In Context

Louis Theroux recently hosted Scottish comedian Frankie Boyle on his Grounded podcast, and part of their conversation was around some of his edgier jokes and the resulting media outrage. Boyle in turn makes a really good point, and it’s one relevant to all of us in professional communications.

Context.

His opinion is, of course something he says to a comedy crowd at 10pm in Newcastle doesn’t read as well in a newspaper as someone has breakfast in Surrey.

Context.

The comedy crowd’s ready for the punchline. Someone reading a paper looking to stoke outrage – and maintain easy content for a week or so – not so much. Of course not. They haven’t (literally) bought in to the joke and the person telling it.

Let’s not forget this principle applies to all communications we put out there; from internal comms to industry to ads and marketing campaigns.

Does your message make sense to your audience in context?

I’ve seen organisational announcements so long some employees literally didn’t read all the way through to the actual announcement.

We’ve all seen ad campaigns so busy celebrating their own creativity the product and brand effectively disappear.

Online copy so bad it seems to forget you know what the internet is and how it works.

Context (to put it scientifically) gives your messaging ooooomph. It makes it more digestible for your audience – and in turn more effective.

Think about what your message means to people. Where it will work best. How and when it will be consumed.

A lot of people – and organisations – forget this. They spend time working on getting the message right to their own minds, and it then becomes an unwinnable challenge to try to force it into places it doesn’t always naturally sit.

The context of your message delivery really matters, and building it into everything you do, or write, or publish, or create, will ensure you’re in a position to really see a return on the investments and resources you use.

To talk to me more about how context is critical to your communications, start with an email to wadehowland@internode.on.net

Write for your Intended Audience (aka Who Do We Sign For?)

All communication should have a reason.

And underpinned by that reason, it should be presented in the way most quickly and efficiently understood by your target audience, no matter the medium.

Always consider who you’re talking to. How is that person best going to understand what you’re saying?

I really hate seeing public signage presented in a way likely to miss the audience. So it’s been decided at a bureaucratic level there’s a need for some information?

Great. The very least you can do is make it clear and understandable to users. Now, take a look at this.

River Torrens pathway, Adelaide

This sign is 200m from the Adelaide Convention Centre, right on the edge of the city centre, in an area with international conventions and hotels. It’s on a popular walking and cycling path used by locals and tourists.

There must be a clearer way to say this.

You’d probably need better-than-conversational English to read and understand this. As a safety message, it’s a fail. As general information, it’s a fail. Even just the words ‘PLEASE SHARE’ and an arrow in each direction would be easier to consume – and understand – for non-English speakers.

Every time I walk past it, I wince. How can it be so important a sign is required, but the execution is so flawed? Any consideration for the very real (and very international) audience is completely overlooked.

And I know it’s always easy to criticise others, so I use this as a reminder for my own work.

Am I really keeping my audience in mind when I write? Ask any copywriter; especially when we work on big jobs it can be hard to take a step back and look at what you’re presenting.

But it’s worth it. Because if you fail to impact your audience, you’ve failed. And with just a bit of critical thinking when you review your work you can stay on the right path, whether it’s narrow or not.

Consumers Lose when Broadcasters and Rights Holders move the Goalposts

The rise of women’s football – particularly since the 2019 World Cup – has been impressive. So much so, here in Australia Optus Sport has acquired the rights to show Barclays FA Women’s Super League (WSL), to compliment their Premier League coverage.

Source: The FA.com

Which is great news. For fans, it simply means more football, right?

No. No, it doesn’t.

Because the truth is fans in Australia now have LESS access to WSL games than we already did.

Reports positioned it as Optus bringing WSL to Australia, and highlighted the growing appeal of the league as a product, but curiously omitted the fact that it would result in fewer games being available. This is despite Optus including it in their own media release, albeit as little more than a footnote:

As a result of Optus Sport securing the rights, live Barclays FA WSL matches on The FA Player will be geo-blocked in Australia as of November 17, 2019.

Yep. In securing exclusive broadcast rights Optus has blocked streaming on the official FA Player app in Australia. It had shown all games live and offered a (from experience, robust) Chromecast option so watching games on TV was quick and easy.

Optus, however, doesn’t show all games. It offers 2 live games per round and a packaged highlights show to cover the remainder. Which leaves consumers (viewers) with less, despite rights-holders making more money.

Part of the WSL’s growing appeal are the clubs: Liverpool, Manchester City, Arsenal and Chelsea all have teams, which attract viewers across from the monster that is the Premier League. I’m interested in the WSL as a whole; but my focus and initial reason for watching is to follow Arsenal (for my sins).

