When we were called by Emory University in 2008, their objective was clear: create a brand that helps establish Emory Dining as one of the top five dining programs in the country. So we met with their team in Atlanta, feasted on hand cut potato chips and learned a lot about what really defined Emory Dining: quality, diversity, freshness, a firm commitment to sustainability. It was a great program that needed a great brand, and we think that's what they got.
A little part of me dies every time a client reads some copy and responds with this critique:
"It needs to sound more businesslike."
In my experience, what that usually means is that they're looking something impersonal, clinical and flat. With a lot more jargon and a lot less personality. A simple missive from one machine to another.
It's unfortunate that so many people consider this approach SOP for B2B communications. What they're forgetting is that businesses, no matter how big, how corporate, how technical in nature, are run by people. And people respond to emotion, depth and sincerity, whether they are reading a novel or the employee newsletter. That said, here are few simple ways to keep the humanity in B2B:
1. Let the purpose dictate the tone.
If you're writing an instructions manual, then by all means, be concise, technical and straightforward as possible. But if you're introducing a new initiative to your employees, or a new product to the market, or your new services to a prospective client---if you're doing anything that you want people to get on board with and get excited about, make your language convey that excitement.
2. Don't be afraid to address the reader directly.
When did "you" become a four letter word? Remember, no matter what the purpose of your piece, your reader is still a person. You can be personal without being unprofessional. In fact, it's often a great way to capture the reader's attention and make a real connection.
3. Do be afraid - very afraid - of jargon overload.
Some people think jargon makes you sound really, really smart. The irony is that all the really, really smart people can see right through it. If you're substituting buzzwords and overcomplicated biz-speak for real substance and value, the only people who will buy it are the ones you probably don't want to do business with anyway.
I’m guilty. But I’m not the only one. Most every marketer I know is guilty of taking his eye off the ball these days. Guilty of falling off our ADD meds. Guilty of the bird-like behavior (tweet tweet) that causes us to be immediately attracted to each shiny, glimmery, sparkly new social media gadget that enters our field of vision. And who can blame us? Social media is intoxicating, addictive and promises to make me irresistible to the opposite sex. Hence my admission that I am as guilty as they come. Now, don’t get me wrong. I still think social media is the bomb. I’m not entering a 12-step program just yet. (For the record, though, I rarely imbibe in Facebook anymore and my taste for Twitter is waning, too.) You see, it’s not that I don’t value all these opportunities to dispense our messages to the masses, to communicate quickly, succinctly and loudly. The problem is that developing a brand, a personality, a tone, a voice must still supercede our innate, immediate desire to send messages to our minions in 140 characters or less. My point – here it comes – is that, while it’s great to have such easy access to people who are anxious to hear what we have to say, we still need to develop that consistent voice, that authentic attitude, that brand. I know Brand seems like an old idea, but the brand development process is still valid. And absolutely necessary. In fact, it may be more necessary than ever. Why? Because in the old days, what I call Marketing Departments 1.0 controlled all the outgoing messages. They ensured the consistency of the voice and the message because they were the ones who disseminated it. It doesn’t work that way anymore. Today, companies are giving folks in every department the opportunity to twitter on company letterhead. Which is very cool. But that means that now, more than ever, it’s essential that they all have the company playbook, or brand manual (or social media manifesto!), and that there is harmony amongst all the corporate communicators. Yes, just because we’re replacing our radio buys with minimum wage twitters, viral video producers and PR pros who are presently populating our Facebook pages, doesn’t mean that we can relinquish old school brand development work. These forms of communication, just like their predecessors (remember magazine ads, 30 second television spots and outdoor boards?) need to have some grounding in an established and agreed upon brand platform. So join me in taking a twitter timeout while we take care of the basics. Join me in breathing just a bit before uploading our newest YouTube creation. Branding is step one. Let’s ensure that all our players are heading toward the same goal line. Let’s make sure they’re all running the same play. And then, then we can all get back to tweeting our “can’t be missed” messages 140 characters at a time.
Well, I went and Mad Men'd myself. Shameless Draper-hag that I am, I couldn't resist the opportunity to inhabit that whiskey-soaked world, if only virtually. Alas, it wasn't nearly as much fun as I thought it would be. They do a good enough job referencing the show and the period: the background music, costume choices and Dyna Moe's now famous illustrations are dead on. But for the time it takes to complete the process, I wish that my martini-swilling avatar got to have a little more fun. I was hoping for a Jib-Jab style vignette, starring Mad Me tearing up the town with Joan, horseback riding with Betty, climbing corporate ladders with Peggy then pantsing smug little Pete in front of the whole S-C crew...right before riding off into the sunset, smoking cigarettes from the shotgun seat of Don's big Cadillac.
Alas, what I got was this downloadable image (you get the choice of this full body shot, a headshot only or a wallpaper featuring you in the scene of your choice), and even she looks a bit perplexed by the whole thing.
Oh well. All in all, the site is just one part of a robust social media push for Mad Men and 8 o'clock coffee. I applaud the breadth of the campaign, and look forward to taking the "Which Mad Men Character Are You?" quiz when that releases...I fancy myself a Joan but suspect reality will peg me as a Peggy.
Of course, these days, it seems far more common for the price pendulum to swing in the opposite direction. Things we've been buying for a lifetime--music, news, cable television, communication--now flow freely from the endless tap of the Internet. In the consumption friendly worlds of food, beverage, and even fashion, the DIY approach is now seen as cooler, more convenient and better for you--all the attributes that made us start ponying up for water all those years ago.
As we pay less and less for what we consume, are we willing to pay more and more for what we do or experience?
Sorry, Nike. While this mark is believed to be one of the oldest remaining ads in the world, it ain't for no footrace. It actually points people to a brothel in Ephesus, a town in ancient Greece (now Turkey). How fitting that the oldest ad in the world be for the oldest biz in the book.
Many thanks to my friend Julia for the find and the photo.
Just in time for the fourth of July, Levi's introduces the brilliant Go
Forth campaign, tapping into the youth of America's timeless pursuit of
life, liberty, and reasonably priced denim.
The website encourages visitors to write their own declaration of independence, share their stories and photos of a "new" America and even listen to a recording of Walt Whitman reading his 1888 poem, America. The poignant headlines work on many levels - reflecting the current state of these recessionary times while heralding the emergence of an optimistic spirit and even invoking nostalgia for a time that the target audience never actually experienced. All in all, a job very well done. But will it make kids care about good old 501's again? I sure hope so.
Let's set the whole matter of legality aside for a minute. We can learn a valuable lesson from North Carolina University student Joe Carnevale, the infamous "Highway Monster Artist" who created this sculpture (and now faces criminal charges for it). We are all - companies, agencies and individuals - looking for new ways make an impression. To attract attention. To get people to stop what they're doing and give us a few precious seconds of their time. Most are looking to the neverending stream of new technologies to get the job done, and certainly, that must be part of the strategy. But could we be overlooking some very powerful tools simply because they don't look like tools? No one's talking about them. There's no buzz surrounding them. That's not what they're there for. But as Joe Carnevale proves, the world is full of opportunites to transform ordinary things into extraordinary attention grabbers. It just takes courage, creativity and the willingess to do something unexpected.
Is Twitter the daily multi-vitamin of marketing-savvy business leaders? Or the crack cocaine of easily distracted so-called multi-taskers?
Speaking of new iPhones, here's a great little campaign that could just score you one. For those of you still wondering if there are any smart, powerful and transparent ways to use Twitter to drive business awareness, here's your answer. Bravo, Squarespace.
