[Editor’s Note: This weekly feature asks communicators to spot trends and discuss their reactions to them. In this edition we hear from Paul Englert, VP, marketing, C. Mondavi & Family.]
We’re seeing a blurring of the lines between PR, brand communications and social media. As we reach out to a younger audience, and as society continues to evolve the way it communicates, we need to evolve our communication strategies. Much of what we once shared via press release, direct email and phone now is sent via myriad social media platforms and text. Our consumer-facing print and web messages are evolving in acknowledgement of the immediacy and brevity with which people demand information from us.
We’re reacting by focusing more on succinct brand messaging. The elevator pitch is supplanting traditional brand messaging in many circumstances. And the elevator pitch could learn a few things from the 140-character tweet or½-second Tinder view. Technology is fostering impatience. We realize our brand messaging is not our consumers’ number one priority. As a result, we focus on creating short, digestible, easy-to-share messaging. We front-load all our communications, assuming that we have less time to hold attention. Lately, we’ve been utilizing younger, technology-savvy copywriters and social media pros who lack in-depth industry knowledge. This way, we get a more objective approach and are able to craft tight, persuasive, differentiated messaging without an overly burdensome internal bias. We’ve seen a positive response from media, trade and consumers to this approach. Yet a heightened attention to detail is needed in social media and text. We’ve seen an unacceptable level of indifference to grammar, spelling and punctuation, which can quickly negate the benefits of this approach.
Contact:[email protected]