The immunity of industry convention

I was just flipping through an industry publication and I came across ad after ad saying the same thing…

Full service

Turnkey

Any type of event

Elegance

Leader

Integrated

Professional

Quality

These words are industry convention (aka common industry speak). And when we hear them over and over, we become immune to them. They mean little to us. They don’t have impact.

I told a story at Event Solution’s Idea Factory Conference earlier this year about this topic that I still get comments on today. When I worked for a branding agency, courier companies were literally fighting one another to get a chance at our business. After all, we would send mock ups, printouts, proposals, print proofs, concepts, etc hourly to clients across the city and the nation. We would receive snail mail and email every single day from these companies claiming to be the fastest, most reliable, and most cost efficient. Those were their industry conventions. Then, one day, I arrived at my desk in the morning and saw a beautifully wrapped carton about a third of the size of a shoebox. I opened the box and found a beautifully intact egg and a letter. Dying of curiosity, I read through the letter: “We know that you take great pride and care with every single package that leaves your office. We take great pride in the care we give to every package we deliver for our clients. Just look at how well this egg made its way to your desk…”. It went on from there but the message was clear: Pride, Care and Creativity. The antithesis of industry speak. I gave them our business.

Why risk being tuned out before you ever get a chance to show your wares. Choose remarkable ways to communicate your business and break through the industry clutter.