RE: Perceptually true, Technically wrong

Subject: RE: Perceptually true, Technically wrong
From: jbfoster <jb -dot- foster -at- shaw -dot- ca>
To: "TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com>
Date: Mon, 10 Mar 2003 15:54:21 -0700


I agree! There is so much advertising hype associated with technical print;
to the point that marketing departments often now hire, and train, tech
writers.

Often, the name changing is done solely satisfy to our psychological needs
for something better. People can be made to believe that by calling a nail,
a fastener ($$$), it is somehow better. Many of the automakers did the same
ploy, by hiring an American advertising psychologist; who suggested
advertising SUV's for the urban jungle ... and it apparently helped sales
for those automakers! Same goes for the 'high-velocity air circulator' that
sits on the store shelf, by the 'high-speed fan.' I always believe that 'if
you have a lousy product, better have a snazzy name for it!'

What am I trying to get at? That the exotic terms used ... are often more
for marketing ploy ... rather than more aptly describing something. 'AMD' is
a classic case of this ... and is used by only a few company's to describe
their products. Most other vender's have safely stuck with 'fan' (axial, or
centrifugal), 'blower', or 'turbine.' Please don't make me get out my
engineering books. Besides my dictionary defines 'Fan' as: "Device for
moving air" (... at least the marketing types haven't invaded the dictionary
business!

By the way, if you need to replace that fan ... you may need a 'FAT' ...
that's a 'Fastener Application Tool' for those nails! ;-)

Bruce


> I recently bought a fan at a hardware store. The box did not call it a
> fan -- it was an industrial high-velocity air circulator. I probably
> wouldn't have paid as much for a fan ;-)


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References:
RE: Perceptually true, Technically wrong: From: Schermerhorn, Robert

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