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This is your go-to podcast for all things marketing, branding, and customer experience. We’re bringing you honest and fun conversations with bite-sized insights. Hosted by BrightSign’s CMO Brian Rowley and Head of Integrated Marketing Laura Smith, you’ll hear from industry pros, creatives, and innovators about what’s actually working in today’s evolving, digital-first world. No fluff — just real insights on how brands are connecting with audiences and driving growth. Tune in for fresh ideas, big thinking, and all the tips you need to take your marketing game to the next level.
Welcome to Prose + Comms: Engagement, Unplugged. I'm Laura Smith.
Brian Rowley:And I'm Brian Rowley.
Laura Smith:Okay. So today, we're gonna have a fun conversation, Brian and I. We know that as marketers, we have our own language. Some of it's useful, but some of it's completely overused. And every industry has shorthand, but marketing seems especially good at taking an idea and wrapping it five layers of buzzwords.
Laura Smith:The problem is that everyone starts with using certain words for everything and then they stop meaning anything. And so we've all used these words. We've written them in a deck. We sat in a meeting where we say them. But today, we're gonna talk about having some fun with these words and how we think about keeping using some of them and then retiring others.
Laura Smith:So we'll explore whether the ideas underneath them are still worth talking about.
Brian Rowley:There's a lot of them. That's for sure.
Laura Smith:We can't get to all of them. We'll prioritize them for this one. Before we start judging the industry though, we should probably judge ourselves. Brian, we love this part. We love to judge each other.
Brian Rowley:Well, I'm less judgy than you are. Let's be honest.
Laura Smith:I mean, that's very true. That's very, very true.
Brian Rowley:But yeah. But in the sake of judgment, go ahead.
Laura Smith:Okay. So we all have a favorite phrase. So let's have some jargon confessional time. Okay. So we're gonna go through some names that Brian and I despise.
Laura Smith:Some of them were like, maybe we'll keep them. But I do think it's important to start off with just talking a little bit about like, why do we feel like marketers need to use so much jargon? And is it a safety blanket that's being used for people that just maybe try to explain something they don't fully understand? Or do we think it's like, because they really think these words are effective? What do you think, Brian?
Brian Rowley:I think a lot of times what we see is just, it's that, it's just that, it's just a buzzword. People hear it and they think in order to be relevant in the space, they need to use the word. And as a result of that, it's used over and over and over again to the point where it just to your point doesn't mean anything any longer. Right? It's just it's just words that are out there.
Brian Rowley:And I don't know that it's unique to marketing. We've got a lot of examples specific to marketing of things that we hear. But we could go through any of the list of terms that we sort of came up with in prep for this. And you open up any marketing, anything that's informative about marketing and you're gonna find all of them. They're there.
Brian Rowley:I mean, the reality of it is whether or not they should be.
Laura Smith:Yeah. And there are memes about this, right? I mean, it's all these things where someone says, you know, it just just business terminology even, like, I'll circle back. There's all kinds of like circle back memes, you know, what that even means or why people need to
Brian Rowley:say
Laura Smith:that. But, yes, I think it's
Producer Joey:It's kind of low hanging fruit though, don't you think?
Laura Smith:Oh, Joey, you just jumped in my word that I hate the most, that I use all the It's
Brian Rowley:lot of disruption you're creating, It's
Laura Smith:really not authentic at all, Joey, when you just do that.
Brian Rowley:Wow. There go half of our listeners.
Laura Smith:I know. Improving now. Yeah. Yeah. Brian, but the funny thing is is like, we as marketers, like, the language is so important.
Laura Smith:Like, how do we, you know, craft messaging that resonates with audiences? Like, we're supposed to make that decision making easier for people, but with all the buzzwords, we make it harder. So we're like actually, like as marketers, we're the people that maybe we just use them in like the business setting, but ideally, but I know this isn't true. We don't use it externally facing because we're like, oh, that's too marketing jargony. But I still think it does translate into customer facing, prospect facing material, which is pretty horrible.
