On this week’s episode of The Engaging Marketeer I am speaking with Gareth Williams, the rhymeologist. That’s right rhymeologist.
Rhymeology is where he will help businesses with their marketing by creating lyrical marketing, essentially poetry for your business. Let’s see how he does that and how he applies that to businesses and also some of the fantastic charity work that Gareth does with his rhymeology.
The full episode is available on all platforms but here are some key topics covered.
What is a Rhymeologist?
Darren: You describe yourself as a rhymeologist. What the hell is that and how does one become a rhymeologist?
Gareth: Rhymeology is my branded way of talking about spoken word poetry and lyrical marketing and just trying to come up with a different spin on what poetry is these days, without people just rolling their eyes back and thinking “Oh no what am I letting myself into here?” Rhymeology creates a more engaging way of opening a conversation about marketing.
Darren: Do you describe yourself as a poet as well?
Gareth: I do when it suits me and it depends who’s in the room to be quite honest. It’s a divisive word in many respects because working with businesses and organizations, as I do, the word lyrical marketing for example has a lot more credence and a little bit more mystery because it is just benign bull****.
Marketing is about trying to come up with something that’s going to be a talking point and when I talk about lyrical marketing, if I say poetry they’ve already assumed what it is.
How Gareth discovered rhymeology.
Darren: So how did you get into that because most poets, from what I understand, are pretty much penniless because they’re artists and they believe in the purity of the art form and applying that to business would be against what poetry is all about.
Gareth: I’ve always been involved in the fascination of words and how you can use them to ultimately get a message across to a customer. But only three or four years ago, when COVID kicked in, did I start to really use some of those skills and talents to try and come up with something to say something that was different about COVID.
I did it in a slightly different way, coming up with these rhyming poetry couplets and then going out on the streets with an iPhone and just filming and that really started to get me some following really, some likes, some comments and shares and so on. It wasn’t long before I started to get commissioned, it was picked up by Cheshire East Council and they picked up on the notion of getting across this message in a different style.
I’m so keen to really take that form of poetry more into advertising, which is what it really is. My customers really see me in one of two ways ultimately; a poetry form or “Can you write me an advert, a piece of marketing that is going to help sell/promote/celebrate something about our business?” and that really is as simple as that.
How Gareth and his clients benefit from rhymeology
Darren: Obviously one of the most important parts of marketing is the results. So when you write the poem and you perform it, how do the clients benefit from it?
Gareth: I always write the poetry, I then would film it. The second thing is, it is sent over to the client in whatever format they want for them to place on their social media.
I did one for a garage, for example, in Llandudno and it wasn’t a day after I had written this, maybe 70 second poem to a camera, with just me and all the cars in the background, he already sold two cars within 72 hours. Because he put it on social media, he had such a big following, which of course always helps, and he’s sold a few more since. He’s also passed me on to somebody else who I’ve just written for and he’s equally as keen to make sure he gets the same feedback route and I’m confident he will!
Following on from that, Gareth talks on working with companies you wouldn’t normally associate with poetry or lyrical marketing
Darren: I wouldn’t have naturally assumed a car dealership would be the kind of business that would associate itself with poetry. Most people’s perception of car dealers, with no disrespect to any car dealers listening, is a little bit of a shark, you know the sleazy car salesman image. Yet you’ve managed to make poetry out of that and make it something that people want to pay attention to.
Gareth: It is key and that’s where I like to work with businesses where they do have a perceived difficult message to get across. You know your archetypal solicitors or accountants are seen in a certain light, town councils where most of their stuff would get drowned out as corporate and not seen as interesting. That’s really that quirkiness where you take an art form that you wouldn’t expect to try and get a positive message. That’s what I think makes that piece of marketing for them memorable and shareable, it’s a really just interesting art form and a really different way for businesses to say something different about themselves and allows their team members to play a part in that, I think that’s really key.
Darren: How different is it creating lyrical marketing for say a car dealership than for the NHS?
Gareth: The same process, it’s about the minute detail, it’s always about the detail and the angle.
About Gareth Williams:
Gareth is a Rhymeologist, which is the use of poetry and spoken word to create a unique way of marketing your business or product. He works with a range of clients to market them in a much more eye-catching way.
Connect with Gareth:
Website, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube
About your host:
Darren has worked within digital marketing since the last century, and was the first in-house web designer for video games retailer GAME in the UK, known as Electronics Boutique in the States. After co-founding his own agency, Engage Web, in 2009, Darren has worked with clients around the world, including Australia, Canada and the USA.
iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/engaging-marketeer/id1612454837
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/darrenjamieson/
Engaging Marketeer: https://engagingmarketeer.com
Engage Web: https://www.engageweb.co.uk
