Copywriting errors: How to damage your brand

Magnifying glass on a page, illustrating that branding mattersA brand should strive to own a word in the consumer’s mind, according to number 5 of the 22 Immutable Laws of Branding by Al and Laura Ries.

So, what’s the first word you’d associate with a popular hair product with these errors on its packaging?

Our unique formula, blended with Australian Wild Peach extract, gently cleanse to help protect coloured hair.  The indigenous Australian’s use to grind Wild Peach kernels up to use as a form of hair conditioning oil.

To me, ‘careless’ is the word that comes to mind.

Spot the errors

It’s easy to make mistakes. In this paragraph, ‘cleanse’ should be ‘cleanses’ because it relates to ‘our unique formula’, which is singular. The apostrophe is incorrect since the authors meant Australians (plural). It doesn’t need the possessive. Lastly, there’s the incorrect use of ‘use’. It should be the indigenous Australians ‘used’ to grind the kernels, i.e., they did so in the past.

I’ve collected several similar errors since writing this blog. They’re both from pizza delivery companies and show flagrant apostrophe misuse. One said its pizzas were available for ‘V.I.P’s only’. The other said: ‘Tuesday’s just went up a gear’. Neither VIPs nor Tuesdays needed an apostrophe as they are plural and not possessive.

Why branding is important

You may think that few people will notice ‘minor’ errors like these. However, who can afford to take the risk? What does it say about your brand if you are not bothered about the impression you make? What does it say about you if you don’t think or care whether your customers will notice a typo?

Each error adds up to a poor image overall. Errors damage your brand by making you seem slapdash and uncaring. They do the opposite of selling a brand – they put off buyers.

Don’t believe anyone who says they are 100% accurate in their writing. No one is but you can still do your best to avoid typos. Ask someone with a fresh pair of eyes to look. Or, of course, you could always ask a professional copy editor and proofreader to check it.