Brian Rowley:I agree. I agree. But I mean, I think we have actually had have spent a lot of time focusing on, you know, less about jargon and more around like that pain point, right? Like it kinda goes back to that marketing approach, right? Like, is it like when we say things like full funnel, what do we really mean by that?
Brian Rowley:Right? When someone says, you know, that something is going to elevate or leverage, like what like if you just said what you mean from that versus trying to use the buzzwords that are there, I think we would be a lot better off. But I mean, I guess one of the questions I would have for you is like, so when it comes to these overused phrases, like, what are, you know, ones that you think are overused that you know you use Yeah. And and and, you know, are are probably not gonna change.
Laura Smith:Yeah. I think well, I think that's, you know, let's kinda go through some of these because and then in the end, I think we should talk about like, will we stop using them? But, yes, to answer your question. Well, it's funny because in doing some research for this, and we would you don't need much because we live in this world, but you do. Because it's interesting that like now people are talking about twenty twenty six has new buzzwords.
Laura Smith:Right? With AI coming into the mix. So something like hyper personalization or authentic. I mean, authentic's been around for a while, but hence why I just use that, Joey. Because it's Yeah.
Brian Rowley:But Laura, let's think about how many times you and I, in general, have used the word authentic.
Laura Smith:Authentic. I know. And but again, it's your point, though. Like, if you're using it in some kind of messaging or description, shouldn't you just say what that means?
Brian Rowley:Right.
Laura Smith:You know, like, could we could just say what it means. So it it's in and I feel like it's and when saw hyper personalization on the list, I'm like, I guess we probably do use that, but like, right. If you're a consumer, like, what does that mean to me? You know, and we're, you know, you're the person receiving that kind of message. I think some of the ones that I really like leverage, whoever just said that, and an old boss of mine, I will not drop names, used to say, like, that's just a useless word.
Laura Smith:Right? Like, just use use. If you're gonna let you're gonna use something, usually that's usually what the term is. I just said use 15 times in a row. But that's one that it's so easy to put in a deck and it's so easy to put in communication, but it doesn't need to be the word.
Laura Smith:It just feels so buzzy. Right?
Brian Rowley:Yeah. I think especially like in the tech space. Right? Like, so for me, you know, innovation is one of the ones that I'm like, if you have to actually state on a website in a piece that you're innovative, I promise you you're not. Because people should know that based on the output of what you're doing or the product that you've got in the market.
Brian Rowley:Like you shouldn't have to say we're an innovative company. You people should know that and they should be the ones who are telling you, wow, the innovation that comes from your company isn't you know? So that's one for me that is just
Laura Smith:Yeah. Yeah. That's been a challenge. We avoid that word. Yeah.
Laura Smith:Of course. But another one is game changing. Because you know what? In the end, the game has never actually changed.
Brian Rowley:Right.
Laura Smith:So, like, what what does that mean? You know?
Brian Rowley:Yeah. Yeah. I I think, you know, the you know, one of the other ones that always gets me is the whole move the needle. Like, what does that mean? What are you trying
Laura Smith:to do? Where is the
Brian Rowley:needle to begin What needle
Laura Smith:are we talking?
Brian Rowley:Yeah. Like like, you mean increased revenue or increased productivity? Like move the needle? Like, it just seems to me like, what are you what are you talking about?
Laura Smith:Right. Well, I think the other thing is that's actually not even on our list, but just came to mind is viral.
Brian Rowley:Oh, yeah.
Laura Smith:When people like wanna go viral, it's like you just viral is just inherently that just happens.
Brian Rowley:It happens. So
Laura Smith:but that's I mean, that I feel like was probably a little bit like circa a few years ago more so when things release, but people like still say it. You know, I when being on the agency side, I used to have clients say, how can you make us go viral? Oh, so annoying. It's not
Brian Rowley:a Joey's eyes are rolling. But be because I think I think too, and I don't wanna speak for our producer here, but at the same time, when someone says I want something to go viral, that would mean that you're trying to create a moment that your expectation is like, doesn't matter what you're saying. You just want whatever that is to be like something that's broadcasted to a million people, you know, as an audience. Right? Why wouldn't you focus like you the thing that really works is when there's significance in what you're trying to say and it resonates.
