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Marketing (Through the Eyes of an Intern) Video

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marketing jargon check markIt has been said that marketers often speak a language all their own, and that they tend towards jargon when everyday English would do. Looking at some of the content that gets circulated today, it’s hard not to agree.

Asked by Ad Age to name the jargon they most wished to leave behind, marketing and advertising execs considered terms like “pivot” and “ideating” to be “overhyped” and worth retiring. One, in fact, went so far as to say he’d like to do away with jargon altogether, as he feels it stands in the way of clear communication.

There are others, though, who take a more optimistic view: writing for Right Source, Emily Gaines Buchler maintains that jargon serves an important purpose, letting marketers “hone in on nuances and make subtle distinctions” if used judiciously. Some of the arguments around this are charming; professor of rhetoric and comparative literature Judith Butler has been quoted: “If you’re talking about something obscure, your language should be obscure to reflect this accurately.”

Regardless, marketing jargon has a role to play in how we communicate.. And since we at Act-On believe strongly in bringing clarity and simplicity to the marketing process, we thought it might be fun to poke a little fun at jargon and the ways it can over-complicate things.

The video below presents a satirical look at the jargon we marketers use, from the perspective of someone new to this field (in this case, we look at the very first day of an innocent marketing intern). It is by no means intended to capture how any or all marketers use jargon, or to reflect how we believe jargon should be used. Rather, it’s meant to show how confusing (and amusing) jargon can sound to someone just encountering it.

Hari jargon 1

The video was done with a great deal of love and affection for marketers, marketing in general, and our crazy language, so please watch it and let us know if it rings true to you!

***No marketers were harmed in the making of this video.***

Watch Marketing (Through the Eyes of an Intern)

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