Ten Component Parts

For easy-to-assemble, effective communications

The new perspective

Money is at a premium in this new world we're living in.

I say 'new world' because I believe behaviours are going to change for many years to come as a result of the recession; we're all going to do things differently when the gears start slowly cranking back into action and life starts to get a little back to normal.

It'll be a new normal.

Budgets have been, and are being, squeezed to make each pound work harder and do more.
Marketing professionals will expect their messages to hit home quicker and with greater effectiveness.

From where we sit, from the agency perspective, we see a wide range of different organisation types deploying a wide range of techniques to achieve a wide range of objectives.
That gives us an overview of methods, styles, activities and formats that work, or don't, across a widely varied set of scenarios.

This is real hands-on experience we can apply to every new challenge in every new project; bench-marking best practice in what can often become too subjective a discipline; creative communications. So here are my top ten tips for effective communications:

1.Know how much to say.

For starters, your audience doesn't always automatically share your passion; they have to be convinced. Too much communication can bombard the audience. Succinct, powerful, short, engaging, involving text helps deliver a convincing case.
Don't say too much; nobody cares enough to indulge your communication through lavish detail. Don't say too little. You have to say enough to hook them in. By the way, try never to write copy by committee; it shows.

2.All research is worthwhile research.

Why take my word for it? Indeed, why try to make up your own mind about it? There simply is no better way of being sure about how your message, or appeal, or creative approach, or words…whatever it may be…is or are going to fulfil their purpose in the big wide world, than by asking the people you intend to influence.

Poor (or no) research pretty much guarantees wasted expenditure. The acid test is to ask within the organisation, "Are we feeling lucky or would we rather get it right?" In these days of budget pressure what do you think the answer would be? Every 'component part' covered in these tips could be indisputably verified by research.

3.Be clear with the message.

Long before any activity hits the drawing board you should spend as much time as possible defining the Unique Points of your organisation, together with what it seeks from the activity or campaign. A clear message depends on clarity of thought about your intentions and the action you wish to trigger. Clarity makes memorability.

What makes you different? What makes you special? Get a focus and stick to it. Drive everything to that focus. Repeat it, strengthen it, spin it, explain it, but always focus on it…the single-minded proposition.

4.Stand out

Imagine thousands of people milling around on the London underground, all going to different ultimate destinations, heads down, concerned with their own parcels of concerns and tasks; then imagine that you have to grab the attention of all of them, at the same time. Would you shout? A better way might be to use a loud hailer.

Better than that might be to work with London Underground to have the escalators turned off at a pre-arranged time and then deliver a message through the PA system - everybody would listen.

That's what communications are when they're effective; a way of delivering a message that makes everybody stop and take notice.

Some clients believe that the worthiness of their cause is sufficient to make people pay attention; some believe their reputation will do it, it won't. Standing out depends on making every communication element work its hardest. It isn't about taking the 'safe' option; people never bother with middle of the road communication. Would you? If I had to summarise it in one word, here it is…boldness.

5.Be agile.

In the planning stage I always recommend that you gather together all the communication examples that have stood out to you or your colleagues. Lay them all out and study language, creative approach and also format. Was the shape of the ad anything to do with your response? The way the leaflet folded out or the witty message on the envelope? Learning from others isn't about plagiarism, it's about soaking up influences and improving on styles that you believe are examples of best practice. Be prepared to modify your ideas and take new techniques on board. Don't simply expect that repeating a formula will get different results. But, don't throw out the baby with the bathwater either. Sometimes repeating a formula is exactly what you need to do.

6.Measure feedback.

Here's why. We work in a dynamic sector, constantly under pressure to generate funds, drive membership, stimulate awareness and any of a number of other extremely demanding goals. This can occasionally create a tendency to re-invent the message every time, believing that if it's a new campaign or project then it has to ring the changes. Sometimes, however, it makes good sense to look back over what has gone before; seeing what reactions were stimulated before, gleaning opinions on the impact of the activity. Innovation is a powerful communications tool, but you might just find that if you or your organisation have already invented the wheel, it can get you where you need to go time and time again.

7.Think about the audience.

Targeting is more than simply knowing at whom you need to aim your message. It's about understanding what makes them tick, the media they use, their internet habits, their workplace, lifestyles, income levels. Get a really developed picture of your ideal audience and drive everything at the one person. All communication should be intimate, as if it were addressing the individual alone. Segment your audience into primary and secondary targets and make sure that you cover both bases. Get into their world and then you have a much better chance to get them into yours.

8.Don't talk to too many people at once.

A message delivered to a corporation is very different to a message delivered to an individual. Never try to combine messages or pick off numerous target sectors in a catch-all communication; it will catch nobody. Clarity of message should be your communication goal and that simply isn't possible if it has to be explained to different audiences in the one piece. A campaign can have numerous strands and numerous targets and still be integrated and consistent.

9.Use consistent messages.

If people see something repeated in several places, they start to remember it. If they only ever see it once then the chances are they won't. That's what consistency is about; making sure that every element in a campaign carries the same message, calls for the same action, and delivers the same promise. Ubiquity of communication builds awareness. It could mean making sure that the message spearheading your campaign is then used on your call-waiting message, if you use one, or carried on your website, or even your stationery for a period of time. Driving home your unique points repeatedly isn't lack of imagination; it's deployment of a powerful marketing tool.

10.Make it easy for your audience to respond.

Here's the crunch. You're not really doing what you're doing for any other reason than response. Make it easy through multiple options such as web, telephone, mail; make it obvious how to do it. And, picking up on my one-word summary from tip 4; be bold. Clarity, simplicity, originality, stand out, a well-researched target audience, crafted messages and agile communication…they all channel into the one big giant arrow that points boldly to the pay-off point and says 'support us'.

You have to win the hearts and minds of your target audience; they're not waiting there ready to come to your party just as soon as you deign to communicate with them. They have to be persuaded, and that means surrounding your focused message with elements that will make it stand out, whether that's design, structure, emotion of message, challenge of copy, humour, sadness, empathy, sympathy.