As we enter the new year multi-tasking consumers and readers are busier than ever. To captivate them, we need to use smart strategies to convey information.
This is the month for one of the world’s greatest sporting event, the Super Bowl. Millions of football fans will tune in and watch two teams compete for the title of World Champions. There’s another competition taking place though: Advertisers are competing for the viewers’ attention, paying millions and exhausting all their creative energies to MAKE SURE THEY WATCH. For communicators of all sorts, this is the competition we engage in everyday. How do we get our audience to stay put for more than 15 seconds and make them read, look, watch, surf or simply just get the message we’re trying to communicate?
And unlike the Super Bowl, which pits, for the most part, two equally talented teams, our challenge is greater. We must face the “Always-On Reader” — the multi-tasker with the two cell phones, the PalmPilot, the Blackberry and a copy of their favorite magazine. Our aim is to make them pay attention, become interested and eventually engage in our communication, whatever the subject is. It could be the features section of a newspaper, the table of contents of a magazine, or the graphic charts in a company’s annual report, not to mention the Web site of their choice.
The communicator’s touchdown pass or secret weapon in this competition for the audience’s time is good content. No, great content. Content that is fresh and new, and not already saturated by all other information sources. Content that speaks to them by being relevant. Content that tells a story.
The Always-On Reader is not lacking in education, interest in information, or even an overabundance of both. But he represent a challenge to all of us dealing with the creation and execution of communication products aimed at informing and enhancing knowledge.
Today, the same intellectual readers who long for and enjoy a well-written, longish piece or essay, delight in the very brief items that appear next to it. And it all appears easier to digest when color, good typography and effective packaging — read DESIGN — are also part of it.
In 2004, the Always-On Reader also becomes the “Have-It-All Reader”:
+ The Flash of the short, to the point, reaffirmation item.
+ The Substance of the well-researched, full-of-discovery, heavy-on-the-text-and-graphics article.
+ The Fizz that is an aesthetically pleasing presentation for one’s eyes.
Flash. Substance. Fizz.
The perfect martini, perhaps, but not an easy one to mix.
In 2004, the worlds that separated us during the progressive and innovative ‘90s blend. The short of it all becomes shorter. The substance we crave for becomes more substantial. The fizz that design provides, and which the ‘80s embraced as the pinnacle of visual sophistication, becomes dessert to round off a well-conceived meal.
As we enter 2004, the competition for the Always-On Reader’s time will continue to grow. There will be new technologies, more channels, more junk mail, faster computers and LESS TIME. As communicators vying for their attention, this is our Super Bowl. This is the contest we have to try and win everyday. Understanding the Always-On Reader should help, as well as executing the winning game plan: Flash, Substance and Fizz.
The Miami Herald
Fortuna Magazine
The Wall Street Journal
Real Simple