Pieces denouncing cliché in B2B copy have become cliché in B2B copy, it has been discovered.
Thought pieces criticising the use of buzzwords and jargon in the business-to-business space have become precisely what they stand against due to topic saturation and lack of originality, according to a newly published report.
The research found that a blog entitled ‘Cut the Crap: Why B2B Needs to Talk Straight’ by Justin Branford on 31 December 2015 was the last ever piece of anti-cliché content that can be taken at face value.
After this tipping point, any content on the topic is officially self-satirising and clichéd.
“The methodology was simple,” explains head of research, Hannah Blackwell. “The amount of times so-called clichéd terms were used authentically in the work environment was compared with the amount of times they were used in anti-cliché blogs as examples. The latter outweighed the former 2-fold.”
“I am utterly distraught and out of pocket,” says Jeff Howard content marketing manager and author of My Copy Bugbears part 1 and 2. “I really felt part of a stylistic movement striving for originality: everyone was at it!”
Blackwell suggests alternative means of addressing the issue: “Try reacting to meaningless words and phrases at work as a parent would an embarrassed child during potty training: pretend it’s not happening and hope they finish soon.”