I Hate Logos – The Downside to Being a Value-Added Marketing Copywriter
By Roberta Rosenberg on Mar 24, 2008 in Occasional Rantings, Working with Clients
This is a short rant. You’ve been advised.
I learned long ago that when it came to developing/writing/producing a direct mail package or a website, it was always the smarter move to force the client to view the content first before we seriously considered anything about the design. (This isn’t a knock against my designer colleagues. You’ll understand why I do this in a moment.) If absolutely pretty-pleased, I might offer a pencil sketch, but nothing pretty. No color, no shiny objects to distract.
My goal is to get through the first revision and then start noodling the look.
Why? Because the moment you put a picture, a font, and a PMS book or online equivalent in front of a client — or anyone else for that matter, even me — you can forget the message. People only see the visuals. We all get lost in the colors and typography and our personal aesthetic — and we lose precious time off a production schedule — and invariably no one is happy.
My real preference is for the client to already have their logo in place. That saves everyone a huge amount of design time and we can concentrate on the site or promotion framework. But when they don’t … well, you know. I get cranky. My zip-along production schedule begins to hit slo-mo and everything begins to ..s..l..o..w…. d..o..w..n…
- This is me when the logo isn’t done on my watch
- This me when I’m sheparding the process
Most of the time, I’m happy to be the font (oops, marketing pun!) of all marketing knowledge and wisdom. I’m usually pretty good at it, too.
But there are times, like now, when our agreed-upon color theme has moved from here to possibly there that just writing the words and letting others design ‘em feels pretty damn good — almost like a vacation.
Know what I mean?
If you do, feel free to share your own related rant here. I know I’ll feel much better and I bet so will you.
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Graham Strong | Mar 26, 2008 | Reply
Whenever I’m doing a copy & design project, I always send the client the first draft of the copy first. Then, while he or she is reviewing that, I start working on the design. In a perfect world, I send the design off for review at the same time as I receive the first batch of comments on the copy.
I’ve found this see-saw approach works well. The design and the copy never meet until both are almost finalized. Then it is usually a matter of small tweaks to one or both, and the document is finished.
It wasn’t always like this. I used to present both at the same time, and yes, the focus was usually on the design. I also found that there were too many last minute changes to the text — even adding one word could throw off the balance of a longer document, and you end up spending half an hour fixing widows and orphans, split forced pages, and a myriad of other design problems.
I have learned that things I can conceptualize (like how this text will work with that design) are not so easy for “non-creative” types. With this approach, the client remains focused on just-the-content and just-the-design at the appropriate times. It reduces the distractions and simplifies the process, so that you are not overwhelming the client with decisions.
My clients seem to like the simple approach. And I certainly appreciate the fact that it makes the process smoother!
~Graham
Tom Chandler/Copywriter Underground | Mar 26, 2008 | Reply
There’s nothing quite as depressing as seeing a conference room full of high-level execs (the cream of the American business world) embroiled in a vicious knife fight over the placement of the corporate logo, or whether a two-steps-lighter shade of lavender wouldn’t project far more “strength with a hint of sustainability.”
It’s grueling stuff. After all, nobody ever says “next time you’re bored, why not try to get a whole room of opinionated, turf-protecting, alpha-types to agree on a favorite color?”
My first inclination is to suggest the copy-only jobs are easier, but then there’s little worse than delivering a strong ad concept/headline to a client only to have their designer turn it into an experiment in avant-garde design.
That Killer Headline? It’s now a “design element.”
The strong copy? The stunning lead? The industry-altering close?
They’re now a 6-point, screened back, reversed type smudge in the corner.
Not that I have strong feelings or anything. Or that I’m ranting. I’m calm. Really calm.
Roberta Rosenberg | Mar 26, 2008 | Reply
@Graham (note my newly minted Twittery syntax for “back at ya”) … yours sounds like a thoughtful, workable approach UNLESS your client is a committee … or your client has a “creative spouse” or a ton of arty friends. It’s the groupthink factor that throws tacks under the tires of my production momentum.
@Tom … you never rant. Rave a little, but rant? Hardly ever. Your writer’s wound, however, sounds a little fresh. Bad day at the office, honey?
Graham Strong | Mar 27, 2008 | Reply
@Roberta (I’m getting twitter-pated too…!) Yes, the whole editing-by-committee thing is the bane of my existence, and certainly throws many CR theories out the window. But mostly I deal with that on the writing side, not the design side. I once had to incorporate five sets of simulataneous revisions into a group of newsletter articles. (Actually, that gives me an idea for a couple of blog posts… thanks!)
But even if the client is a committee, keeping them focused on one thing at a time still helps. And every committee has a leader (hopefully your contact person) so he or she is usually good for telling you whose opinion matters most.
Still not the ideal situation, but it all works out in the end — especially if you bill for the extra revisions!
@Tom – The thing about knife fights is that there is always a winner and a loser. I just sit back and let the one still standing tell you where to put the logo! My job isn’t to mediate office politics or cajole decisions, so I try to stay relaxed about the whole thing. When their own deadline is looming, they’ll usually end up going with where I put the logo in the first place anyway…
~Graham
Graham Strong’s last blog post..Has Your Email Been Blacklisted?
Craig McNamara | Apr 1, 2008 | Reply
Things actually used to be a little easier before the advent of computer layouts. Now every ad is essentially taken through production before even the first presentation. The old way — marker-drawn comps — had their drawbacks, too, but the imprecise nature of the format made it a little easier to focus on the overall concepts and copy up front.
(More advertising/marketing commentary at http://craigmcnamara.blogspot.com)
Craig McNamara’s last blog post..Thinking outside the ‘board
Roberta Rosenberg | Apr 1, 2008 | Reply
@Craig – You make an excellent point. In the pre-PC days, rough pencil/ink comps were all we had. Today’s precise renderings make ‘rough layouts’ a non sequitur. (Hey, I got some fancy Latin into a blog post – yeah!)