Say what you mean, mean what you say

by Thomás Levy, Managing Director, Creation LATAM

Through several conversations in the process of creating strategies for effective communication — be it for a product launch, corporate positioning, crisis management, or event planning — I’ve often faced clients and teams in a dilemma: how can we plan for every single reaction we might have? How can we not neglect information?

This seems like a reasonable idea — when we think about marketing and public relations, the idea of creating a narrative and steering engagement towards a goal is the structure in which great successes seem to have been built on. We can be sure that is not the case, however. One of the most useful aspects of semiotic study is to understand that information, and more importantly meaning, is unpredictable. There is no amount of content you can provide in a campaign or strategy that will go far enough to overwrite your audience’s personal history and experiences, and they will be a key part of the end result. (A brief and great explanation of Charles Sanders Peirce’s Sign Theory by Albert Atkin is available here.)

That is not to say we are running in the dark. No amount of planning can restrict interpretations, but you can make your campaign or your strategy have clear intent. It helps to address possible vagueness that can lead to harmful outcomes, like the 2015 Ambev campaign for Brazilian Carnaval which was seen as a call to ignore consent when the unclear intent was in fact to promote spontaneity.

See how Buzzfeed in Brazil reacted here, with comment in EDIT 2 explaining that “this intervention was made with duct tape because we didn’t want to damage the outdoor itself, just the disgusting campaign.”

Having clear intent does not invalidate other interpretations, nor should it — acknowledging is a form of showing respect and something all brands should strive for. Ambev’s quick reaction in removing the campaign entirely from the streets was commendable because of this. [As an aside, the company was later reprimanded by the local ad authority, and was widely covered in a very negative light. This — directly or indirectly – led to their repositioning, kicked off by this amazing campaign. Their intention of rethinking gender got them international appraisal. However, I digress…]

Diverse teams are fundamental — their backgrounds will help draw maps on the possible outcomes and interpretations — something we see on a daily basis thanks to our insightful global network. But no single group of people can give you the background of Human Experience. Brazil as a continental country, with vastly different geographies and customs, is a prime example of this. The United States is similarly diverse, as is any great metropolis — think London, Mexico City, Paris and many others.

With an open mind we understand that we all live the Human Experience, and it also means we have the responsibility of understanding that it is multi-faceted, profoundly regional and cultural, while at the same time global. We have to understand which values we hold are cultural and which are factual, and that each set has to be considered.

When a new idea comes up, question it: does it carry just a message, or does it also carry the reference your audience will need to understand your intent for that message? Trust your audience with your intent, and your audience will be able to trust your message.