Meaningless words are leading our industry to an identity crisis
Advertising agencies became creative agencies. Media planners became connections strategists. PR agencies went from media relations to earning attention. Words have lost their meaning, argues Magnum & Co's Carl Moggridge, leading to what is potentially an industry-wide identity crisis.
A lot of smart people have proven that language affects behaviour. Unfortunately, a lot of people take advantage of that fact, and our industry is now at a point where words have lost their meaning.
Take Frank Luntz, who advised the US government, as well as big gas and coal companies, to stop talking about ‘global warming’ and start talking about ‘climate change’. It’s the same, but creates fundamentally different behaviour.
‘Global warming’ is clearly something to be worried about. Something human made, that requires immediate action. ‘Climate change’, on the other hand, sounds slow. Something that has always been going on, that you don’t have to worry about it, that can wait.
The unfortunate reality of words, and specifically the labels we give to things (like marketing, advertising, media and public relations to name a few), is that once they’ve lost all manner of meaning, it’s next to impossible to get back to the more helpful, original definitions. Definitions that lead to more effective and efficient action.
Marketing has become solely about promotion. This led to the rise of chief customer experience officers and growth departments. Essentially parts of a marketing function, but now seemingly not marketing.
Advertising agencies used to mostly do TV advertising, but once other things became more fashionable, advertising felt like a dirty word, so they became creative agencies.
And, as a reaction to management consultancies, creative agencies quickly became creative consultancies. In just 12 months, the very same art directors and copywriters have gone from creating blockbuster TV ads to fixing an array of intractable business problems.
To offset the big investment in marketing technology and providing clients with smart programmatic media buying solutions, it was important media agencies did something to make strategies feel less techy and more human. This meant communications plans; media planners became connections strategists. Planning, of course, is a lowly word and beneath a strategist.
PR agencies focused on media relations, only to find out clients and ad agencies simply saw them as the people that got stuff in the papers. As traditional media shrunk, to put the genie back in the bottle, instead of, I don’t know, maybe building relationships with the public, they started earning attention. Earning attention is of course much more difficult and moral than paying for it, meaning it must be more desirable?
This has led to a very confusing state of affairs. Potentially, even an industry wide identity crisis. Unlike Frank Luntz, I doubt I’m going to have the same impact on the communications industry as he did on the environment. So, while an industry wide game of marketing scrabble rolls on, we’re simply going to stick to words that make sense, if that’s okay?
We certainly won’t be told where our work can and can’t live in culture. Or how we build relationships with people. We will use the best idea and method required. Maybe even a TV ad, if that’s the right thing to do.
To finish, here’s some very old (1948), but very wise words about PR from another dodgy chap Edward Bernays, but it’s hard not to agree with his common sense. Thanks Ed.
“The three main elements of public relations are practically as old as society: informing people, persuading people, or integrating people with people. Of course, the means and methods of accomplishing these ends have changed as society has changed. In a technologically advanced society like today, ideas are communicated by newspaper, magazine, film, radio, television, or any other method.”
Carl Moggridge is managing director of Magnum & Co
Got it right in one. Precision in language is part of its beauty.
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I often struggle to tell my friends and family what I do for a living, perhaps your sentiments explain why…
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In 1906 when language was still considered an art, Winston Churchill used “Terminological Inexactitude” to replace the words ‘lie’ and the softer ‘untruth’.
I once knew a printer who introduced himself as “Jack the photolithographer,” which gets it all away from the stink of printers ink and the clatter of the old Heidelberger. The man whose lot it was to sweep up the dust and vegetable leaves at the city markets, was jokingly referred to as the “Broomologist of the Vegetorium.”
This messing around with language problem has been with us for many years, it seems that the current crisis has given us a few associated blessings, one of which is the time for reflection and perhaps some fixing or ARP (applied remedial procedure)
At some stage, things stopped “starting” and began “commencing,” people stopped dying and began to “pass away,” or if the reality of the ultimate separation was still too strong to mention, they merely “passed.” I love the term “Advertising Agency,” it stands truer and stronger than “Creative Agency” which makes them sound as though their stock in trade is, yes, terminological inexactitude.
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Jargon job titles aren’t confined to adland.
In business and government most job titles (and tasks) are a blend of abstract words—meaningless and misleading. Too many people string nouns together to make job titles sound important.
Take these howlers: ‘Holistic Marketing Manager’, ‘Quantitative Researcher to Crack the Code’, ‘Triggers and Events Consultant’, ‘Engagement Facilitator’, ‘Agile Digital Product Manager’.
When did business (and government) language die? When business and government started using management jargon. ‘Competitive advantage’, ‘transparency’, ‘accountability’, ‘client’, ‘key’, ‘going forward’ blah blah blah. Meaningless sludge.
Clear concise language starts at the top. Good CEOs talk straight. No gobbledygook. No jargon. No abstract words like ‘engage’ or ‘commitment’.
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Nice article. This morning I heard the newly-appointed administrator for Virgin Australia talk about ‘creating optionalities’. It doesn’t bode well, does it?
“chief customer experience officers”. There’s a problem, right there.
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Thanks Nathan and indeed it doesn’t!
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Spot on, Carl.
The inclusion of “strategic” in every job title now is testament to this problem. Any person in an agency worth their salt should be strategic in what they do–although, I suspect we’re about to see a post-COVID baby boom of “agile strategic tacticians”, “responsive strategic account managers”, “adaptable and dynamic creative strategist” and “reactive strategy public relationists”.
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A job title is irrelevant unless it has meaning in law. The only thing that really matters, and can’t be taking away from you, is track record.
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