In an article published by The Straits Times, Why Some Causes Resonate, Ms Carol Soon, Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies’ Arts, Culture and Media Research Group, sheds light on the success of Pink Dot.
A highly controversial event that began in 2009 with the goal of promoting understanding and acceptance of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community, Pink Dot grew its attendance from 2,500 people in 2009 to an estimated 28,000 in 2015, according to the media. reports.
Publicity for the event has been largely done on social media, and in recent years religious conservatives have come out to campaign against it online. With amendments to the Public Order Act prohibiting foreigners from using assemblies and processions in Singapore to promote political causes, Pink Dot faced greater challenges than before, but managed to win the support of 50 Singaporean patrons and reportedly raised 70 percent of the 2016 sponsorship amount before official fundraising even began.
According to Soon, messaging and targeting are the two main reasons for Pink Dot’s success. This is no surprise. Events that enjoy the most success, usually measured by the number of attendees, tend to have varied but aligned messages that their target audience can relate to.
As the PR agency behind 5 installations of South East Asia’s largest and highest quality whiskey and spirits show, Whiskey Live Singapore, our work behind the success of these events was not considered a piece of cake. How did the publicity and active participation in the conceptualization of the event take Whiskey Live Singapore’s inaugural number of 800 guests in 2010 to 3,000 in 2016? Here are our learning points:
Strategic communications is largely about crafting varied messages that resonate with a diverse target audience at the right times on different platforms. The ability to capture attention and communicate with different audiences is key. – Incorporated brand director
Different platforms speak to different audiences in different ways. The assumption of homogeneity in the target audience and the inability to frame and align diverse messages are the Achilles heel of many organizers.
Gone are the days when one size fits all. Even high-budget communications can fail and backfire if social trends and information consumption patterns aren’t thoroughly scrutinized. Take Kendall Jenner’s Pepsi ad for example. Isn’t there such a thing as bad publicity? Think again.
The trick is to get an idea of how the target audience receives the information and the relevance of the content. From there, formulate the communication strategy.
A press release may seem archaic to the uninitiated. However, it certainly hasn’t outlived its usefulness. It is an essential tool that describes and puts into perspective the highlights of an event.
Think of it like a cheat sheet. You must cut through the clutter, and get to the point. If you have a seven-page press release (trust us, we’ve seen it before), we suggest you take another look at it and come up with a succinct story.
Here are our tips:
1. Develop an aligned communication framework.
2. Create different targeted messages for different audiences.
3. Use a press release to share brief information and insights with the media and influencers.
4. Use social media to reach end consumers directly.
Many inexperienced marketers also overlook the importance of images. Pictures speak more than a thousand words. Social networks have published data time and time again on how relevant images capture attention and increase traction. On the same note, videos are on an upward trend. Our data shows that videos between the ages of 20 and 30 have the highest viewership. And nothing beats capturing the atmosphere of a successful event than actual footage.