If copywriters were actors, we’d be the sort who love rococo accents and false noses, like Laurence Olivier or Meryl Streep. We at the Content Bureau take pride in our ability to switch writerly guises and voices from one assignment to the next—heads-down white-paper financialese one week, eco-minded web copy for a sustainability initiative the next. In truth, we do specialize; the writer who’s gifted at bringing limpid clarity to brain-boggling corporate complexity may not be equally adept at snappy taglines and socko playbooks. But we all get to do a fair amount of prose shape-shifting, and that keeps the job fun.
When clients recognize and appreciate that phenomenon, it makes us happy. Linette Atterbury of PayPal Vertical Markets has worked with the Content Bureau a lot over the past three years, on projects ranging from case studies to newsletters to email blasts. PayPal has its own distinct voice that’s conducive to good copy—direct, clear, conversational, relaxed, but not jokey or smart-alecky. Within those fairly broad guidelines, we’ve shifted accents just a bit to talk to different segments of PayPal’s market. Linette said some kind words about our channeling abilities in a new case study, and we’re grateful. Shucks. Blimey. Mazel tov to us. And good on ya, Linette.
