Simplicity, clarity and brand

Simplifying something isn’t all that hard. Getting clarity can take work. Doing both requires time and effort, which few brands can be bothered with, especially in those seemingly insignificant places where we think people won’t see, or if they do, won’t care?

A classic example that I’ve run into a few times in recent months is the Terms and Conditions Agreement.

It’s next to impossible to buy any product or service these days without having to agree to the requisite five page (if you are lucky) document. And of course, if you are like 99% of people you don’t read them. They are all the same legal mumbo jumbo so why subject yourself to the frustration? It’s not like you have a choice anyway. Just agree and move on.

But it doesn’t have to be that way and really it shouldn’t.

What’s wrong with writing a Terms and Conditions Agreement that is easy to understand and actually supports your brand? That makes promises you can and want to keep.

I was working to clarify and simplify a Terms and Conditions Agreement for a client and discovered a clause that when put in plain English could easily have said, “If we don’t send you the right products or miss a part of your order and you don’t tell us about it within seven days then it’s your bad luck…”!

Now I am sure there was a very good reason for the lawyer who drew up the agreement to insert that clause, But for my client who has relationships and friendly, helpful service as pillars of their brand, it couldn’t have been more out of sync.

Terms and Conditions are a series of promises. Making sure those promises are ones you can and want to keep and stating them in language that can be understood by anyone who reads them is as much a brand activity as the design of the product and the ad used to sell it in the first place.

What a lost opportunity… yet hardly anyone seems to think so.

There is one group who is serious about making the forgotten documents of brands clear and simple, revolutionising processes along the way. US brand group Siegel and Gale have a “simplification” area that has been tackling these kinds of issues for decades.

Watch the TED talk by founder Alan Siegel talks about simplifying legal jargon and why it matters here.

I am not for one minute suggesting that we all ditch lawyers and get copywriters to draw up Terms and Conditions Agreements. However, getting a plain English translation of these kinds of documents (with appropriate legal oversight) would go a long way to getting people to read them. They might even become an important point of brand communication. Hey, a girl can dream right?

What documents do you have that are making promises you either don’t know about or don’t fully understand?

See you next week.

Michel is an independent brand adviser and advocate. Through her work with Brandology here in Australia and in the United States, she helps organisations make promises they can keep and keep the promises they make, with a strong sustainable brand as the result. She also publishes the brand thought leadership blog – Brand Alignment. You can follow Michel on Twitter @michelhogan