The Force Was Not With Them

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advertising, AdWeek, automobiles, brand loyalty, branding, business, consumer, creative, crisis plan, Darth Vader, deception, diesel emissions, Edward Boches, failure, faith, false, marketing, perception, recall, scandal, success, The Force, vehicles, Volkswagen, VW

There is probably no one at this particular time who understands the importance of branding better than Volkswagen. With the recent revelation of the diesel emissions scandal, Volkswagen really put their foot in it. As facts continue to surface about the product, executive knowledge, and the fact that 11 million vehicles (and their owners) are impacted, the deception consumers feel is enormous.

How does this scandal affect VW’s branding?

It’s a devastating liability. From a consumer’s viewpoint, branding facilitates buying. Instead of buying something of which they are certain – and VW certainly had phenomenal brand recognition and loyalty – consumers now have difficulty evaluating the quality and honesty of the product, and will look to other branded products.

Edward Boches wrote an article* in AdWeek summarizing the fallout that will affect VW’s consumers. The product has had great advertising for a long time, and that influence played a large part in shopper’s decisions. Even Boches says, “VW’s advertising made me feel good about the brand, the car and myself.”

I remember how delighted I was to see (and watch many times over) Volkswagen’s “The Force” commercial. https://youtu.be/R55e-uHQna0 I don’t own a VW and the commercial wasn’t enough to get me to purchase, but I will say kudos to their creative team for creating an ad and branding that tugged at my heartstrings as I cheered for the mini Darth Vader. The commercial evoked feelings of perseverance, faith, and success. These are three components VW will certainly need as they move forward.

Will Volkswagen recover from this disastrous turn of events? Only time will tell, and if they have a strategic and well-executed crisis plan that can turn around public perception. What will be interesting to watch is how their branding, advertising and messaging will change. Branding has considerable value. Once a brand is tarnished, it’ll take momentous effort to move consumers.

Even the Force may not be strong enough to fix this one.

 

*Read full article here:Edward Boches’ How Volkswagen Just Squandered 55 Years of Great Advertising

That Is NOT What I Meant to Say

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business, Business Communications, communications, editing, embarrassing, errors, immediate, profit, proofing, response time, Smartphones, text, typos, vendor, voice-to-text, writing

When I talk about proofing work and fixing typos or grammatical errors, I typically refer to reports, articles or emails. However, proofing isn’t only for traditional writing.

Don’t forget about text messages. Or, more specifically, your voice-to-text messages.

How often do you speak into your Smartphone, see the words pop up and hit send without really thinking about it? I do it all the time. Hands-free is convenient. Plus, we’re in a changing business environment where people expect faster response times with almost no lag time. I know you have your phone with you, so you had better respond ASAP! Texting is rapidly replacing emails and phone calls.

But again, don’t forget to proof your text messages – especially in business. This means content along with technical components.

Recently, a business associate of mine was communicating via text messaging with a vendor to arrange an appointment. Unfortunately for the vendor, he did not proof his voice-to-text message before he hit send, and my associate was surprised to find a juicy expletive-filled sentence in the middle of the message. When my associate asked the vendor to review his text, the vendor was mortified. So much so that he discounted the project he was managing and lost money on the deal. If he had just taken time to review his message, he would not only have saved face but also kept a profit.

So I caution you: slow down. Use voice-to-text, but be sure to read your message carefully before you hit send.

The ABCs of Writing

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ABCs, ability, accuracy, brevity, business writing, C.S. Lewis, clarity, refresher, skills, technical writing, Toni Morrison, training, writing

It’s impossible to retain the same level of retention after first learning a skill. That’s why many companies offer refresher courses. To help employees keep abilities current, popular courses include leadership training, management courses, safety training, and product updates.

Writing is often overlooked in these options, and it shouldn’t be. No one can possibly remember all the rules and guidelines when it comes to writing.

When writing for business communications, style becomes one of the most important elements. Style does not necessarily refer to a particular writer’s style (think C.S. Lewis or Toni Morrison) but rather to the style of the particular medium.

The ABCs of business writing are Accuracy, Brevity and Clarity.

The most important of these three is Accuracy. Accuracy is the chief goal for any writer, who ultimately spends most of his or her efforts in getting it right. That means the writer makes every possible attempt to ensure the writing is factually correct, and the language and style the writer uses correctly presents that information. It’s important to keep an open mind and be receptive to new ideas.

Next in importance is Clarity. Keep it simple, avoid jargon and be specific. Facts or information that is unclear has little use for the reader. The goal is to avoid confusion – not so much to write that you are understood, but to write so that you are not misunderstood.

Finally, Brevity is key in writing. Look at blogs – most come in about 350 words. For some, that length may seem like a 20-page term paper, but in reality it’s little more than one typed page. So, get to the point, avoid redundancies and repetitions, and cut out unnecessary words.

Consider this your refresher course in writing. And, ultimately, when you have run out of things to write about, stop writing.