Synecdoche is a device best known as the substitution of the part for the whole, as in “all hands on deck” or “mouths to feed.”
But what I’d forgotten is that the reverse is also synecdoche—the substitution of the whole for the part.
What I hadn’t realized is that I’m a a frequent user of this form of synecdoche—because I’m a marketer.
The whole-for-part variation is common when talking about the behavior and actions of an organization. In my case, I often make claims about the firm that actually reflect the individuals.
“The firm cares about the local community.” “The firm leads a collaborative and engaging programming phase.”
I don’t always love the sound of these synecdoches, though.
Sometimes they feel overexpansive or weird—I get a twinge of discomfort reading them. In those cases, I change to “the project team” or even the names of specific team members. But the specificity has its own weakness—in that it no longer allows me to make broad statements about the firm as a whole.
Synecdoche acts as a subtle branding tool, exercising the notion of the firm as more than just a collection of individuals.
Taylor Coe 