Keep it simple stupid (KISS)
Some copywriters have a niche. Mine is plain English. That’s it. Some copywriters have a passion for certain sectors or topics. My passion is plain English. That’s it. Verbose copy is so difficult to read. It must be a nightmare to write! You have to keep re-reading...
Tackling stereotypes in marketing and comms
In the last week or so you may or may not have seen a ‘Stay home. Save lives.’ ad with images of the insides of four houses. It was rather swiftly pulled after many, many people pointed out the highly regressive images inside the four houses. One bloke sat on his...
Spotting email scams
Is the copy full of typos and/or written in clunky English? – probably scammers (though legitimate businesses do of course make occasional mistakes!)
The vaccine(s) and the comms challenges
Personally, I don’t think having misgivings and/or questions about a relatively new vaccine are baseless. It’s a massive exercise to get everyone on board and that means not just appealing to the anti-vaxxers.
Reading the room
I do like the phrase 'reading the room'. Sometimes I can’t put my finger on why some words and phrases sound just perfect and others grate. What does reading the room mean though? And what does it mean to you? Reading the room to me is about understanding the mood –...
Giving good GIF is not enough
There’s a real power in having access to a brand’s SM and being a grand guardian. And, as we all know, with great power comes great responsibility. Checks and balances need to be put in place to ensure that any account stays on brand.
Consistently inconsistent messaging
I’m not for one minute saying that plain English would have meant we are not in the mess we are in now. I am saying that people would have found it easier to stick to the rules if there was universal understanding of the rules. People can only follow what they understand.
No to the status quo
I’ve been having moments of optimism recently. I know! Strange times, unprecedented, yadda yadda, but also, we are now in a period of intense and rapid change. Once we are out of the other side of this, what will we keep hold of and what will we ditch? Who knows. But...
Stopping tossers and litterpricks
After endless months of limitations, lockdown has been (and continues to be) very slowly eased. With this comes more freedom and more choices - more open spaces re-opening, children’s play parks being un-padlocked (truly one of the saddest sights for me has been...
The end of the press briefings – why?
I was quite shocked yesterday (23rd June) when I read that the government would no longer be holding the daily 5 pm press briefings on coronavirus. I have found them hugely useful (plus irritating, exasperating and whole host of other emotions) right from the start,...