I was listing to Jim Nance read an Insperity radio spot yesterday, something I’ve probably done 30 times this summer, and for the life of me I still don’t know what Insperity does. I really made an effort to listen yesterday and think they may provide business services, whatever that means. HR services. Maybe payroll, financial, but not really sure.
Recently, I sent an RFP out to a company with the word “benefits” in its name. Their positioning and brand problem was that they weren’t just a benefits company, they were also financial planners. Another company having a difficult time explaining what they did for a living. (Explaining their Is-Does.)
Insperity’s tagline (I just twitched over to their website) is “Inspiring Business Performance.” That didn’t help. But more importantly, in the radio spot Insperity used the 4 worst words in all of advertising. The most over-used words in copywriting. Four words that almost always identify a bad ad: “…and much, much more.”
The problem with these words is they are typically used after a long recitation of claims. And when you are slopping claims around, your listeners or readers get lost. So find a claim and prove it. And prove it. Don’t encumber it with other claims. It gets messy. It’s bad for branding. It’s bad for advertising. Do it much, much less. Peace.
