The story
I recently attended a Sydney Symphony concert at the Sydney Opera House. At the end of the performance an Emirates Airlines hostess in full uniform presented the conductor with a bouquet of flowers. The gesture subtly reinforced the message that Emirates was sponsoring the evening’s performance and is a supporter of the Symphony
A year earlier I attended the same venue for a different event sponsored by a well known company whose logo dominated the stage. As the event was about to start, someone sitting behind me said in an indignant voice “How dare the company put their logo on the Sydney Opera House Stage!”
What was meant to generate a positive impact turned out to be a negative for that person and possibly others
The implication
This reminded me that if we want to communicate messages effectively, we must ensure that we engage our audiences in a way that is relevant and meaningful to them
The message should be appropriate for the environment in which it will be received by the audience
Put some thought into it
Taking time to develop a more subtle, creative and engaging communication may have a more positive impact than an obvious ‘in your face approach’
Advising clients
When required we need to educate clients that bigger and louder is not always the best way to achieve the desired result
We should help them to look at the impact of their proposed communication from their audience’s perspective rather than their own and where necessary to challenge their thinking
Your determination to get the best outcome for a client will go a long way to reinforce trust and credibility between you
