The staying together message will be needed more than ever when we get back to normal

“We’re in this together” quickly became the collective mantra in the face of the pandemic. From politicians, national broadcasters, and celebrities, the script remains the same.

This came as no surprise. At times of national-scale hemorrhaging, the messaging will always speak to solidarity and unity, whether it’s virus attacks, or terrorist attacks. It works, on the whole, despite the chorus of togetherness being occasionally undermined by a palatial backdrop enjoyed by said celebs.

The more intriguing question is when do we stop being in this together? The closer we edge to a sense of normality, many businesses will strain every sinew to revert to the individualism of old and return the spotlight onto personal indulgence, but it will be an ill-advised business that throws themselves too soon into such a position.

I strongly believe that the corporate messaging needs to continue to appeal to those consumer obligations, before the treats kick in. Which begs the question, what are these new obligations? We’ve readily obliged and stayed indoors and kept our distance, but now, more than ever, we need to be in this together to fix the country; the national economy has the frailty of a newborn foal.

The importance of consumer spending when it comes to the resuscitation process is not lost on me, but this is not an anti-spend message which I put forward, it is a stakeholder message. How so? Our messaging can help achieve growth in different ways. My argument is that a messaging strategy that taps into these inherent consumer obligations to re-build the nation will have far more reputational kudos for the businesses behind them, than one that points solely to the idea of individual needs.

Let’s make this a little more material – as an airline, hotelier, or cruise line operator – you can pitch the escapism line to your potential customers, or there is something more shared in purpose, which plays into a more collective responsibility and talks of the benefits personal travel and tourism plans have for others. The smart messaging will be mindful of the pandemic’s brutal effects on an industry’s eco-system – the vendors, suppliers, and contractors - and If we’re truly in this together, will make the consumer think about how they spend.

It’s not a new approach; some of the recent bushfire campaigns talked up the need to visit those affected regions, but the scourge of Covid 19 comes after those earlier difficulties.

People are tired and need a break  - they need to dream, but I would argue the smarter move in terms of those corporate narratives would be to hold off on the dream building and focus on making the togetherness message a reality.

That reality, however, can only be achieved if corporate actions speak louder than words. At a time of widespread uncertainty and growing mistrust, businesses will need to walk the walk if this idea of inclusiveness is to land. So, best not to talk about being in it together if creative tax avoidance practices or offshore labor arrangements are a feature of the organizational strategy – the regeneration narrative soon caves in.

We face an unprecedented mutual situation – the smart businesses out there will use it to cement their communal credentials; they will continue to bring people together and in turn, start the national recovery process. There will never be a better chance to highlight the value which togetherness brings, as we’ve all felt the loss when it’s gone, and as a message, it has to be now because it won’t work any time later.

This article first appeared in Mumbrella: https://mumbrella.com.au/

Is Storytelling in PR worthless?

Naturally, there will be exceptions to the rule, but on the whole, the industry is not equipped to produce compelling stories. I recognise that’s a bold, if not heretical, claim which is in need of some supporting arguments, so here goes.

PR professionals, as with the rest of the communications community, have been slavish to the idea of story, but we haven’t been astute enough to recognise that we tend to do it wrongly. Here’s what I mean, as practitioners we rely on conventional rhetoric to persuade. We mirror our clients, who have been trained this way; as creative writing guru, Robert McKee says, we build our case on facts, stats and quotes from authorities. We see it as an intellectual process, because we can’t see it any other way. Subsequently, we miss the vital component that make stories persuasive – the emotion!

Which begs the question – why do we miss it? As I said, this is partly down to producing what we think the clients want – a safe, logic-driven, data-based approach that typically leaves audiences cold at best. Ultimately though, we can’t do this properly, because as practitioners we’re schooled to keep those emotions in check.  This is especially the case with agency staff – I include myself here as a former agency man – who are immediately alerted of the paramount need to keep clients happy. I’m not saying that agency folk lack maturity per se; of course not, there are some brilliant minds at work here, but I fear they reflect their environmental upbringing which is essentially about one thing – profit. If we don’t fully explore our feelings in this space, including the reality of failure and the uncertainties of a tech future, how can we expect to produce rich, meaningful narratives for others?

Disruption is affecting us all at dizzying speeds, businesses are feeling increasingly vulnerable, so it is incumbent on us as professionals to embrace greater emotional exposure – to demonstrate how we feel - to produce stories and relationships that are reflective of our growing sensitivities and befitting of a more engaged audience.

This article first featured in Mumbrella on the 19 December