So, I was writing an email for a healthcare client recently. The email was to be sent internally to the client’s employees. The clients asked for something “sassy.” This was a departure for them, since most of the subject matter they deal with is very technical and dry and calls for a more subdued tone.
To start us off on the right track, the client sent a link to an example email that demonstrated the tone they wanted us to adopt. It was about as close to sassy as Ecuador is to Japan. It sounded pretty much like everything else they’d ever had us write.
I was faced with a dilemma. The client said she wanted to push the envelope. However, the example she wanted us to model our tone after was exactly the same as what has always been done before. She was saying one thing, but showing signs she really wanted another.
Should I go ahead and write an email that fits the client’s old, established tone, the tone of the example email? Or, should I write an email that actually has “sass” (whatever that means) in it?
Well, here’s what I did: I compromised. I put a little sass at the beginning, and then pulled back. I felt it was pretty restrained by my standards.
It didn’t fly. I got some feedback from the content strategist that was basically “Whoa, Seabiscuit! Lay off the oats!” When I went back to revise it, there was no sass to be found.
What did I learn from this little adventure? I learned that you have to watch out for preconceived notions. Consider your client’s expectations in the same way you consider the expectations of your users. Don’t simply take brand guidelines, creative briefs and the like at face value. Ask:
- What does my client really want to get out of this?
- How does what they’re asking for now fit into all other communications?
- Do I really “get” the strategy driving this project? Does the client?
This reminds me of a list of “Red Flag Words” words that Jason Fried of 37 Signals identified at the Web 2.0 conference in September. He made the point that using certain highly charged words like “need” can’t and “easy” can lead to presumptuousness on the part of, well, everyone involved.
I think you can take it a step further and say you should assume all words are highly charged. Approach a creative brief or any type of guiding document like you’re one of the monkeys who just found the bone in 2001: A Space Odyssey. Handle it. Stare at it. Throw it up in the air and try to break it. After that, maybe you’ll have a better understanding of what it’s really all about.