Puffery...

Many strategists would agree that an effective marketing communication strategy, if targeted to the proper audience using the right form of media or channel may have an impact on the sales of product and increase the brand awareness...
*Of course it has to be other factors as well la... advertising and promotions alone will not solve business problems right??*


But then again, how effective is effective?


Do you proclaim that your brand or product is THE BEST, THE MOST RECOGNISED, THE TOP???
*Do you? Do you not?*


Think again...


Are there any justifications or proof to claim that you're best or the top? If you claim that your product is world acclaimed, which part of the world that says that?


In communication terms, this is what they call as 'puffery'... as the word suggests, it is how a brand or product boost itself as being the best in order to influence the public to buy their idea.
*The longest, the shortest, the widest, the clearest, the biggest, the smallest....*


Now how ethical is that?


So if brand A says that they are the most recognised and brand B claims that they are world renowned, which one would you most likely pick?


I read with great interest this lil' piece of advertorial I saw today on The Star about this college advertising one of the programmes they offer. I say it is more of an advertorial rather than an advertisement because there are a whole load of 'puffed' textual information in there...

It goes:
Malaysia's ONLY accredited architecture degree*
If you read the fineprint, the asterix means 'By Private Institution'... so meaning to say that they are the only private college where their archi programme is accredited. Fine!
*If you've been offering that for so many years, obviously it would be accredited, wouldn't it?*

Then comes the interesting parts:
Accreditation unmatched by other institutions in Malaysia with half the staff being industry practitioners.
PUFFERY!! How do you know that you're unmatched by others? Maybe the others have 75% of their staff from the industry?
*Heard so many of their so called 'industry practitioners' have left??*

Benchmarking by Consortium of International Universities testifies to global standards.
Now if the Consortium is made up of your own clique, then it's like telling them to mention "Please say we are of global standards". There are actually no testimonials.
*Geez, no comment*

And the best one!!

Global Experience makes you a global graduate, world culture savvy, multi skilled, talent and confident.
If I had financial difficulties, then there will be no global experience. If you meant global experience as to be studying with foreign students in hot sunny Malaysia, there isn't much of a global graduate capabilities that I will have... So what you mean by that??
*No comments either*

So the conclusion is, Don't say what you're NOT. If you're yellow, please don't say you're black...