David Meerman Scott has identified what he calls the top 10 “Gobbledygook” phrases used in press releases today. His entire manifesto is quite entertaining and informative, but I thought the top words would be worth a mention here.
How many are using on a regular basis?
- “Next generation”
- “Flexible”
- “Robust”
- “World-class”
- “Scalable”
- “Easy to use”
- “Cutting edge”
- “Well-positioned”
- “Mission-critical”
- “Market-leading”
Honorable Mention: “groundbreaking”
I’m guilty; are you?
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Hey Brett,
I’m guilty too now and then. But am more aware of these words than ever. I’m also a journalist and when I receive email pitches and press releases with these phrases liberally scattered about, I can only assume that the PR people or the company do not know how their products and services solve problems for customers.
Cheers, David
David – Good point on how using those words are often times a cop-out not either not figuring out what really makes your product different, or not developing a product that’s different in the first place.
Congrats on the manifesto, and the new book. I’m going to have to read it now.
Hi Brett,
Good points. I have a hit list that I keep at my desk of what not to use. These words are so overused that I think the buying public has become numb to their marketing influence. You can also add “intuitive” and “comprehensive.” I think that we, as marketers, need to understand that if we are not thinking about what we are writing…neither will our readers!
True – what good is it to write words that your market is numb to?
More words to add:
– Revolutionary
– state-of-the-art
– Ground-breaking