Technical jargon: What does "valid" actually mean?

Times are changing, and unfortunately not necessarily for the better. Politically and socially, the choice of words has become tougher and shorter, and even in the communications industry, people are no longer as nice to each other as they used to be. What was simply good in the past must be valid today. What is meant is actually the same, only the parameters and players are different.

In times when CEOs were still managing directors, CFOs were still financial managers, CMOs were still called marketing or even advertising managers, and CTOs didn't even exist yet, the perceived truth still counted for something. It wasn't always the right one, but at least it was a reliable one. In the 1990s, contractors could rely on their concepts being described by reliable clients as slick, smart or simply ingenious, and that they could be implemented over a period of several years. In the noughties, this was called coherent, which sounded a bit esoteric, and it was.

Today we validate: Valid for the internal and external clients, the tribes, the target groups, the customers or end customers. But what exactly does valid mean and where does this word come from? In banking and in legal departments or law firms, it has been used for a very long time and, according to Duden, means "secured, legally valid, reliable". Since the financial crisis of 2008, it would have been more appropriate to use terms from these circles with caution, as it has been shown in all severity how valid their business practice was. But the advertising and communications experts are known to be masters in importing terms from outside the industry.

And so it is not surprising that agencies and their clients, the CMOs, try to play up with this word, since internally only valid ideas, campaign mechanisms and measures are accepted by the CEOs, CFOs, CTOs or their lawyers. A pity, actually. Instead of the wording, one would have preferred to adopt the handling of the finance industry: Taking high risks instead of validating beyond recognition.

*The author: Benno Maggi is co-founder and CEO of Partner & Partner. He created the column "Vom Fach" in the NZZ Folio and was in charge of it for years. He presents and decodes words and terms that can be used either for small talk, being important, getting excited, playing Scrabble or simply for fun.