Lucid Lingo
Communicating... in plain English
Lucid Lingo
Posted on March 2, 10 by Gary Chow | 1 Comment » | Tags: copywriting, Marketing, web content, Web copywriting
Large companies often use the About Us section of their website to communicate their mission statement and core values. This is a waste of space. I doubt whether people really care for or read about corporate creeds anyway, especially in the jargon-fixated way they are commonly written. If you operate a small business, forget about [...]
Posted on February 22, 10 by Gary Chow | No Comments » | Tags: information booklets, information sharing, market share, Marketing, share of mind
One of the most powerful ways to build your brand is to share what you know with your target audience. I see smart operators doing this on blogs and social media sites regularly. In fact, the Internet provides the perfect medium for this marketing strategy. But even before the Internet was born some companies were [...]
Posted on February 16, 10 by Gary Chow | 1 Comment » | Tags: bbc, branding, dell, facebook, Marketing, Social media, social media gurus, twitter
A mate dropped by the other day. He asked me what I’ve been doing of late. I told him I’ve been looking into social media: reading, joining sites, learning. He laughed. Said social media was a complete waste of time. Couldn’t see the point of it. Said I should ‘get a life.’ Ouch! This episode [...]
Posted on February 12, 10 by Gary Chow | 2 Comments » | Tags: advertising copy, apostrophe, copywriting, grammar, marketing communications, proper english, signs
What’s the most common punctuation error in marketing communications? At a guess, I’d say the incorrect use of the apostrophe. Have a look at these signs courtesy of the Wordsplosion website. There are three main rules to remember about the apostrophe 1. Use an apostrophe to denote ownership of something. The apostrophe goes immediately after [...]
Posted on February 11, 10 by Gary Chow | No Comments » | Tags: banana smoothies, banks, corporate responsibility, prius model, public relations, toyota cars, westpac
In football there is a saying that a player is only as good as his last game. The point being that every game can either build or damage his reputation depending on performance. The same is true with corporate brands in the business world. Toyota’s current woes with its Prius model seems to be a [...]
Posted on February 8, 10 by Gary Chow | No Comments » | Tags: buzzwords, cliche, jargon, plain English writing, product benefits
Why is there so much nonsense written about products and services? I bet you know what I’m referring to. Take a look at any marketing material on just about any product – software, computer hardware, cars, washing machines, shampoo – and what do you see? More often than not, what you will read is pure [...]
Posted on February 8, 10 by Gary Chow | 1 Comment » | Tags: Marketing, product benefits, product features, product value, solutions, Web copywriting
What do you usually see when you pick up a marketing brochure or open a webpage? More often than not, what you will read are a list of features; for example, a car’s engine has 180 Kw, a computer has a 500 gig hard drive, a restaurant uses vegetables grown organically, etc. But, it’s not as common to [...]
Posted on February 5, 10 by Gary Chow | No Comments » | Tags: lleyton hewitt, managing perceptions, pat rafter, sportsmen in tv commercials
‘C’mon, where’s the love! Watching Lleyton Hewitt play during the recent Aussie Open the thought occurred to me: how come this guy hasn’t appeared in many advertising campaigns in all the time he’s been a top ranked player? I mean, we are talking about a two-time grand slam championship winner (Wimbledon and US Open), and [...]
Posted on February 4, 10 by Gary Chow | No Comments » | Tags: commonsense layout, dark text, plain light backgrounds, readable fonts
Businesses spend a ton of money on advertising. In some cases, they also spend a ton of money to ensure the adverts actually work by commissioning expensive market research. So why do they break the most fundamental rules time and time again? Take this full page ad in the Weekend Australian. The problem is so [...]
Posted on January 18, 10 by Gary Chow | No Comments » | Tags: branding, Marketing
Evidently it was Benjamin Franklin who said, ‘ It takes many good deeds to build a good reputation, and only one bad one to lose it’. The same applies to a brand. For many people, the meaning of this quote would have come to mind when the Tiger Woods sex saga first came to light. [...]
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