UX Copywriting + Content Governance + Templating
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Words That Navigate
Hertz tapped Navigation Solutions to develop an in-car GPS unit and software to offer in rental vehicles as an optional add-on. The service NeverLost included a Travel Guide function, compiled of thousands of points of interest across the United States, all of which needed pithy descriptions.
I began this massive undertaking by first handling the GPS prototype.
I wanted to get a feel for the product, place myself in the driver’s seat and imagine myself using it in a number of scenarios and contexts (nighttime and tired, while in motion, as a front seat passenger, etc).
I knew I needed to build templates to synthesize writing this mass amount of content.
First I categorized the points of interest (food, nightlife, nature, history, quirks, etc), then I wrote an exemplar for each category, setting various syntax structures and character & word count for title and description.
Next I dug into researching and writing the descriptions, filling in the gaps each unique point of interest.
Later, another copywriter joined me, and because I had done all this legwork, they were able to produce similarly structured descriptions quickly and easily.