The Optus deal means I can’t unless the Arsenal game is being shown – or I find a way around the geo-blocking.

And that raises questions about the real value in acquiring a league that leaves the genuine fans (and realistically, I don’t think we yet have casual WSL fans) unable to watch their team play live.

Especially when they could – free and legally – 10 weeks ago.

Financial support of the women’s game is great. The game will grow, and more investment means the professionalism and quality will increase, while the move of Australian players to the league will only lift its popularity here; as evidenced by Optus securing the rights.

Optus Sport has been a very welcome development for football coverage in Australia, and is being watched by the Premier League as they look at how best to capitalise on their asset moving forward.

But it rankles to see consumers lose out when business intrudes.

How Your Marketing Communications are Consumed, and Why it Matters More than We Admit

Consumers don’t see your ad in isolation.

They don’t hear a radio commercial with a script in front of them, scanning the words like it’s a Disney Read-Along from when I was a kid. “You will know it’s time to turn the page…”

Drivers – who in this context are potential consumers and purchasers of your brand who just happen to be in a car – don’t stop and focus on each billboard they pass. It’s just another piece of information to process (or ignore) among many when you’re behind the wheel.

Ads in print appear alongside articles and other advertisements. On TV ads come in clusters. Even targeted digital ads are part of the wider online experience and not a natural focus point for the attention of browsers skimming news, videos or the socials.

And this is obvious. We all inherently know it.

But too many marketers forget this basic truth when they create a campaign. And this isolationist approach to consumer messaging diminishes your end product. If you haven’t considered the environment in which the message is being received by the intended audience, you haven’t done your job properly.

Our role in writing, crafting and delivering marketing communications is to make it clear and memorable. Be relevant. Be concise.

Be efficient with the extraordinarily limited time you have to make an impact.

Here’s a tactic I use when presenting radio scripts to clients: I read it aloud, but I don’t give them a copy. No reading, just listen.

Then I encourage them to do the same, even if just to a business partner. This gets them a step closer to understanding how the ad will work.

Does it make sense when you simply listen? Is the impact there? Do the words fall in a way that sounds right? (And from the radio advertising practitioner inside me: Would it be stronger if they didn’t, creating a jarring effect for listeners?)

In truth, media professionals are understandably reluctant to tell a client their ad or campaign will be battling for attention.

But as professionals we should recognise the situation, and do all we can to ensure it is as effective as it can possibly be within any existing constraints, regulations and parameters. Which means considering how the communications will be consumed.

If we can’t do that much, we risk poor returns for clients.

Consumers don’t see your ad in isolation. Use that knowledge to make what you create better.

Customer Experience, Professionalism and What Goes on Behind the Curtain

How would your clients feel if they saw how you operate on their behalf?

If every piece of communication was transparent and available for clients to see…how would you feel? More importantly, how would they feel?

I’m a believer in an organisation’s Customer Experience (CX) starting deep within the business. It’s something I’ve touched on – and learnt a lot about – through my work with 6 Degrees Consulting.

Cultivated as part of organisational culture, CX can shape and guide the way we communicate with each other within the business, influencing our external behaviour: how we then communicate with clients, potential consumers, suppliers and stakeholders.

In short – your actions behind the scenes influence how you interact with others.

So when I get an email like this, it always amazes me.

Hopefully you r working?

Cheers

A genuine email, genuinely forwarded by an agency on behalf of a genuine client. With an email chain to follow to find the actual request, and decipher any action required.

How should a paying client feel if they saw how their business was handled?

And this informs my approach to any written communications involving work for clients. I write any peripheral detail in emails and responses attached to work, pitches, quotes or responses as though a client will see them.

As seen above, there’s plenty of professionals who will simply forward emails. Not reading them thoroughly could mean flippant or uncharitable remarks going to a client and potentially causing all kinds of damage to relationships and reputations.

There’s nothing to lose by treating everything you do as though it will be seen by everyone. It’s another facet of Customer Experience, demonstrating the respect you show to those you work with and for.

Because the thought of Hopefully you r working?  – as client or service provider – is quietly terrifying. And in this digital age of instant communications, we’re not in Kansas anymore.

100 words on…the power of the personal

Direct communication with your customers can be genuinely powerful.

If you make sure it’s actually genuine.

My energy plan is up for renewal, and I’ve been skimming a product review site. What immediately stands out is a brand (in this case Origin) responding professionally and politely.

But the tone’s not right.

It hides behind the collective, and compounds this by offering generic email contacts – stripping the communication of genuine impact.

Saying I’ll look into it, and email me, makes a world of difference.

Despite their intentions, Origin is still presenting as a faceless corporation – undoing the great work their diligent, open communications could do.