In an exclusive piece written for Communicate magazine, Richard Hingley, group creative director at DRPG, talks how businesses can effectively and responsibly ride the wave of creative engagement we are seeing

Audiences’ (both internal and external) relationships with content and comms   

Since the crisis begun it has been estimated over 980 billion hours of unique content has been generated1 and when you compare that to the financial crisis of 2008 when only 630 billion hours were generated in the entire year2, it’s clear to see content remains king. There is no doubt our audience’s relationship with content and the need for it will have continued to strengthen over past weeks, after all when there is a lack of physical experience, we look to fill the void with mindful experiences and when it comes to content, this can make an appearance in all shapes and sizes. One thing is for sure though, moving images that bring reality to life in a world that seems unreal, still remain the creative powerhouse of engaging content. 

When it comes to how we communicate with our audiences, in the past I have talked a lot about rising above the noise. This crisis more than any other, has generated such noise, that it’s proving a far greater challenge to effectively cut through with non-crisis related communications.  During this time our audiences have put a far greater value on crises related information, but as their understanding becomes clear and our unexpected tomorrow becomes the everyday norm, they will begin to search out new content. This is an opportunity to position your messaging as a vital channel of communication that’s in place to provide the answers your audiences are now looking for and indeed expect from you! 

Creative engagement

There is not a social channel on the planet that has not seen an increase in the content it shares being of a more creative nature. We’ve all heard the saying that ‘necessity is the mother of invention’, in other words for our content to stand out, it has to be different, original, memorable and even emotional. People are having to become more creative with their thinking in order to produce content that grabs the attention of their audience.  What we are seeing happen is what creativity is all about. It’s not making something from nothing, but building from something that already exists, resulting in an evolving journey for our audiences who thought they’d ‘seen it all!’ 

Technology’s role in the creative surge

Technology is two-fold when we talk comms. Although content remains king, to keep it on the throne it needs to not only be inspiringly creative, but of an acceptable level of quality. Most of us already hold a video production house in the palm of our hand, and more are increasingly getting to know how to get the best out of it. Our various mobile devices sell on the quality of their camera, hardware and creative apps, and rightfully so as we can now record beautiful 4k footage and with a little extra kit, capture quality sound too.   

The second part to technology progression is our ability to distribute our content, enabling us to better target our audience with what matters to them and, just as importantly, analyse its journey. This can be through existing platforms, often for our external audiences, or purpose-built solutions designed specifically for your business and employee base.   

Having said all this it’s vital to remember that technology is simply an enabler and not the answer to engaging your audience. That is still down to your ability to know your audience and their creative needs. 

Risks

Creativity does not come without risk. In fact, it is the foundation on which your creative abilities are built on. If you are to jump on board and really ride the wave, then you need to be prepared to accept the risks. This does not mean being blind to them or ignoring them altogether, as creativity can quickly become catastrophe if that’s the case, it means considering the risks of your ideas, but not bowing down to them or allowing them to dictate your decisions. They are a part of your decision-making process and to create content that engages your audience like never before, they need to see that you have taken risks, albeit fairly educated ones!   

Long-term effects on the comms industry

We will only truly know the effects of this particular crisis on the comms industry once the crisis itself has passed and no doubt there will be lessons to be learnt for many organisations around the world. What we are seeing is that the speed of communication is proving to be a challenge for many who are trying to engage both their internal and external audiences, who in some cases, are allowing themselves to be owned by the conversation rather than owning and leading the conversation themselves.  

But it’s never too late to take control. Those organisations that embrace communication and creatively engage their audiences in times of crisis tend to be the leaders of the tomorrow. Why? Because at such times people are looking for great leadership, which when given, provides a sense of confidence, a feeling of trust and a longer-term desire to be communicated with again in the future. Overall, I expect the longer-term effects for both organisations and comms agencies, will be an even greater ability to create and deliver reactive comms content than ever before. 

The future

As we’re talking creative, let’s think creative. Remember when you left that script on the train, spilled paint over your work of art and binned the wrong music file on your computer? When you sat down to re-create what you thought was your lost masterpiece, you most probably went on to create your greatest work. We tend to be at our most creative when we’re challenged the most and there is little doubt for many of us, this will be one of the most challenging of times.   

But what does this mean for the future?   

Well it won’t stop progression and in fact in some areas such a digital comms it will accelerate, but not necessarily at the expense of other channels. This period once again will prove the power of good and effective communications. Successful organisations will talk not just about how they reacted to the crisis, but how they communicated their way through it. Those less successful will never mention the word communication in their rationalisation of failure, because they most likely never saw the value of it in the first place.