« August 2009 | Main | October 2009 »

September 27, 2009

Learn this term: “hyperlocal”

My client called me to tell me how bothered she was by survey data indicating that employees like corporate communication vehicles (there were a lot of “agree” responses, not a lot of “strongly agree”), but what they really love are local publications.

“I’ve seen these facility newsletters,” said my client. “They’re not very sophisticated—kind of ugly, actually, and very homespun. But employees really seem to appreciate them. And I know employees read them—they get snatched up in cafeterias as soon as they’re distributed.”

My client sighed. “Our corporate communication vehicles are so much better than these local rags. Why do the locals get better ratings?”

The answer is simple: Local trumps global every time. As evidence, examine the newspaper industry. The big national and city papers are circling the drain, while weekly community newspapers are at least surviving—and some are even thriving.

In fact, the big media players (like The New York Times) are exploring ways to make money in “hyperlocal” news at the town or even neighborhood level. They know that people are most interested in the events that occur right on their street, and they’re trying to find ways to tap into that interest as a business model. (See this Fast Company article to learn more about this trend.)

What does this mean to you? Smart communicators know that hyperlocal represents a golden opportunity. For example, a client of ours at a big retailer worked with us to develop a system for adapting company-wide information for store newsletters so that employees would get local perspectives on big-picture issues. And we worked with the same client to create bulletin boards near time clocks that combine both hyperlocal with company-wide information.

Don’t fight hyperlocal; figure out how to make it work for you.

Posted by Alison Davis at 11:58 AM

September 22, 2009

Why Baby Boomers shouldn’t plan events

I spoke at a company’s internal conference last week, and was reminded how difficult it is to plan an event that’s lively, compelling and energizing.

Unfortunately, this one failed in all three categories. There were many problems, but the most serious one was pacing. From start to finish, everything simply moved too slowly and took too long. I blame the Baby Boomers who were running the show (My generation often moves way too slowly.). Here are the lowlights:

Registration began at 11:30 a.m. and opening remarks were scheduled to start at noon, with lunch to be served immediately afterwards. Because most people were punctual, participants were seated at their tables and had polished off their salads by 12. But for some reason, the opening remarks didn’t start until 12:20. By then, we were all hungry and bored (How much small talk can you make?).

Because lunch (chicken, of course) wasn’t served until 12:35 or so, the panel discussion didn’t begin at 12:45 as scheduled, but was delayed until after 1. That meant another long (yawn!) stretch at the table.

Finally, the panel discussion began. The panel discussion wins my vote for worst event format: It’s slow, it’s stilted and it’s almost impossible to do well. What usually happens is this: The moderator makes a statement, then asks the panel a question. Panelist #1 speaks for five minutes. Then Panelist #2 speaks for five minutes. Finally, Panelist #3 speaks for five minutes. Then the moderator asks another question, and it starts all over again. There’s nothing to look at and no interaction for the audience. Good panelists interact with each other, but that leaves the audience in a passive spectator role. And even if each panelist is interesting, the dynamic is deadly dull.

Once panelists had made their remarks, the moderator asked the audience if there were any questions. Since it was now nearly 2 p.m. (half an hour over schedule), and the audience’s brains were fried and their butts paralyzed, it wasn’t surprising that they had few questions.

At this point, we were all in need of a break. But when the break was over, the audience returned slowly and reluctantly for the after-lunch sessions. These folks were cooked, and were almost resentful about having to sit in a chair for another hour or so. I couldn’t blame them, even though I know had to facilitate a session and try to rouse them into some semblance of energy.

What could the Baby Boomer organizers have done differently? 3 quick ideas:

1. Be a stickler about the schedule. Unless the place is burning down, start and end on time. (If a key player is late, work around him or her.)

2. Involve the audience right from the beginning. I would have put question cards at each table, and during the opening remarks would have given this instruction: “During lunch, we need each table to come up with 3 questions for the panel. We’ll collect the cards after lunch and use them to start the discussion.”

3. Five minutes for remarks is four minutes too long. If you must use a panel discussion, coach participants to make one point at a time, and let them know the moderator will interrupt after about a minute.

Posted by Alison Davis at 08:38 AM

September 09, 2009

How multicultural are you?

It’s 4:45 p.m. and I’m sitting in an airport waiting lounge. The man across from me is speaking French into his cell phone. The man to my left is also speaking French to a chic-looking female companion. All this French is not surprising, because the airport is in Toronto, and the passengers are waiting for their flight to Montreal.

I began my workday this morning at 6 a.m., facilitating a focus group with employees in Singapore, Japan and China. None of the participants were native English speakers, but all understood English quite well; some spoke a bit haltingly, but could clearly articulate their viewpoints in what for them was their second (or third) language.

Last night I flew from Chicago to Toronto. The plane was full of Asian-Americans, Asian-Canadians or just Asians. I was in the aisle seat, and the Chinese couple that sat next to me had an adorable baby girl—about 9 months old—whom they spoke to in both English and Chinese. The baby cooed in both languages, as far as I could tell.

Yesterday morning I took a flight from Newark Airport to Chicago. The passengers included a large group of college students who appeared to be Indian or of Indian descent. Like college students everywhere, they were sometimes silly and sometimes serious—what was different is that they exhibited this behavior in two languages simultaneously.

Welcome to life in the 21st Century. My experience is not unusual for how I work and where I live—I can stay in New Jersey and hear Spanish, Russian, Pakistani, Arabic and about 12 other languages without venturing very far—but it may be quite different from what you encounter every day.

Are you ready for how the world is changing? If all the people I encountered on my trip were your employees, could you communicate with them effectively? Would you understand their common needs and their unique preferences?

You may only speak one language, but do you understand multiculturalism?

P.S. Speaking of multiculturalism, did you know that tastes in candy vary dramatically from country to country? Here's a fascinating slide show from BusinessWeek showing confectionery best sellers.

Posted by Alison Davis at 05:07 PM

September 02, 2009

Great billboards

Need inspiration for a creative visual communication you need to create?

Check out this gallery of innovative and eye-catching bulletin boards. Which is your favorite?

Posted by Alison Davis at 05:32 PM | Comments (1)