Brand Agony

Dogs are engaging. Fish tacos are engaging. Nice new clothes are engaging too. But John's B2B content for his electronics manufacturing business? Not so much.In this episode, Alan, Chris and Helen dismantle the argument that some businesses are too boring to get much in the way of engagement on social. We talk about picking your battles, leading with value and proving the brand story into life.Share your agonies (and anything else)Got a brand agony you'd like us to answer? Send an email to podcast@blackad.co.uk and we'll do our very best to help.Or maybe you just want to tell us what you think of the podcast. It's the same address: podcast@blackad.co.uk

Writing your content is hard enough when you've got a full team of in-house people – or an ample budget to bring in outside help.But what if you need to launch a new website in the middle of redundancies and other cost-cutting?We won't dwell on the old chestnut that marketing spend is an investment, not a cost – it's a cliché because it's true. And we won't bleat on about reducing the website's scope – because you've already thought of that. Instead, we ask how you can do more with less, figuring out the smart way to spend your budget for the maximum effect.Share your agonies (and anything else)Got a brand agony you'd like us to answer? Send an email to podcast@blackad.co.uk and we'll do our very best to help.Or maybe you just want to tell us what you think of the podcast. It's the same address: podcast@blackad.co.uk

There are lots of reasons to boost the writing skills of your in-house team. Perhaps your tone of voice isn't consistent – or you want to stop the same mistakes happening time and again. Maybe you're sick of paying external copywriters. (The very thought.)In this Little Agony, we take a look at how to build a course that leads to lasting improvements in copywriting quality. We cover preparation, pitfalls, formats and follow-up.We're done and gone faster than any pointless warm-up exercise you've ever had to endure. Bring your own biscuitsShare your agonies (and anything else)Got a brand agony you'd like us to answer? Send an email to podcast@blackad.co.uk and we'll do our very best to help.Or maybe you just want to tell us what you think of the podcast. It's the same address: podcast@blackad.co.uk

How far should you push your brand language? Is it too much to make the buttons in your application process unmistakably 'you'? Or is it better to make things nice and simple – but risk blending into the competition?In this episode, Alan, Chris and Helen talk about UX (user experience) copywriting, from so-called micro copy and contextual help, through to headings and other labels. All to help one listener strike a better balance between brand and usability. Share your agonies (and anything else)Got a brand agony you'd like us to answer? Send an email to podcast@blackad.co.uk and we'll do our very best to help.Or maybe you just want to tell us what you think of the podcast. It's the same address: podcast@blackad.co.uk

Marketing professionals love their language – and their labels.But all too often, it can be hard to cut through the jargon and focus on what will make a difference. What's exactly is a mission statement? More to the point, does it really matter?In this episode, Alan, Siân and Helen talk about how to regain your focus when you're going through a branding exercise, and cut through all the jargon and negativity that can sometimes get in the way. (And yes, there's still room at the table for our old pal the vision statement.)Share your agonies (and anything else)Got a brand agony you'd like us to answer? Send an email to podcast@blackad.co.uk and we'll do our very best to help.Or maybe you just want to tell us what you think of the podcast. It's the same address: podcast@blackad.co.uk

First, robots assembled our cars – now they're about to drive them. Next up, artificial intelligence is coming for the lawyers, accountants – and copywriters.So is now a terrible time to start a career in copywriting? Or is technology more of an opportunity than a threat?  In this episode, Alan, Siân and Chris talk about what's possible right now – and where we think the industry will go as the technology gets better. (And all without using the phrase 'omnipotent robot overlords'.)Share your agonies (and anything else)Got a brand agony you'd like us to answer? Send an email to podcast@blackad.co.uk and we'll do our very best to help.Or maybe you just want to tell us what you think of the podcast. It's the same address: podcast@blackad.co.uk

It's emphatic – everyone in the team loves your new value proposition. The boss thinks you've finally nailed the offer. The sales team is nodding along in unison. Heck, even the people who won't have to use it reckon it's a job well done.But what next? How do you take a value proposition and put it to work?In this episode, Alan, Siân and Helen explore why it can be hard to transform it into messaging – and offer some advice for getting the Big Unifying Idea out of the brand manual and out into the wild.Share your agonies (and anything else)Got a brand agony you'd like us to answer? Send an email to podcast@blackad.co.uk and we'll do our very best to help.Or maybe you just want to tell us what you think of the podcast. It's the same address: podcast@blackad.co.uk

