Authentic communication
Posted in Commentary on November 3, 2008
I’ve given quite a bit of thought lately to why some messages stick and others don’t. From what I’ve read and seen, I believe people are looking for authentic messages.
The same trend manifest by the blogosphere, where people want to hear from real people and not polished PR-speak or creative ad copy, has taken root in business communication.
Consider this YouTube video posted by an Iraq war veteran in support of John McCain’s presidential bid. It’s one of the most popular election related videos and it wasn’t created by McCain’s campaign.
The Obama girl video is an example of a YouTube video from last year that achieved similar notoriety for Barack Obama’s campaign. It wasn’t done by his campaign either.
Both videos, broadcast for free, have been viewed more than 10 million times.
The more companies and advertising/public relations agencies can connect with real people through authentic messages, the more successful they’ll be. And the more they use all the tools at their disposal, including Web and mobile communication methods, the more likely it is that their messages will reach critical mass.
