Blogger and former journalist David Meerman Scott, who I interviewed several months ago on “The New Rules for Press Releases,” has written about banishing gobbledygook and buzzwords from press releases.
I thought of him this morning when I opened the press release from The Creative Group, a California firm that surveyed advertsing and marketing execs about the most annoying and overused buzzwords in marketing campaigns.
Here’s their list:
—“Outside the box”
—“The big idea”
—“Synergy”
—“ROI”
—“Paradigm shift”
—“Strategy”
—“Integrated solution”
—“CRM” (Customer relationship management)
—“Customer-centric”
—“Voice of the customer”
—“Critical mass”
—“Make it pop”
—“Break through the clutter”
—“Take it to the next level”
—“Innovation”
—“Free value”
—“Organic growth”
—“Low-hanging fruit”
—“It is what it is”
OK, Hounds, what buzzwords drive you crazy? Feel free to add yours to this list.
Hi Joan, Great additions to my original list. Thanks! Oh, and congratulations for making the Top Marketing Blogs list.
Cheers, David
Ugh – “monetize.” So sick of it, and it’s still fairly new!
Excellent list, but how about coming up with a new list to replace these overused words? It’s funny, we use the word “the” at least a gazillion times a year and nobody gets sick of that word. Go figure. Do we just find anything new, i.e. requiring change, untolerable? I say “let’s be pro-dynamic”. That’s my new buzz word.
i agree with karen, would love to see some new great buzzwords!
cheers,
cindy@staged4more
Actually, I had a writing professor who tried to get us to avoid using the word “the” in our writing. It was tough! I’d say that many of the empty superlatives, like “great idea,” “perfect solution,” and “marketing whiz” should be avoided.
Here are some buzzwords and phrases (old and new) to add to the list which figure into my “blah, blah, blah” indicator: globalization, making a difference, green, better serve customers, emerging technologies.
My un-favorite buzzword/phrase
“best of breed”