They Did It Again!

So it seems the copywriters are still on strike over at WakeMed (or their agency). My first post on this blog listed my reasons for starting an advertising agency. One of those reasons was the copy writing on a billboard advertising WakeMed hospitals. They used the same word twice in a sentence, and not in a clever way. I questioned how an organization of that size, with a marketing budget potentially in the millions, could make that sort of mistake.

Well, here we are again. The same billboard has gone through a number of changes in the weeks since their first cringe-worthy copy attempt.

Okay, I will concede that it is grammatically correct, but it is awkward and stilted. It reads like someone wrote it after learning English as a second language, master of the rules but lacking nuance. At the very least it should read, "Always Safe, Here Forever." I have other suggestions, but that isn't the point here. If you want to see examples of my work, email me. I point this out to show that no matter how big or small your business, you need to focus on your marketing and be willing to bring in fresh eyes. Even if you have a marketing budget in the millions, you can't get it right all the time. Support your local small agencies and freelancers by bringing them in on occasion to audit what you are doing.