UK & European users

Two essential primers on the power of using words effectively to communicate with customers. Simmons is a well-known branding and communications consultant and has a particular interest in language. The Invisible Grail is more specifically marketing-oriented, exploring different strategies for using verbal brand identity to engage with audiences. Simmons aims to challenge the now accepted truism that a striking image is worth a thousand words of advertising copy, and updates more traditional ideas of the power of well-crafted copy. That doesn't mean a return to the sort of text-heavy ads with which David Ogilvy made his name in the 1950s, but a careful use of language to deliver more effective brand stories. He illustrates his point with a number of effective examples, often from smaller and more innovative marketers who have used clever verbal technique to make up for the shortcomings of a more limited advertising budget. They include Innocent Smoothies, Ben & Jerry's (pre-Unilever), and Lush soaps as well as bigger brands such as Guinness and Egg. 

We, Me, Them & It is also about using language for marketing, but in a more intrinsic way as part of everyday business communication. Simmons offers ideas and techniques for creating more effective dialogue between companies and individuals - not just their customers but also their own employees - by stripping out unnecessary barriers to understanding in everything from signage to internal memos and external letters to customers and clients. As Simmons explains, "it's clear that the competitive business environment is about out-thinking others in the marketplace. How do we think? Primarily we think with words. If we think well, we write well. If we write well, it's good evidence that we are thinking well." Or as David Ogilvy once put it: "Knowledge is useless unless you know how to communicate it - in writing." Both books are essential reading for anyone involved in the business of verbal communication. 

Added 16th February 2006