I’d like to introduce you to the person I believe is the king of the design studio, the master of the creative department, the don of the digital agency. In fact, whether its brochures, direct mail, websites or any other marketing material for that matter, what’s the one thing that engages us and makes us act?
The photography? A little. The gorgeous graphic design and art direction? Possibly. The whizzy way the menus download on the website? Well, they’re nice. But no, the king of the jungle when it comes to all marcomms is the copy – and long live the king!
It staggers me when clients spend a not inconsiderable sum on market material and yet skimp on the copy and provide it themselves. The approach usually ends up with the designer dropping all the copy into six point and colouring it grey (as a creative years ago I used to even call it “the grey lines” myself), in the vain hope that the reader won’t notice that the copy is, in fact, rehashed PowerPoint that is so internally focused.
It may tell you how it does something but chances are it will skip the key parts, such as why and how you will benefit from this. You often find it is full of “management speak” baloney aswell.
I assume the issue is that everyone can actually write. Yes? No, no no! They can, of course, put sentences together and may have a vague idea on grammar and punctuation but could they write a paragraph of copy that sold me something if their kid’s life depended on it?
A great writer once described to me how, upon presenting some copy, which, incidentally, the client loved, he presented his bill. The client looked more than a little concerned and asked the writer: “How come it was so much for just a few lines of copy? Surely it can’t have taken you longer than an hour?” To which, and I love this, the writer replied: “No, it didn’t take me an hour, it’s taken me 22 years!”
Now that may sound a humorous story but when you stop and think about it, it just makes so much sense. So next time you are thinking of investing in any marketing material, please don’t skimp on the actual bit people engage with.
PS: I’d also like to point out that I am not, and have never professed to be, a writer!
