Insurance Marketing Grammar Goofs — Three Mistakes to Avoid
Let's make it official: Trademarks, job titles and proper nouns
In a world where advertising seems to be everywhere, from cereal boxes to bathroom stalls to temporary tattoos, sometimes it is hard to make your insurance products stand out and get noticed. Some resort to funky fonts, bright colors, or excessive punctuation or capitalization. Though some of these may initially attract the eye, they can also be deterrents and cause confusion, especially random capitalizations. In general, the rule of thumb is to avoid overuse of capitals.
This month, we will focus on when to use trademarks symbols, when to capitalize a person's job title, and the use of proper nouns.
July Grammar Goof Focus Areas:
1. Trademark: A trademark is a brand, symbol or word used by a company that is protected by law so competitors cannot use that exact name. When you need to use a trademark, spell it exactly like the company (Clorox, Band-Aid, Jell-O). However, there is never the need to use the trademark symbol (™), service mark (SM), registered trademark (®) or copyright symbol (©). Here are few common examples:
- Incorrect: I drink a Diet Dr. Pepper® every morning for breakfast.
- Correct: I drink a Diet Dr. Pepper every morning for breakfast.
- Incorrect: You cannot put a band aid on that size of a problem.
- Correct: You cannot put a Band-Aid on that size of a problem.
2. Job titles: Though every job is important, every job title is not capitalized. Job titles that denote authority are typically capitalized when directly before a person's name (President Barack Obama). However, titles that serve mainly as a job description are not capitalized when directly in front of someone's name (movie star Brad Pitt). However, all of them are lowercase if the name is set off by commas (The president, Barack Obama, was in town today.) or if the title comes after the name (John Kerry, United States secretary of state, was appointed by the president.).
3. Proper nouns: A proper noun, also called a proper name, designates a particular person, place or thing. When a person goes from a human, to a man, to John, that individual name is capitalized. When a continent (Europe), country (France) or city (Paris) has a name, it is capitalized. As well, when a beverage (soda pop) gets narrowed down to a flavor (cola) and identifies a brand (Pepsi), the brand is capitalized. When in doubt whether or not to capitalize a word, you can rely on Merriam-Webster (merriam-webster.com).
- Incorrect: The Policyholder agreed to the new terms.
- Correct: The policyholder agreed to the new terms.
- Incorrect: The new insurance package includes Professional Liability coverage.
- Correct: The new insurance package includes professional liability coverage.
Remember, good grammar leads to greater professionalism and more sales. Stay tuned every month for more grammar tips to help you “goof-proof” your insurance marketing!
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