What is it that turns a merely bad tone of voice into a truly obnoxious one? That's what Chis and Alan set out to explore in this Little Agony – an episode that's just ever-so-slightly leaner and hungrier than usual.Somehow, we also manage to talk about death, unicorns and tweeds. All in the name of brand, you understand – and the solemn task of letting you know about our just-published Terrible Tone of Voice Playbook. Available from all good browsers, etc.Share your agonies (and anything else)Got a brand agony you'd like us to answer? Send an email to podcast@blackad.co.uk and we'll do our very best to help.Or maybe you just want to tell us what you think of the podcast. It's the same address: podcast@blackad.co.uk

Messaging gets muddled when the value proposition is left to chance.But what is it? What's it designed to do? And where's the, ahem, value, in creating one in the first place?In this episode, Alan, Siân and Helen chew the value proposition fat – dispelling some myths (the value prop isn't a mission or vision statement), and explaining how to smuggle one past a reluctant boss.Share your agonies (and anything else)Got a brand agony you'd like us to answer? Send an email to podcast@blackad.co.uk and we'll do our very best to help.Or maybe you just want to tell us what you think of the podcast. It's the same address: podcast@blackad.co.uk

You've got a whopper of a project you need to deliver in a hurry. It needs words. Lots and lots of well-written words.Should you call every freelance copywriter in town and beg for a slot in their schedule? Perhaps hit up a content agency instead? Or maybe you could bring the whole project in-house – and finally build that content team you've been talking about?In this episode, Alan, Siân, Chris and Helen find a way through the complexities – and figure out when freelancers are the best option.Share your agonies (and anything else)Got a brand agony you'd like us to answer? Send an email to podcast@blackad.co.uk and we'll do our very best to help.Or maybe you just want to tell us what you think of the podcast. It's the same address: podcast@blackad.co.uk

What's the best way to turn a bunch of non-writers into competent copywriters?The person commissioning a copywriting course has lots of choices to make. What topics should you build into the day? How do you find out what the team really needs? And what's the best way to make sure your people apply their new skills straight away?In this episode, Alan, Siân and Chris find a way through the complexities – and figure out how to tame the trainer.Share your agonies (and anything else)Got a brand agony you'd like us to answer? Send an email to podcast@blackad.co.uk and we'll do our very best to help.Or maybe you just want to tell us what you think of the podcast. It's the same address: podcast@blackad.co.uk

Clasp your face in horror at the dodgy spelling on your homepage. Pay thousands to fix the wonky phone number on your voiceover. Or mumble something unmentionable at the corporate Tweet that just doesn't make any sense.In this episode we give proofreading a thorough once-over, looking at modern tools, how to set high standards, and the issues that often lie beneath.Share your agonies (and anything else)Got a brand agony you'd like us to answer? Send an email to podcast@blackad.co.uk and we'll do our very best to help.Or maybe you just want to tell us what you think of the podcast. It's the same address: podcast@blackad.co.uk

When it comes to content, how much technical detail is enough? And how much is too much?For specification sheets and white papers, the answer is pretty obvious. But what about the homepage and landing page? Is there a way of selling to the main buyers – without annoying the people who just came for the amperes, ohms and microns?Share your agonies (and anything else)Got a brand agony you'd like us to answer? Send an email to podcast@blackad.co.uk and we'll do our very best to help.Or maybe you just want to tell us what you think of the podcast. It's the same address: podcast@blackad.co.uk

Clients and agencies want to produce great work. So why does so much content work to meet the client's brief?We look at three possible causes, and offer a way through the calamity of mis-briefs, re-briefs and non-briefs. Share your agonies (and anything else) Got a brand agony you'd like us to answer? Send an email to podcast@blackad.co.uk and we'll do our very best to help.Or maybe you just want to tell us what you think of the podcast. It's the same address: podcast@blackad.co.uk

When investment flows into a scale-up, marketing often gets a boost.And with bigger budgets and bigger targets come bigger teams – it makes a lot of sense to build at least some content capability in-house. So when should you grow your own, and when should you bring in a supplier?Alan, Chris, Helen and Rachel help a listener build a content operations model fit for anything growth can throw at it. 

Is it ever right for a brand's tone of voice to change from one day to the next?As marketing professionals, isn't it our job to aim for consistency above everything else?Alan, Chris, Helen and Rachel help a listener connect a brand voice to audience needs – with some help from a pillar or two.

Getting content signed off is hard. Who's really in charge? What are the ground rules? Why are we even producing content in the first place?Alan, Chris, Helen and Siân help a listener struggling with one of the biggest brand agonises of all: approvals.