With the start of football season signaling the fast-approaching fall weather, we thought we’d offer you guys a little grammar game to exercise your brains this week.

Typos and grammatical errors are bad for your brand. Period. Grammatical mistakes make you look unprofessional and inexperienced, and show poor communication skills. Now that’s definitely not the way you want the world to view your business and your brand, is it?

See how many of these grammar and spelling mistakes you catch right away!

  1. A professionally created logo is much better then using clipart.
  2. When your clear on your brand messaging, you’re business will boom!
  3. To many brand colors can be distracting.
  4. Whose to say we don’t all judge a book by its cover?
  5. Its really important to increase your online visibility.
  6. How much do first impressions matter? Alot.
  7. There all getting ready for they’re networking event over their.
  8. Did you here mascots are making a comeback?
  9. We should of considered co-branding as a brand boosting strategy.
  10. We’re happy when our clients take our advise and clean up their Facebook profiles.
  11. Do you think Weight Watchers will loose clients due to their logo redesign?
  12. Excepting a business card with a bow is part of the business card exchange ritual in Japan.
  13. Brand knockoffs negatively effect both the consumer and the real brand behind the fake.
  14. You can’t have a standout brand if there’s ten other brands just like yours.
  15. Maybe it’s time to hire a ghostwriter to right your blog.
  16. What lead you to consider a brand makeover?
  17. At The Branding Spot, were here to tell you all about great branding strategy.
  18. A logo is just apart of your brand.

 

 

 

Now for the ANSWERS!

  1. A professionally created logo is much better THAN using clipart.
    • Then is typically an adverb used in situations involving time. For example, I edited my blog post, then I ran out to grab lunch. Than is a conjunction, usually used to compare two things, as in the corrected example above.
  2. When YOU’RE clear on your brand messaging, YOUR business will boom!
    • You’re is always a contraction of “you” and “are.” Your shows that someone owns an item, such as your logo or your notebook. Pro tip: Read the sentence out loud. If you can naturally replace the word your with “you are,” then you need to change the word to you’re.
  3. TOO many brand colors can be distracting.
    • To can be used in a variety of situations as a preposition, while too can only be used as a synonym for words like additionally or also.
  4. WHO’S to say we don’t all judge a book by its cover?
    • Like “you’re,” who’s is also a contraction (for “who is”). Whose is used to signify belonging; for example, Whose pencil is this?
  5. IT’S really important to increase your online visibility.
    • It’s is a contraction of “it is.” Its is a gender neutral possessive noun; for example, Great branding never deviates from its color scheme.
  6. How much do first impressions matter? A LOT.
  7. THEY’RE all getting ready for THEIR networking event over THERE.
    • They’re is a contraction that always means “they are.” Their is possessive plural, signifying ownership; for example, their branding. There is a place.
  8. Did you HEAR mascots are making a comeback?
    • Hear is what you do with your ears. Here is a place.
  9. We should HAVE considered co-branding as a brand boosting strategy.
    • Should have is often shown in the contraction form: should’ve, which is not to be mistaken for “should of.”
  10. We’re happy when our clients take our ADVICE and clean up their Facebook profiles.
    • Advice is a noun; it’s something you can give someone. Advise is a verb; it’s something you do.
  11. Do you think Weight Watchers will LOSE clients due to their logo redesign?
    • Lose is a verb, meaning the opposite of win. Loose is an adjective, such as a loose tooth or a loose screw.
  12. ACCEPTING a business card with a bow is part of the business card exchange ritual in Japan.
    • Except and accept are almost antonyms, meaning they mean the opposite of one another. Except indicates something that is different from the others, while accept means to welcome or to add in to a group.
  13. Brand knockoffs negatively AFFECT both the consumer and the real brand behind the fake.
    • Effect is a noun; for example, Decreased web presence was one effect of bad branding. Affect, on the other hand, is a verb, as in the example above.
  14. You can’t have a standout brand if THERE ARE ten other brands just like yours.
    • It’s important to pay attention to singular vs. plural subject-verb agreement. In this example, there ARE ten brands. If there was only one brand, then you could say, there’s only one brand. (There’s being short for “there is.”)
  15. Maybe it’s time to hire a ghostwriter to WRITE your blog.
    • Right is the opposite of wrong. Write is something you do with a paper and pencil, or on a keyboard.
  16. What LED you to consider a brand makeover?
    • This one’s a little tricky. Led is the past tense of lead (pronounced “leed”). Lead can also be an adjective (pronounced “led”) as in lead pipe.
  17. At The Branding Spot, WE’RE here to tell you all about great branding strategy.
    • Were is the past tense of are. For example, we are at the bank -or- we were at the bank. We’re is always a contraction of “we are.” Again, read your sentence out loud to determine if you can substitute in “we are.”
  18. A logo is just A PART of your brand.
    • A part as two words signifies one component or one piece. Apart is an adverb that results in multiple pieces or parts; for example, “torn apart” means torn into pieces.

How’d you do? Great? …not so great?

The moral of the story: If you’re in need of assistance, be sure an experienced editor, copywriter or other writing or administrative professional reviews your important documents for grammatical errors and typos. Spot-On Branding has a network of writing professional to help your individual needs. Contact us today. It could mean the difference between obtaining a great new business opportunity and totally blowing the deal. Don’t risk it!