06 clichés that should DISAPPEAR from the marketing vocabulary

[seonajmulislam00]

I recently wrote an article titled “ 8 Words That Deserve Death . ” It was shared thousands of times on social media, and I got a ton of virtual pats on the back, mostly through tweets and comments on AdAge , like “Amen.” But I also got some great suggestions to add to the list.

Let me rephrase that: “Audiences passionately engaged with my content were not only inspired to share, but felt empowered to collaborate with me on creating additional content.”

It should be noted that some readers have speculated about what life would be like in a world free of media and marketing buzzwords, such as Jeffrey Makowka, who tweeted, “This would eliminate about 80% of the vocabulary in most of my meetings.” Given that Jeffrey’s title at AARP, as seen on LinkedIn, is senior strategic advisor, you might believe him. Coincidentally, Dumenco asked AdAge to change my title from Media Guy to senior executive evangelist.

Meanwhile, Atlanta-based Jafet Ramirez posted a taiwan telegram data comment on AdAge.com that read, “Sorry, media guy, but if I don’t use these basic statements, it will be impossible to leverage my outside-the-box thinking to engage my stakeholders.”

I fear that Jeffrey will soon be completely speechless and that Jafet will have to think inside the box again, because people have been talking and want to put more buzzwords and phrases on death row.

So, here's the new list of buzzwords:

Transformative/Transformational
“Please add something transformative to the list,” said William Monte of Charlestown, Massachusetts. He wrote in a comment on AdAge.com: “It’s something often found in conjunction with ‘disturbing’ and should also be banned.”

Well, banning transformers seems kind of transformational. That's disturbing, isn't it?

Impactful
Kayann P. Schoeneman, Ketchum’s global vice president of research, tweeted, “Let’s add impactful too.” Yes, let’s!

Transparency
“And also any form of transparency,” said “Transformer’s” William Monte in a second comment. “This makes me want to break things,” he added.

When companies insist that they are being transparent, we may think, “Of course! Because I can see through their lies.”

To create
A reader who calls himself an “old ad guy” from Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, said in a post on AdAge’s website that “creation” should go on the death list. Just below, reader Bill Sanders of Los Angeles added: “Yeah, I was going to say ‘create.’ If I were asked to ‘create’ another blog …” He stopped short of explaining what would happen if he were asked to create another blog, but we can imagine him breaking things down, like William “Transformer” Monte.

I want to emphasize that I do not create columns and blogs, I excrete, as AdAge would prefer, since it is a family publication.

Steroids
This phrase was included not by a reader, but by a marketing publication last Wednesday, the 6th. The text’s title described a major brand’s advertising campaign as “content marketing on steroids.” Would anyone want content marketing with issues such as acne, anger management, and testicles shrunk to the size of raisins?

Storyteller/Storytelling
Adding this phrase to the list was inspired by a video interview with graphic designer Stefan Sagmeister that has gone viral in recent weeks. The film was posted on Vimeo by FITC (Future, Innovation, Technology, Creativity), a Toronto-based company that hosts events for the design and technology community. The video simply features Sagmeister ranting about what he considers storytelling. Here’s an excerpt: “I think all storytellers are not storytellers because I recently read an interview with someone who designs roller coasters. He referred to himself as a storyteller. No! You’re not a storyteller, you’re a roller coaster designer! And that’s fantastic! And more power to you!”

He speaks in a testy manner, but what really stands out in the video is the ending, where the FITC logo appears alongside that of the video’s co-producer, Ottawa-based company Crafted Stories. And its company slogan: “ Branded storytelling .”

Now, here's a story for the old advertising guy and Bill Sanders: in Canada, marketing stories aren't just made, they're created! Probably by hand! In a really impactful way!