Know your audience

There are many arguments for ensuring that communications are tailored to each audience segment within your total audience. Different age groups, professions, statures and experience levels have different communication needs. The more diverse a company, the more tailored the message should be.

It’s the same where I work – some of my internal audience are professional writers, some work in sales, some are technology specialists, others financial bods and then we have a not insignificant number of production workers, whose requirements change because they don’t have access to a computer 95% of the time.

Last weekend, my wife and I went to Hyde Park to see Stevie Wonder and Paul McCartney, among other bands. At the end of the gigs on each night, the Met Police were on hand to ensure everyone was shepharded safely down to the tube or onto night buses etc. There was one policeman on a loud speaker talking to and directing the crowd.

And it was a classic example of tailoring communication to your audience.

The tone was friendly, humorous, at times sarcastic and he also ribbed the crowd a little. He used phrases such as “please follow the instructions of the officers as you cross the road – gives them something to do and justifies their wages, eh?” and “if you’re happy and you know it, clap your hands” (then when people clapped, he called us all sheep and there was much laughter.)

This sort of good-natured communication meant that I’m sure there were fewer problems and people left in as high spirits as they were in as they heard the music at the gig.

You often get really good examples of tailored Comms but I thought this was a particularly good demonstration of how communications can be honed to really hit the mark with an audience.