Making Communications Great Again

Given a free Sunday before a recent client meeting in our nation’s capital, MMer Kristi Lange and I jumped at the chance to do some exploring. We soaked up a history as rich as the amazing food we tasted. We saw national monuments that took our breath away – even more than the 48,000 steps we logged in two days. And beyond that, we observed a few key communications lessons that got us thinking.

There’s an app for that, but does it work?

Creating apps for clients is a treat. We get to express creativity in a digital, useful format. But not all apps are created equal. The obvious helpful apps we used include Yelp and Uber. Experiential apps (which shall remain unnamed) had connectivity issues and weren’t updated. Bottom line: if you’re going to create an app, keep it updated and make sure it works.

Great displays make a world of difference.

We went to a few iconic museums while in D.C., plus an eight-month-old museum that featured the latest technology. We were on a time schedule, so if it didn’t catch our eye in the first two seconds, we were walking past it. Does that sound familiar? The same can go for trade shows. Displays have to be eye-catching to stop you and engaging to draw you in.

Advocacy has to be clear and concise.

D.C. is busy. Like, really busy. The Capitol is buzzing. It’s incredible that so many people from all over this great nation come together under one gigantic roof to conduct the nation’s business. Add to that hundreds of tourists a day, plus special interest groups trying to get a seat at the table and it’s a madhouse.  If you’re trying to educate or influence legislators or their staff, the materials you use to share your message have to be clear and concise, eye-catching and memorable, important and impactful. If they’re not, they’ll get lost in the noise.

For the record, we’re pretty good at all of these things and have won awards for our clients doing them. Let us know if you need help in these areas – we’re freshly inspired.