I’ve enjoyed working for a variety of tech industry businesses this year. These include creative and marketing agencies Chief Nation, Direction Group Unlimited and Revere as well as for a selection of startups. Here’s what I’ve learned along the way, which I hope is useful whether you work in tech or not.
Remember you’re talking to humans
Still from Nintendo Switch ad
It’s easy to get carried away presenting flashy product images or showing off a product’s ultra fast performance. At the end of the day, the aim of marketing communications is to persuade human beings. Make sure to tell human stories which your technology product plays a part in, show people using your product and aim for an emotional reaction from your campaign. This idea is well established in other industries, and the tech world could do better. IBM and Nintendo are examples of tech businesses who are getting this right.
Simplify and clarify
Tech industry literature and presentations can be very, well, technical. Complex concepts can be made comprehensible by breaking them down into smaller chunks, or through visually explaining them with an infographic. And even B2B communications should be written for human beings rather than robots, so it’s out with acronyms and jargon.
Avoid colour clichées
Every industry seems to have its go-to colour palette. The girls’ toy industry suffers from a surfeit of pink, the charity sector has way more than its fair share of red logos and tech has become mired in blue. The problem with using yet more blue is that you aren’t going to replace people’s associations between blue and Microsoft or IBM and blue in people’s minds with blue and your brand. With over 60% of technology company logos featuring blue, it’s time to differentiate by trying something new.
Make sure your branding is authentic
It seems that every big tech business is rebranding at the moment. Yahoo is trying to remind us it’s still here, Microsoft Edge is finally reminding us that it’s not Internet Explorer and Facebook has responded to its problems with a new master logo. As with any branding project, the key is for the branding to match the ethos of the product. If you don’t do this then customers will see your brand as being less than honest. This is more important than ever, because social media has empowered the public to the point where major rebrands have been cancelled after getting a response from them.