Valley PR Blog

The Premiership

By Dan Wool on January 18th, 2007 In Writing

Banned Words List #002: Leading, premier (see also: premiere)

Is your client a “leading company”? Is their product “a leading widget in the blankety-blank category?” If so, I say they’re weak.

You are either the leader or you rank somewhere below. Period. Second Cello in the Phoenix Symphony is not a “leading member of the strings section”; he or she is Second Cello.

Leader — like being first (jargon: “first-mover”) — is often a strong differentiator. However, if you are not the leader, you are not “leading”. State your rank and/or find a different way to describe yourself. It is dishonest (unprovable) otherwise. I always think of the old Avis ads: We’re No. 2, we try harder.

Same thing: “Company is a premier provider of goods and services.” I would never say/use premier when I could use leader. Nonetheless, premier means the best. The English Premier League is England’s top football (soccer) league. A premier is the head of state - the top man in government. Can you prove your company or client fits that mold?

And while we’re on the subject, I see premier often misspelled as premiere. Remember that premier and premiere are two different things. The latter is a debut, such as the premiere of a movie.

Either way, unless your client is the documented best, you should avoid use of leading and premier.

Want Your Picture Icon? Go to gravatar.com and set a picture up to your email address for free. It also works on thousands of other websites, too!