Put A Spring In Your Copy (& Hiring)
The travel industry is rife with clichés. Nate Storey, former Travel Editor at Surface Magazine, warns us against using gentrified phrases like ‘the new Brooklyn’ or ‘the next Berlin’. What he really wants to see is a real story – not something that’s overly hyped or preciously depicted, but something that’s honest. Something that could make you not want to go, equally as much as it could intrigue, excite and persuade you to go. In our interview with Nate, he tells us what makes a great piece of travel writing, where people go wrong with travel pitches and the travel writers he admires.
Issue 12 of Desmond & Dempsey’s Sunday Paper, Summer Stories, describes summer feelings in a way that doesn’t feel stuffy or trite. Its introduction to the Issue doesn’t milk the typical clichés of the season (read: crystal-clear seas and a sweltering sun). Instead, D&D turn to something that feels a little more chill: ‘hot chips, hot seatbelts, cool water, chicken salt’. Its recent clothing line is just as fresh, using its customer’s summertime tales – of a trip to Marrakech, of falling in love with ‘thick garlic gyozas and frothy beer’ in Tokyo and of cocktails in Palm Springs – to curate their seasonal collection and add a unique spin to their copy.
Pick a spring cliché and build it out to create an interesting tagline for your brand. And think about how the tagline can function across various touchpoints to tell a story that reflects your brand.
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Read
The War Against Cliche – Martin Amis
It's Been Said Before – Orin Hargraves
The Facts On File Dictionary of Cliches – Christine Ammer
A Plethora of Platitudes – Jay J. Smith
Scroll
Writer Seth Fried explores “Work Email Clichés” – Seth Fried, WePresent
In defence of the cliche – The Guardian
Listen
Weather Words – Word of Mouth
Speaking of the seasons, Sonder & Tell is growing and we're looking for new people to join our team. We've got a specific focus on two roles: Strategy Director and Junior Account Manager. Please apply, share, spread the word.