I was recently reading an online thread that had to do with introducing new terminology to customers. While reading I started to think about how marketers will, at times, make things overly complicated in an effort to be catchy. If it’s catchy, but folks don’t understand your message, have you missed the ball? Absolutely!
Allow me to share an example with you. While we were brainstorming at work (credit union) for our new ad campaign I kept bringing up the fact that “a majority of non credit union members have no clue that they can join” my credit union, or any credit union for that matter. I was informed that prior to my arrival the credit union ran a campaign using the catchy (red flag) phrase, “Be a Member Now You Can.”
If I take my credit union employee hat off and read that statement I might think to myself, “Be a member to what?” The goal of the statement is to tell people they can join the credit union, but it does so in a round about kind of way. Something such as, “Yes You Can Join (Insert Credit Union Name)” is a much more direct approach and it clearly accomplishes the goal at hand. Sure it isn’t catchy, but do you really want to spend thousands of dollars on a message that doesn’t accomplish your goal?
Tip: The last thing you want to do is give your messages the “inside joke” effect.
