Are your family prouder when your title is ‘Director’? Why the right word makes a difference in all

I was spurred to write this article about how changing one word in marketing communication can make a measurable difference by the recent re-calibration of titles at Procter & Gamble. Level 3 roles are now called Directors, Associate Directors became Senior Directors and Directors became Vice Presidents overnight, all with no corresponding change in role or responsibility. LinkedIn lit up like a Xmas tree as people added their new titles, some with a note embarrassingly explaining it was just a title change, others just basking in the flood of congratulations for their wrongly perceived promotion created by the change in as little as one word in their title.

But before the cynics dismiss this as window dressing, pause and consider the academic support for the power of changing one word in a communication. If it is right, P&G should increase staff retention at no real cost, a genius move.

Researchers created a film of a car crash which they asked participants to watch. They then asked them a question. How fast was the car going when they XXXX? The XXXX was then filled with a selection of different verbs like smashed, collided, bumped etc. The reported speed of the car varied by 27% depending on the verb chosen (see data below) so one word change impacted people’s perception of something they had witnessed by 27%.

A topical but worrying academic study should concern anyone involved in writing copy or claims. The researchers wanted to test to see if changing the signs in a hospital toilet could encourage surgeons to wash their hands more—yes, scary to think that they don’t.

If you read the two statements on the left they look similar.

But doctors read them differently: the first one they ignored more because they see themselves as having high immunity to disease so handwashing was less important for them. The second statement re-focused their attention on the patients who they know don’t have the immunity, and hence the increase in hand washing to protect them.

One word change led to a 10.5% increase in surgeons washing their hands.

Are you using concrete words or abstract words in your marketing? Concrete words are words that conjure up an image as they are read – for example, words like sunset or ocean - and because of this they are processed by the brain both verbally and pictorially. Abstract words are words like moment or context for which there is no visual picture and so they are only processed verbally. As memory retention and speed of processing is better for pictures than words, a brand name or communication featuring concrete words is processed faster and remembered longer. Choosing one concrete word instead of an abstract word in your marketing can boost sales.

Think about how careful you are in your choice of words in your media whether it is on pack, on POS, on promotion material or online. How does one word change the perception of why shoppers should buy your brand?

Getting one word right or wrong in your media can have a huge impact on sales, or in your employee’s titles can decide if they stay or leave.

So my congratulations to all my ex P&G colleagues: enjoy the burst of pride from your families. But I hope the title change doesn’t stop you leaving as almost all my consultancy clients are ex P&G at their new companies and the more of you who leave the better for my business.

Please feel free to share this article with friends and colleagues especially if they are ex P&G.

If you want help, coaching or training on how shopper psychology, behavioural science and claims development can impact your business via the change of just one word, get in touch via LinkedIn or my website.