Richard Warren, director of marketing communications at Lloyds Banking Group, caused a stir when he said …“You can quote me on this: No-one can write in advertising agencies any more,” Warren, who previously worked in agencies such as MullenLowe and Group M, told Campaign.
Something tells me that Richard Warren may not have quite the same idea of good writing that I do, not least because he follows this up with
“….the kinds of things we’re interested in is the things that agencies aren’t,” he went on, citing the example of data visualisation to display the performance of a pension fund.
Hmm. But the point stands. Just where is the craft of writing in agencies right now?
Writing well isn’t complicated, but it requires a good mix of skill and gruntwork. It also needs practice.
Our passion for digitally driven solutions has meant it’s been neglected as an advertising tool of late.
When everyone started to get excited about story-doing instead of story-telling, the sound of nails thumping into writing coffins echoed around the advertising world.
However digital acrobatics have proven the one night stand of brand/customer relationships – super exciting at the time, but not someone you’re going to bring home to meet your mum.
Clients are realising the only way to build a relationship with consumers is through conversation, aka writing.
From websites through to every point of contact, involving ways of speaking are being recognised and respected again.
Cometh the demand, cometh the skill.
Watch this space.
It will soon be full of wonderful words arranged in ways that make you happy.