As Occupy Wall Street continues to dominate the news cycle and the streets of cities across the country, a buzz continues to steadily grow surrounding the movement’s message and purpose, or lack thereof.
Debate over the protestors’ intentions can also be heard beyond the metropolitan areas. In upstate New York, far from the noise of the protestors, my family members have called me and asked, “What do they want?” To that, nobody seems to have a clear answer.
Even without a targeted message, the movement has reached the front pages of the most influential publications in the world. But one has to question whether or not all this awareness has truly accomplished anything. The public’s strong reaction and overall sentiment should be enlightening for businesses seeking awareness.
As communications professionals, we often work with companies that want to get their name out there immediately. Taking the time to develop a targeted message is not the number one priority. We understand the urgency behind the desire to gain recognition in the marketplace – how can the public choose your product or service if they’ve never heard your name?
However, without clear messaging, companies run the risk of confusing the very audiences they’re trying to reach, weakening the impact of name recognition and ultimately opening the door to a host of negative publicity. Thoughtful, compelling messages are vital components of every awareness campaign. If a massive global protest is expected to communicate well-defined messages, it is unthinkable for a business to move forward without them. Doing so increases the probability that your efforts to raise awareness will result in a lot of noise, but will deliver little lasting value.
Written by: Jacqui Wilder
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There is something intensely perverse about a marketing professional critiquing the 'brand messaging' of OWS - a movement whose call to action was first rung by the staunchly anti-consumerist magazine, AdBusters. Today, polls demonstrate a majority support for the issues which animated the OWS movement (if not for OWS itself).
ReplyDeleteIn fact these same issues motivated the first Tea Party movement who also demonstrated in Wall Street (if for a single day); That was before the Tea Party was turned into a platform to shout corporate talking points between the Guns, God & Gays rhetoric which has come to define the movement.
The 'brand value' of OWS is not in creating a list of easily digestible demands, yet, like a dog unable to understand the concept of pointing, the media continues to look at the hand, not where it directs you to look.
Look! There! THAT is the problem. The Wall Street Bankers and corporations who finance your politicians who will in turn make the laws that favor the Wall Street Bankers and corporations which will increase the economic inequality which leaves the 99% with less money and less influence.
The purpose of the post isn't to critique OWS, but to shed light on the fact that many groups, organizations, and businesses increasingly find themselves in the spotlight, at which point they must deal with the public and media scrutinizing their message. When and if possible, it's beneficial to develop a communications strategy beforehand in order to avoid the criticisms that OWS is currently facing.
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