BRAND REVOLT™
From revolting to revolutionary

November 2008

Bombastic fantastic

Brands must be more careful when communicating with consumers and the public at large. Jargon is the curse of many corporate communications. It is, however, not relevant in today’s colloquial consumer conversations and should not enter the vernacular. What are we really trying to say?

“Going forward”: Of course this is better than ‘going backwards’, but it is meaningless. Are we referring to time (tomorrow or next decade)? Are we referring to actions? Ditch this silliness in favour of clarity.

“Monetize”: A way to avoid saying “How do we make money?” Just say it.

“Synergies”: This is fine for behind-the-scenes M&A activity (and the occasional Lex Column c/- the Financial Times) but it is not OK by way of explanation to your customers why you have taken over your biggest rival.

“B2B”, “B2C”, “ATL”, “RFP”, etc – ALL acronyms should be banned. They trick sub-standard management into feeling big (and intelligent) but make bright consumers feel numb. If you find yourself in need of these to explain your brand: re-think your language or re-think your brand.

Is Porsche ‘going forward’? Trading VW options…yes, they are.

© Copyright Hira Verick, Sweden 2008