In addition to running 10stepmarketing, I also do marketing consulting work. And one of my main consulting contracts is managing all the marketing and public relations for a client I've had for 10 years. This client is in the real estate industry - an upscale new home community - and as a result we do a lot of advertising for them.
The other day we were updating one of their ads with something called a "snipe." A snipe is usually a short line of copy that's added to call attention to something specific. My copywriter sent me his proposed copy for the snipe and rather than being written in a very straightforward manner, he had written it in what he called an "elevated" manner, trying to make it sound more upscale. When I read it, it just didn't make sense to me. It didn't communicate the information the way a person would talk about this information.
When I asked him about it, he realized there was a "normal" way to say it, but explained that he had wanted to make it sound more "elevated" to be in keeping with the brand image we have established for this client. While I understood his reasoning, I didn't agree.
While I do feel it is important to establish a very clear brand personality for your business, and your marketing needs to reflect this personality consistently, sometimes being clever or trying to say things differently just doesn't work.
Especially in this case, because it wasn't the whole ad, or even the headline. It was just a snipe. And in this case, being clear and concise was more important than being different. And I would argue in most cases, it is more important to be clear in your communications, than to be clever. Do you agree?
Marketing Success Podcast: When Different Isn't Better
Click Here to Download MP3/Audio
(length 3:19 minutes)
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