Shut up. Put up. Pay up
Kaye Coleman-Rooney of Doing Words, who gave a workshop at a Cambridge Network breakfast briefing last month, writes:
We discussed the challenge all companies face, between adequately protecting and defending their own interests and respecting the rights, privacy and expectations of their customers. In practice, though, companies don’t so much protect and defend as send their small print into battle, taking hostages and issuing ultimatums along the lines of 'We’ve got what you want. Shut up. Put up. Pay up.'
Am I being too harsh here? I don’t think so. It’s what most customers feel, and fear.
"We know the companies we do business with every day are saying one thing to our faces and another behind our backs.And we know that on any scale you care to mention, from cost of living to happiness index, we’re all the poorer for it."
Years ago the Advertising Standards Authority publicised their role with the slogan ‘Legal, decent, honest and truthful.’ Post-crash, post-Libor, post-Leveson, we’re stuck with an awful lot of legal, while truth, honesty and decency can seem as rare as hen’s teeth.
Customers know the small print stuff has to be in place. But, as Apple, Google and Facebook are finding to their cost, the mismatch between the highly-visible brand values and the twilight world of the small print is increasingly earning them contempt.
Read the full article at http://doingwords.co.uk/why-big-is-the-new-small/
Pick up your pen and learn to fly!
Join Doing Words for an action-packed training session on 27 November at the Imperial War Museum, Duxford
Before the day’s out you’ll be
- flying solo: writing persuasively and in control of your tone
- looping the loop: learning the editorial skills you need to source and create compelling marketing content
Who should attend?
We want to inspire everyone to create high quality content – online and offline – confidently and professionally.
Whether you need to source and create powerful content marketing materials to help boost your website rankings, or write a hard-copy business plan to persuade investors, this course is for you.
Trainer Kaye Coleman-Rooney is a former BBC journalist and has worked extensively with businesses from sole proprietors to utilities with millions of customers. She discusses the course content beforehand with each participant and tailors the day to prioritise what you need to know and the skills you want to develop. Groups are small to give you time to practice and benefit from one-to-one tuition.
Includes lunch and free entry to the Imperial War Museum, Duxford on the day.
Save £100 with your Cambridge Network special discount!
Use this link to book your place. Access your discount with the code: CN27NOV13
Find out more. http://doingwords.co.uk/courses/
“Kaye is a delight to listen to, imparting more sense in a workshop than most businesses manage in a year’s worth of communications.” Lucy Malby of eg technology
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