Organised by the UK Speechwriters’ Guild and Dorset writing agency A Thousand Monkeys, the Words That Sell event was a rare opportunity for copywriters to meet at an event dedicated to their profession.
Between them, the conference presenters had written marketing copy for a copious list of the UK’s household brands. Opening keynote speaker, Sarah McCartney, was the top writer at Lush during their years of growing from a handful of stores to a global retailer, and she set a tone that was matched by all who followed.
Phillip Khan-Panni demonstrated his expertise as the UK Business Speaker of the Year and also as a copywriter and author.
Andy Maslen, Reg Starkey, Ben Afia and Nick Parker all brought different perspectives on the business of writing the words which allow brands to communicate their message clearly in an increasingly crowded media.
No meeting of writers would be complete without a discussion of grammar and punctuation, and this was provided by Matthew Male of Future Perfect.
The afternoon sessions included three breakout seminars run by Carol Bentley, Alan Barker and Andrew Knowles.
Words That Sell was acknowledged as a success by many who attended and as delegates were leaving, there was considerable talk about when and where a similar event might be held in the future.
One of the organisers, Richard Spencer of A Thousand Monkeys, said: “The conference showed how businesses benefit through more effective use of language. Businesses often spend time and money on design or websites but forget to pay the same attention to the way they express their message. Words are still at the heart of communication and the conference was a great reminder of the different ways we can make them work harder.”
