(more…)

1. There is no secret.
2. There is no secret.
3. Okay there are a few secrets. Here they are.

Choose your weapon. Have you ever been talking to someone when they suddenly switched accents on you, but kept on going as if nothing at all had happened? Maybe not but that would be odd. How about if you thought you were talking about the game last night and it went something like, “That was a touchdown. Those refs are blind and did you know that my cat hates mittens? My team has a chance but kitten mittens are not a good idea I don’t care how much it rhymes.” What on earth are you supposed to do with that conversation? Are we talking about cat apparel or the football game? You would never hear that in real life, but you see it in copy all the time: “If you don’t invest in this right now the sky will fall and you will miss the opportunity of a lifetime and did you know the future is bright and we’re a great happy company to invest with?” Huh? Wait am I hoarding for the apocalypse or skipping to candy land with a smile on my face? “Both! Just buy buy buy! Whatever works!” You don’t necessarily need to have the same voice in every ad and piece of marketing material (though one brand identity is the best approach). At the very least don’t mix emotional messages, or even style, in a single piece. How does it happen to start with? Too many voices want to be heard, everyone wants skin in the game. It is okay (if you do your marketing in-house) to get input and information from as many places as possible, that’s a good thing, but pick a direction and stick with it, and try to have a single writer and a single designer for a single project. (more…)