Brian Rowley:That's what creates viral moments. So like the focus should be on what you're creating, not on what you want the outcome to be. Because if you're only focused on the outcome, you're never gonna get there. Like, that's just not gonna work.
Laura Smith:Give me another one, Brian.
Brian Rowley:You had mentioned like low hanging fruit. We use it all the time. And to be honest with you, I think that's actually one that it's real. Like that that I get,
Laura Smith:you know, when somebody We could say something else. That's like something I like want to stop. When I say it, I put air quotes around it because clearly I know it's a horrible thing to say because it's so cliche. I just rhymed. You know, that I why if I had to put air quotes around it as I'm saying it, then I need to stop saying it.
Laura Smith:I hate But I
Brian Rowley:think everybody knows what it means.
Laura Smith:I mean, no. Well, I don't know. I mean Oh, maybe. Well, it's like, does anyone ever pick the high fruit? Like, is the high fruit like, where does the high fruit live versus the low fruit?
Laura Smith:Like, what does that even mean?
Brian Rowley:As a kid, when I used to go apple picking, used to climb to the top of the tree to get I my fruit on never I never started.
Laura Smith:You never wanted the ones hanging at the bottom.
Brian Rowley:Never. The low hanging fruit. Just the bad. Never good. What do you think?
Brian Rowley:Content is king.
Laura Smith:Oh god. I feel like this literally
Producer Joey:I just hate the word content.
Laura Smith:Yeah. Joey.
Producer Joey:It sends me. Because it's like the commoditization of like creativity. It just irks me so bad. And it's everyone's like content, content, content.
Brian Rowley:And I
Producer Joey:understand why we speak this way from a marketing perspective. But as someone who, before I'm a marketer, I'm a creative, it kind of like irks me. You know what I mean?
Brian Rowley:Well, I think AI is only making this worse, right? I mean, everyone used to just say, content is king and mostly because in in the worlds that I've been in, it's because you never have enough of it. Right? And so it's always like, oh, this is where, you know, you get your points across. This is where you explain yourself.
Brian Rowley:This is it's all the messaging and the content that drives that. AI has just flooded the market now with I mean, you could get a piece of content. I mean, whether it's good or bad, we've talked about this a million times, is really somewhat irrelevant to some people, right? It isn't, you know, to us, it's very important, but to many people it becomes irrelevant. And therefore you've just got tons of content that doesn't do anything.
Brian Rowley:So you've lost the whole, is it relevant? Right? Is it authentic? Right? You know, how much is there in terms of truth behind it?
Brian Rowley:Which are all the things that are really important in your message. So I mean, it's one that I think is out there but you know.
Laura Smith:But I also think it gets a lot of controversy because obviously why can't content be queen? Like, is it king? It's like a little bit like, we're going old school. So I've that I don't it's very rarely used I think now because of this concept of male versus female situation. So Yeah.
Laura Smith:But I also we were using it. I mean, Joey, I feel like we worked together, I don't know, February, maybe we were using this like all the time, like presentations. And you're telling the story about why content is so valuable, but like no need to content is king. So hopefully people aren't using that anymore, but it is a disgusting one.
Brian Rowley:Yeah. Disgusting one. That's actually we're going really far on
Laura Smith:that one.
Brian Rowley:Pretty pretty emotional about this thing. Yeah. I was gonna say that one
Laura Smith:really that
Brian Rowley:one is fucking our butt.
Laura Smith:Stay there
Brian Rowley:for a second.
Producer Joey:Content is genderless royalty.
Laura Smith:There you go, Joey. Okay.
Brian Rowley:The other one that really sometimes gets me is disruption. Like, what are you doing? Like when you say disruptive, are you actually changing markets? Are you like, what are you actually doing? Because people say, oh, we have disruptive tech like, how are you measuring?
