I ran into this the other day: Kevin Proudfoot talks Intimacy It is just a short list/summary which I found to be a pretty a good reminder of the golden rules of establishing meaningful communication with consumers. I believe there is no way around them:
- Let the person know you’re thinking about them. Consider the user.
- Talk directly to them. Eye level.
- Enable and encourage them to be themselves. Let people reflect themselves.( (i.e. customized Nikes)
- Avoid schizophrenia. Find one voice.
And then this washed up here and reminded me of the one rule to rule them all:
- DO. NOT. LIE. Reminder: It’s the age of the internet, if you are not honest, it will resurface as certain as a celebrity sex tape.
What will be the implications for the Dove campaign should it really be the case that their images were heavily retouched? Other than disastrous? I mean, doing EXACTLY the opposite of what you claim to do. What were they thinking?
This does not mean I am fully convinced by the story, but the damage is already done because the Ogilvy PR person was not quick enough to say „WTF?! Who is this guy?“. „We have to check..“ sounds more like “ I am not sure what to answer. Please stand by till I have made up the proper lie.“ This is a symptom of an inconsistent story and in an interrogation room Dove would now be screwed.
I remember this story of an retiring politician (as incredible as it sounds, I think that was the case): he was praised by colleagues and the press that he never forgot a name, a commitment, a discussion or a face. When asked how he archieved that, he answered: „Oh. That was easy. I never told a lie.“
It is true. If you find an honest tone and message, communication will be easy. You will know what to do, what to say and you (or your press spokesperson) won’t have to remember all the lies you told.