Leaving the sell—How my exit from advertising brought me closer to the customer
Senior UX writer, Chad Wright, on making the switch from advertising to product design.
I used to be an advertising creative — something I say with a mix of pride and apprehension. Pride because before I transitioned to product design (UX writing), I was fortunate enough to create campaigns for some of the world’s leading brands. Apprehension because, well, part of me isn’t sure my work on campaigns made a difference to anyone.
The conundrum I faced after a decade in agencies is that I wasn’t convinced customers wanted what we were selling and that I was part of some endless hamster wheel trying to convince them they did.
Perhaps it was that I didn’t tangibly see and experience the connections they formed. I’d seen the brand love indicators improve, and I’d seen positive sales growth, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that I wanted my contribution to the work world to be more palpable, more useful.
A difference of thought
In his 1967 book “The Use of Lateral Thinking,” Edward de Bono explored the ability to see different thought patterns, ones that are not initially obvious. “Lateral thinking” is a strategy that advertising utilises to create surprising and creative campaigns; one’s ability to think laterally is how professional success as an advertising creative is judged.
I observed a contrasting approach when I packed my bags and moved to Berlin to transition to UX writing as part of Zalando’s Copy Strategy team.
“Design thinking” describes the human-centred approach to problem-solving that is used in product design. It’s anchored in understanding customers’ needs, prototyping rapidly, and generating feasible, viable, creative ideas. It encourages you to make decisions based on what is desirable for customers as opposed to only relying on historical data or making high-risk bets based on instinct.
Instead of outdated brand love indexes, campaign results or focus groups, product design observes how users behave in order to inform the solution design. Unlike an ideation process exclusively steered by a creative director and clients, the product is partially directed by the people who will make use of it. Subjectivity alone is replaced with a more measured approach and a sprinkling of skilled intuition.
This approach felt like a far cry from an industry that spawns a myriad of memes dedicated to the (painfully common) occurrence of a client showing your idea to their partner, neighbour or child and it not being well received.
Where advertising and product design differ
Of course, advertising and product design play vastly different roles and have different objectives; at the risk of oversimplifying, I’d still like to draw attention to how their approaches to ideation and execution differ.
The customer’s perspective
Writing for publication has always involved iteration and some form of outside influence. In advertising or editorial, writing is reviewed with a creative director or editor. In UX writing, we review our work with the people who will read it: users. And unlike market research focus groups, we do this regularly and before we go live.
In certain cases, we are even guided by their use of language.
Persuade vs. guide
Instead of telling people what they should want, product designers and UX writers solve the problems users already contend with by observing how they behave and what words they use. The product design community at Zalando recognises writing as a part of the design process because writing guides users — and removes barriers, big and small, that hinder our customers’ progress.
Don’t get it twisted
Advertising slogans and campaigns often incorporate a twist to elicit an aha moment the customer will find memorable. Good UX copy instead aims to be helpful and remove cognitive load. Some say the standard of good UX writing is that you don’t notice it until it’s gone.
Try, test, repeat
This is the tangible connection I’d been missing in advertising. There’s a certain comfort in being able to subject your words to the scrutiny of a usability test, whether it proves or disproves a hypothesis. It can be both satisfying and humbling to see a user pick up on your writing choices or point out a perspective you hadn’t anticipated.
This meticulous approach is in stark contrast to putting up a billboard or writing a commercial script — that is, placing your trust in instinct or historical data and hoping for the best. When you frame how every word affects the usability of an experience, and you look at its impacts through the lenses of measurable data and real user feedback, your contribution is suddenly palpable.
One example of this came about when I started to create guidelines for a new headline structure that was being implemented in our design system. I’d drafted some guidance but couldn’t shake the feeling I may be overcomplicating things. In unrelated usability testing, we observed that most users scanned the bold headline and sometimes skipped the rest. Suddenly giving guidance to other writers was simple: place the most important part first. This is frontloading 101, yes, but still reaffirming to see it for yourself.
Considering a career move?
For any advertising creatives thinking about moving into product design, I know what you’re thinking (or rather let me say I have a hypothesis I’m willing to test). It can be daunting to hand over the reins of your ideas, designs and writing, especially if your ability to create independently is where you’ve placed your worth as a creative professional; but it can also be incredibly empowering to just listen and know that your ideas, words, and designs can be improved.
Stepping into user experience after working in advertising felt like a breath of fresh air. In German rental contracts, there’s often a clause requiring tenants to open their windows and air out the apartment. Dead of winter? Tough, it’s time for Lüften. Product design felt a bit like that fresh air.
Gone were the stale farts (subjectivity, bull-headed dogmas, egos), replaced with crisp insights. You can choose to see it as restrictive or fascinating. Instead of subjectivity, you have data that can help you confidently make decisions.
Will making the switch extinguish the flames of your existential fever dreams and ease the weight of running on a capitalist hamster wheel? Probably not. Your copy of “No Logo” lives to see another day, but I personally find it more rewarding and I believe the possibility for an individual to make an impact is within closer reach.
Lastly, you may be wondering: “But what of brand love?” What of the ideas that change our perceptions or even the world that aren’t A/B tested? Can’t products be useful AND surprise people thus creating a brand connection?
That’s exactly the loaded question I’ve started to ask myself now, especially as we move further into a future shaped by digital products and services. I believe we’re just beginning to understand the importance of balancing brand image with product reality. More so, I think we’re yet to unlock the full potential of combining the best of both.
Thinking about a change? Take a look at the current openings in our Product Insights & Design community.