Brian Rowley:Like, what what does that mean? Like, how do you actually put something behind it to show what disruption you're actually creating? Now, there are things that have done that. I'm not I'm not gonna discount that, but I think especially in the startup world, like if you look at a lot of and most startup companies, you're gonna see that term, like we're disrupting this market, like across every single one of them. Well, not everyone's changing a market.
Laura Smith:Right. And I think that's kind of a little bit of the game changing. Very similar in the sense that, like, at this point, like, yogurt is disruptive. Like, if anyone creates something, like, that that's what they're literally talking about. So it right.
Laura Smith:I a 100% agree with you. Those two fit feel so similar and so unnecessary. And when every right. If all these people are saying they're disruptive, then it get go back to what we said at the beginning, then it means nothing. Because I don't believe any of you are disruptive if you all, you know, it's you really have to prove that.
Laura Smith:So I I would agree that that's another one that's used all the time, but not helpful.
Brian Rowley:I would say, we use ecosystem a lot, right? Like that's a definitely a big one. And I know it's also very much overused, but it's also very applicable to our business. So like as much as sometimes I get like I twitch when I hear it, it is very relevant. So it is the right term to use when you look at like for us in our business, we're a very small piece of digital signage, an important piece, but a small piece.
Brian Rowley:There's the people that actually do the installation as people who manage the networks as people who create the content for the signs. There's all of those types of things where the hardware element to it. But all of that is part of our ecosystem and how we go to market, how we sell it, how we support all of those things. So it is relevant, but it is one that's actually overused and unfortunately one that I think will continue in our jargon because it is very applicable to our space.
Laura Smith:Yeah. But I think it's also like ecosystem could be described. Like we describe it usually, or we should be, you know, what that means to us in our business and our business model. So I think it can just be used in so many different ways. It's a little it can be vague.
Laura Smith:And that's where I think it's like, right. If we're gonna use it, just say what you mean with it. What does that You know? And we do know what it means because we have a clear depiction of that, but not everybody. People use the ecosystem differently than we do.
Laura Smith:It's just another word, you know, it's another one of those words that people are just taking and running with. I think the one that I feel like we also that is very, it's been around for a while, but customer centric, right? Or customer centricity. That's so I feel like that's so important to everything we do as marketers is putting in the customer at the center. And again, we can say it differently.
Laura Smith:You don't have to say it as customer centric, but it it's one that the essence of that term is definitely still so critical to everyone's business from a from a marketing from a marketer standpoint, that it's hard to go away. Right? Like I feel like it's just more about mean, some of these things don't have to go away. They just need to be better defined as we talked about. Just explain what you mean.
Laura Smith:Like, I think that's where, you know, like driving synergy, like what does that mean? That just means getting everyone working towards the same goal. Like, why not just say that, You know? So I think it's it is about forcing ourselves to not use them when we when we don't have to, or just always question ourselves when we're when we're writing something or speed, you preparing talking notes or whatever that those if we're gonna say that, could we say it more easily understood?
Brian Rowley:Well, and if you're gonna say it, make sure that you really live by it. Like customer centric is one for me that is I don't necessarily hate the term. I hate the people that use it when that's actually not truthful. And what I mean by that is, in a previous role that I had, I worked for an organization that used to say customer centric, customer centric. And we would do sort of all these NPS surveys and we'd get the feedback from it.
Brian Rowley:And then if it was feedback that we didn't want to hear, we just ignored it. Well, you're not customer centric, right? Like you're not customer centric when you're only reacting to the things that you like, but the feedback that you're getting is something that you're not prepared to or don't want to act upon, then you're not customer centric. And we would go and say it over and over and over again. And it was just like, no, that's not true.
Brian Rowley:We're not actually. We're customer centric when we wanna be. Right. But that if you ask a customer, that's not being customer centric. Know?
Brian Rowley:A lot
Laura Smith:of feedback.
Brian Rowley:So those types of things are the things that kinda drive me crazy with some of this.
