Attention to detail

'If language is not correct, then what is said is not what is meant…

…if what is said, is not what is meant, then we ought to be done, remains undone.'

This wonderful slice of common sense was supposedly written by the world's first marketing guru - our old friend Charlie Confucius.

As with most things in this crazy business of ours, it seems people never listen and never learn.

When you are sending out a promotional message, it is vital that you pay attention to detail. Of course, I hear you say. Absolutely logical…

…Not so for some of you out there, I'm afraid. The lunatics are still running the asylum. Or, put another way, the naïve and unprofessional are evident in ever-greater numbers.

Typos abound. They are everywhere. And, good spellers are, in the main, intolerant.

I know I am. If I spot a typo, then the message has NO CHANCE of influencing me. What's more I will think very poorly of the organisation that created such a poor piece of communication.

So no response and damage to the brand in the bargain. Can you afford that?

Some examples:

A well-respected magazine searching for new subscribers spelt Sydney as Sidney and Buenos Aires as Buenas Aires. Would they get your money?

Some companies cannot even spell their own names. 'A1 Presenatations', need I say more?

Punctuation too, is so bloody poor these days. Whatever happened to the good old comma? Here's a great example of a slight error in punctuation that radically altered the meaning of a sentence.

Here's what was said: 'Woman without her man has no reason for living.'

Here's what was meant: 'Woman: without her, man has no reason for living.'

Ho hum. Keep the faith. See you latter.


Andy Owen is Managing Director of Andy Owen & Associates, a Strategic Marketing Consultancy, with offices in Birmingham, Dubai, Paris, New York & Los Angeles. He can be contacted on 0044 121 778 6640, or by email at andyowen@aol.com