The pitfalls of search-and-replace

​We’ll start this article with a true—and embarrassing—story.
 
Ages ago, when computers first hit the scene, we needed to produce a couple of radio spots for a client at the ad agency where we worked. We realized that there was a lot of overlap between the two scripts, so we were able to use this exciting new feature, “copy and paste,” to help us along. It was like magic. 
 
Then, when it was time to take the playback from the studio, we had a dreadful realization: We’d effectively copied, and pasted, the wrong stuff. Both scripts were messed up—and both scripts got produced. We had to get the announcer back in the booth, and the engineer back at the board, and start all over again… only after they had to sit there and wait for us to fix (and double-check) the new scripts and fax (yes, fax!) them over. 
 
Ugh. 
 
Between the early PCs and the fax machines, the above story might appear terribly outdated, if not quaint. 
 
But it’s actually as relevant as ever. Ignore it at your peril. 
 
Bottlenecks in the spam factory
 
These days, we—and you—are tasked with sending out a lot of marketing material, to lots of different audiences. 
 
And, just as in the story from ages ago cited above, there are overlaps. Audience A likely wants about 75 percent of the same stuff as Audience B. Sometimes it’s 99 percent. 
 
But beware that last percent. It can absolutely kill you. 
 
Let us explain. 
 
As an English-speaking human being, you can tell, instantly and instinctively, when something is off. It can be off by just a fraction of a percentage point, and you’ll know it. 
 
From the “English-speaking” perspective, you’ll notice it when you get that “official” email from your bank (or utility or Facebook or whatever) saying that you need to take action immediately. The thing might look official, but it just doesn’t read right. No legitimate corporate communication would read that way. Your Spidey Sense tingles, and you’re on the alert for a scam. 
 
From the “human being” side, there’s the infamous Uncanny Valley. This is, in case you were unaware of the term, that skin-slithering feeling you get when you see computer-generated characters of people that are very realistic but are off by just enough to make them creepy looking… “The Polar Express,” anyone? 
 
So. You can perceive this stuff, innately, as a recipient.
 
Therefore, you need to be extra careful when you’re a transmitter.
 
Ain’t as simple as it seems
 
Here’s a nice concrete example for you. Let’s say you’re creating a campaign aimed at banking executives. They have customers. 
 
Now let’s say you’re doing the same campaign, except for credit unions, which are ridiculously similar to banks. But do they have “customers”? Oh no! They have members.
 
If you get that one word wrong in your search-and-replace from Banking Version to Credit-Union Version, you’ve wasted your entire campaign. Worse, you’ve offended that audience with your ignorance, to the point that you’ve damaged your brand, and they’ll look at any future marketing communication from your firm with skepticism. 
 
Now let’s say the campaign is targeting healthcare insurers. They don’t have “members.” But they don’t call the people who pay for their services “customers,” either. They’re patients. For property-and-casualty insurers, they’re policyholders. And this is just a single, single-nomenclature example. 
 
Just like the Uncanny Valley, if you get just one word wrong, you can come across as tone-deaf or just plain ignorant. 
 
So our advice is: Be careful. Proofread assiduously. Know, in the back of your mind, that you can still screw this up. Even without a fax machine. 
 
Need help with a creative marketing challenge? Contact us. We work on assignments like these all the time. 

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