Laura Smith:Yeah. I think if we had to each pick, let's challenge ourselves to retire one word out of our own vocab day to day vocabulary, what would yours be?
Brian Rowley:Well, I mean, mine already has been actioned on. So innovation for sure.
Laura Smith:You know pick another one.
Brian Rowley:We don't ever use that.
Laura Smith:And I bet no. And I bet you do. I bet and I'll go looking for it now.
Brian Rowley:Will never catch me say
Laura Smith:that we're innovative. Something You will never that you don't and it's something that you've approved and you're like, oh, I didn't even catch that.
Brian Rowley:No. I I promise you that I scrub for innovation because absolutely despise. It was the same thing when, all the SaaS models came out and people would say, oh, we're a solutions provider. Everyone was a solutions provider. What does that mean?
Brian Rowley:Like, what did you do that you became a, I never used to let solutions be used. I hated it because it was just it was so overused that it meant nothing. And I thought it always devalued what we were actually doing because I thought there was real value in the products or services that we were bringing to market by using a term that's so overused that devalues it like find something else. We're better than that.
Laura Smith:Right.
Brian Rowley:Even though the whole industry is saying it just didn't work. But to answer your question
Laura Smith:Five minutes later.
Brian Rowley:I think game changer is probably one of the worst that's out there. I just I really do have a problem with that. What what do we what is the change? Like I just I told you the
Laura Smith:game has never actually changed. It's just like Never changed. Never changed.
Brian Rowley:We play the game the same way every time. It's when and it goes back to the same thing, right? Like insanity is the, you know, the definition of doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. That's kind of what I feel like the word game changer. Like, you're doing the same thing.
Brian Rowley:You're not changing the game. Right.
Laura Smith:Yeah. Okay. I'm I'm gonna bow and I'll even hold to tell the team this, but low hanging fruit. I gotta retire. I gotta retire it.
Laura Smith:I I I told you, I'm using air quotes. I I I mean, I'm doing it. And I feel like I stopped for a long time, but lately, I've gotten catching myself, which is embarrassing. So that's mine.
Brian Rowley:Oh my god. I want a quarter I want a quarter for every time. It's gonna be like the the naughty jar that
Laura Smith:we perfect replacement. So I'm still using it in essence, but I'm not using those exact words. But I'll say something similar. So I gotta figure out what my replacement words are.
Brian Rowley:I have one question for you be but one thing because there was one other one that's on the list that I just I'm curious to your reaction to. And that is break through the noise. When someone says that to me, how many times have you experienced the fact that the person who's saying it is actually the noise?
Laura Smith:Well, I think you're taking it from like the
Brian Rowley:Oh, signal noise thing, but Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Laura Smith:Well, I'm talking about more like for marketing, you wanna break through the noise for this campaign, like, oh, the stuff that's going on. Break through the social media feed. Stop the scroll. Whatever they say.
Brian Rowley:Yeah. I always look at breaking through the noise as just like, you are probably the noise if you have to break, like, be And it goes back to the same thing. We are very conscious and aware of what we're saying at what point to what audience. If I think you're relevant like that, I don't think you have to worry about breaking through the noise because people are already paying attention to you, in my opinion. But that's just how I look at it.
Brian Rowley:Sorry.
Laura Smith:Okay. Well, great discussion. I mean, we can't really talk forever about this, but I do think it's an important topic, one that we live and breathe every day in business worlds, obviously, as marketers, etcetera. So that's fun. So now we have to hold ourselves accountable.
Laura Smith:No more game changing or game changer and no more low hanging fruit. And we'll maybe pick this back up at some point and
Brian Rowley:Definitely not content is king.
Laura Smith:No. Definitely not. Take them out of vocabulary.
Brian Rowley:It's out.
Producer Joey:Table stakes.
Laura Smith:Oh, another one. We didn't go there, Joey, but that's
Brian Rowley:a I like that one though.
Laura Smith:Alright, everybody. Thanks for listening. And most importantly, if you liked what you heard today, be sure to follow us.