What's in a name? Quite a bit...

You know that strange phenomenon... the closer you live to something, the less you actually see it? Guests come to visit. In one day, they ride a paddle boat down the Mississippi River, check out the newest exhibit at the Walker and grab lunch at that adorable Italian restaurant around the corner. You avoid eye contact, embarrassed to admit that you've never done any of those things.

The same thing happens in marketing. People forget that the most prominent aspect of their brand is the name of their company. Seeing it every day, they tune it out, ignore it, or even work against it. (I once worked with a client whose company had a particular word in its name... let's say it was "Easy_______, Inc." One time, they actually said, "We want to avoid using the word 'easy'; it doesn't really describe us.")

I often find myself helping people get back to basics. When we hit a stumbling block, it's fundamentals time: The name of your company is _________. You sell _________. The name of the product you're most known for is ____________. Embrace these things. I know you're really sick of the Pantone Red 486 that's in your logo, on the walls and on every chair in the company cafeteria... and it's tempting to do that new microsite in blue. But don't.

The minute you're tired of saying or seeing something is usually the point when the rest of the world is just beginning to notice it.

And that starts with your name.

Random Rewrite #1: Nortel

Today, I'm beginning a recurring feature on C2C that I call "Random Rewrites," in which I randomly rewrite any piece of marketing, advertising or corporate communication that catches my eye.

Today's rewrite comes from a banner ad currently showing on the cnn.com landing page. I was struck my the shear volume of copy on the ad, as well its "inside baseball" language, so I clicked on it. Here's what the jump page said, followed by how I think it should read:

Unified or Mystified?

Gartner positions Nortel in the Leader's Quadrant in the 2007 Unified Communications Magic Quadrant. Gartner, the leading provider of research and analysis on the global information technology industry, positions Nortel in the Leader's quadrant of its Unified Communications Magic Quadrant report, published August 20, 2007 and authored by Bern Elliot.

The Magic Quadrant report positions vendors in one of four quadrants, based on a company's vision and ability to execute that vision. "The Leaders quadrant contains vendors selling comprehensive and integrated UC solutions that directly, or with well-defined partnerships, address the full range of market needs. These vendors have defined migration and evolution plans for their products in core UC areas and are using their solution sets to enter new clients into their client roster, and to expand their footprint in their existing client base in new function areas."

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How should this copy read? I would suggest speaking from the audience's perspective, not assuming that they understand all of the jargon (especially "UC"), and adopting a smart tone that understands the larger economic context, offers a tangible and immediate benefit, and sounds as though it is informing and helping the reader:

[banner ad copy]

The Secret to Winning
in a Recession Is Here.

[jump site copy]

The economy is tightening. Uncertainty reigns. New efficiencies are essential.

Today, there’s no faster way to stabilize and boost margins than through UC: Unified Communications—merging desktop phone, legacy PBX and IP-PBX, Internet, voicemail and fax systems into a single streamlined profit center.

Who is the leader in this burgeoning field? Gartner Group, the world's most trusted global IT research firm, has named it.

Nortel.

Gartner Group placed Nortel in the Leader's Quadrant in its most recent Unified Communications Magic Quadrant. What does this mean to you? That a trusted third party ranks Nortel’s vision—and ability to execute that vision—among the very best.

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Focus vs. Inclusion

One of the hardest jobs for any marketing professional is the struggle between focus and inclusion. What do I mean? I'll tell you a quick story.

I once sat in a meeting with a new client who was absolutely passionate about their company and their target customers. They were NOT all things to all people. They existed solely to promote political candidates on one (proudly) extreme end of the spectrum. That's what set them apart from their wishy-washy competitors. Even their mailroom guy was a card-carrying member of their movement.

Great, I said, that kind of specificity is marketing Nirvana. Here's the angle you need to go with. You're about more than tactics. You're about "the movement." Brand yourself by branding the movement. Name it. Define it. Certify people as being inside or outside of it. Create a stamp for it, like “USDA Top Choice” or “The Real Seal.” If you grab this space quickly and aggressively, you'll cut through the clutter, be true to your brand and attract exactly the clients you’re looking for.

They agreed. They were thrilled. They went back to redesign their logo, retool their brand and redo their website. They were grateful for an outside perspective that gave them focus.

I checked the website recently (this was a client at my former agency), and what did I see? A much-improved design, yes, but accompanied by positioning that was abstract, unspecific and noncommittal. If you were to visit their site without knowing who they were, you would assume they were happy to promote any politician from Barney Frank to Dick Cheney.

Why did this happen? I imagine it was another case of inclusion defeating focus. Companies in myriad industries often reach a point where they want to focus the message. They go down that road—often led by the marketing VP, who understands the power of specificity—only to be forced into last-minute retreat by the powers above them (or by last-minute jitters about doing something aggressive that might cost them their job if it doesn't work).

This is where thoughts shift from “we need to go after x” to “wait a minute, if we say x, we’re alienating y.” Even though “x” represents 70 percent of the total market, or 100 percent of the desired market, “y” still represents potential revenue. The result: Focus withers. Inclusion reigns.

(That is, until a competitor successfully focuses their message and starts cherry-picking clients. Then the battle starts anew...)

Do Websites Need Words?

At the agency I left before starting Conk Creative, I spent the last six months saying that I no longer saw a reason why websites should have words. As a writer by trade, this was hard to admit. (The irony isn't lost on me that I'm stating this theory in words, on a blog no less... ) And the truth is, Google search rankings are one big hole in my theory, as people use words to find websites with with those same words.

But between YouTube, high-speed Internet connections and improvements in video compression, the idea of "the wordless website" stuck with me... maybe not for everybody, but definitely for people in the creative fields.

As of today, I've taken my own medicine. This morning, I launched the first Conk Creative website. I plan to add video case studies in the very near future, but this is the fulfillment of a vision I woke up with six weeks ago: Why write everything down and make people work to find out who you are, what you do and whom you've worked with, when you can play guitar instead?

See what you think: conkcreative.net