‘Solutions’, a sign of desperation or lack of imagination