As the evenings grew darker in autumn 2017, staying indoors with a good series became an appealing plan. But could a favourite television programme offer something useful for work as well as entertainment? These four examples suggested that it could.
This article revisits the series discussed in our original 2017 post. It is about the communications lessons they inspired, rather than where the programmes are available to stream today.
1. Have a crisis communication plan ready
The series: Designated Survivor
In this political drama, an attack leaves an unlikely successor, Tom Kirkman, in the role of US president. It is an extreme fictional crisis, but the underlying PR lesson is familiar: prepare for difficult situations before they happen.
A crisis communication plan gives an organisation a starting point when circumstances change suddenly. Media training can help people who may unexpectedly find themselves speaking on its behalf.
The White House press briefings in the series also show a recognisable communications format: bringing journalists together to share information and answer questions. Our guide to press briefings looks at how that works outside television drama.
2. Understand what interests your audience
The series: Riverdale
Riverdale combined mystery with subjects familiar to younger viewers, including social media, relationships and difficult family dynamics. Its appeal offered a reminder that attention starts with what matters to the audience.
People have little reason to follow a brand unless it gives them something they care about. A subject that is important to an organisation may still need a different route into the conversation.
For a Microsoft internet-safety campaign, we worked with Dutch boy band B-Brave to make the topic relevant to young fans. A staged social-media scenario involved a photograph appearing to reveal a band member’s telephone number. Fans quickly shared the image, creating an opening for the awareness message.
The point was not that every campaign needed the same device. It was that the creative idea began with an understanding of the people we wanted to reach and the content they paid attention to.
3. Try looking from another world
The series: Stranger Things
In Stranger Things, a group of friends investigating a boy’s disappearance encounter a girl with unusual abilities and a disturbing alternate dimension. A real PR consultant does not need to visit the Upside Down, but changing perspective can still be useful.
You may know what you want to say about a subject. How does your audience see it? What else is happening in their lives? What questions would a journalist ask, and why would the story matter to their readers?
Research and a clear starting-point assessment can reveal the difference between an organisation’s assumptions and its audience’s experience. Sometimes the useful answer is close at hand, but it takes a different viewpoint to notice it.
4. Build a brand around values that can endure
The series: Star Trek: Discovery
The original article used Star Trek: Discovery to reflect on change and continuity. The fictional technology and circumstances might be unfamiliar, but the characters still wrestled with emotions, pride, freedom and their relationships with one another.
Star Trek itself had remained recognisable across decades of new stories. That offered a lesson about building a brand: innovation can change the setting without removing the human interests at its centre.
Take people seriously and respect what matters to them. A brand is more likely to retain meaning when its values remain understandable as the world around it changes.
Would you like help turning audience insight into a communications approach? Contact our PR agency in Amsterdam or our Antwerp team.
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