It’s been an interesting start to 2012.
I have had some challenging topics to write about; a year in financial education, the introduction of an on-line catalogue of iconic, architectural drawings and an exhibition about the evolution of Olympic stadia – from antiquity to the present.
“Please don’t make it dry and worthy,” was the heartfelt cry of my clients, so I did my level best to be creative and bring audiences into an intriguing story.
Alas! My ‘undulating facades’and buildings as a ‘living skin’, ‘gladiatorial combats, echoing in ancient cathedrals of sport’ and chatty tales of success met their doom at the hands of the dreaded ‘track changes’ and the more prosaic red pen.
As a copywriter it’s easy to become very precious about your work. It’s easy to get carried away creatively in an effort to move away from the traditional language of a particular sector, institution or discipline, and then get cross when you’re reined in. But will the audience understand it – and will your client feel comfortable taking the central role in someone else’s story?
There’s a danger that you’ll just be swapping jargon and ‘business speak’ for cringeworthy flourishes or impenetrable post-modernism.
I was once interviewed for a freelance role at a well-known copywriting agency. They prided themselves on taking a creative approach and persuading their clients to explore new angles and metaphors in describing their work.
Their most recent success had been an annual report, written in the style of a lonely hearts column.
I took along some of my personal work and some examples of recent copywriting from an international accountancy firm, a training and development organisation and a healthcare provider. No lonely hearts for them.
Needless to say I didn’t get the job – but my clients were over the moon with what I’d written.
The bottom line for a copywriter is the brief. If the client wants prosaic, then prosaic it must be. You might enjoy skiing off-piste but if you’ve been asked to lead someone down the blue run you might as well save your energy and do what you’ve been asked.
Next time you feel your creative genius has been thwarted it might help to remember you’ve been hired for your ability to string a sentence together and create the right tone, not to be the next Steig Larsson.
In the meantime:-
Attractive marketing consultant and copywriter seeks clients from the not for profit sector, government agencies, SMEs and social businesses with a GSOH, love of good communication and a sociable outlook. Must have all their own teeth.
About Philippa