The Binky, The Book or The Ball

I’ve been thinking about words a lot lately. Being a copywriter on The Studio’s Design Concierge team, I think about words every day just to do my job. So mulling words around in my head and getting them down on paper (or more accurately, a Word doc) is the stuff of my day.

But I’ve been thinking about words for a different reason these days – my granddaughter is learning to talk. Just about to turn two, she’s trying hard to communicate the simplest things to us on a regular basis and frequently frustrated that we fail to comprehend. Does she want the binky, the book or the ball? Does she want to go outside? Have a snack? Who can say. But I’ve no doubt she’ll perfect her toddler lingo in the coming years and learn, just like the rest of us, that choosing the right words is absolutely critical to effective communication.

The quintessential communicator Shakespeare famously wrote, “Brevity is the soul of wit.” Can you imagine if Nike’s slogan had been “Just stop being a couch potato and start exercising”? Doesn’t have the same ring. What about Subway? “Eat healthfully and from the garden when possible.” Says the same thing, but doesn’t really pack a lunch punch, does it? Words matter.

As copywriters for agent marketing materials, including bios, brochures, postcards, flyers and ads, the DC Team does our best to create original copy that helps agents communicate to clients who they are – we tout their awards, outline their accomplishments, tell their origin story and just generally aim to toot their horn. We try our best to effectively say what we think agents want us to say for them. Words are deliberated, the thesaurus is dog-eared (in a browser-bookmark-sort-of-way) and Merriam-Webster is a close, personal friend.

After we carefully write the words, the Design Concierge designers flex their talented muscles to create beautiful artwork that accompanies the chosen copy. In creating these branding materials, the team plays a small part in giving agents the tools to win more listings and make more money. In other words, we help agents choose the words that help them get what they want.

Now, what do you want – the Binky, the book or the ball?