Words as a critical intangible asset

No, this is not about copyright. It is about quick one liners that get your attention then fade away. It’s about ad copy. Groupon is one of the hottest “intangible” companies right now. And according to recent New York Times story, Groupon’s intangible asset is its ad copy:

The big Internet companies owe their dominance to something singular that shut out potential competitors. Google had secret algorithms that gave superior search results. Facebook provided a way to broadcast regular updates to friends and acquaintances that grew ever more compelling as more people signed up, which naturally caused more people to sign up. Twitter introduced a new tool to let people promote themselves.

Groupon has nothing so special. It offers discounts on products and services, something that Internet start-up companies have tried to develop as a business model many times before, with minimal success. Groupon’s breakthrough sprang not just from the deals but from an ingredient that was both unlikely and ephemeral: words.

Words are not much valued on the Internet, perhaps because it features so many of them. Newspapers and magazines might have gained vast new audiences online but still can’t recoup the costs from their Web operations of producing the material.

Groupon borrowed some tools and terms from journalism, softened the traditional heavy hand of advertising, added some banter and attitude and married the result to a discounted deal. It has managed, at least for the moment, to make words pay.

The biggest problem they seem to be facing? Finding writers who can write with the “Voice”:

“A lot of professional writers apply here. I’ve had applicants from Rolling Stone, The Wall Street Journal,” said Keith Griffith, director of recruiting. “But it’s really hard to get them to do what we’re looking for. It’s easier to teach people than unteach them.”

So maybe that public policy goal of promoting a general liberal arts education may be paying off. Or maybe we are just creating a new generation of Mad Men – this time in Chicago rather than Madison Avenue.

Read more at The Intangible economy