I think we’re all annoyed by the marketing speak we see and the shill language that we use ourselves. From the silly ways we promote individually to the worst tech buzzwords in press releases, we’ve been inundated with this type of false speech for so many years, that we’re immune to its dubious charms. Even so, it’s still not uncommon to accompany an advertising spend with silly brand definition memos that mean very little to your audience.
Last evening’s Colbert Report spotlighted a Wheat Thins memo that initially seemed to be a joke, until you realized it wasn’t. References to brand image Dos and Don’ts were ridiculous, and the audience had a nice laugh at the expense of the advertiser. I’m sure that’s not at all what Nabisco intended when they spent thousands of dollars on the air time.
I’ve been involved in marketing campaigns since the late 1990s and I can not tell you how many times I’ve been presented with a similar memo and each time you’re both disgusted by the tone of these documents and feel pity for the creature who had to draft the brand definition.
Please stop asking your marketers and PR leads to create lifeless documents that waste their time and make your brand a mockery.
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