Where is your audiences attention.

If there is one thing I have learned from working with teams of people throughout different companies is that there tends to be a some kind of disconnect between the marketing team and the desired audience that said company wants (granted that is their job to solve that gap.)

I find that the first people to pick up on this are the designers. Why, I am not too sure. Maybe understanding the subtleties of the story being told gives them a better insight into why the company is not getting the attention they want.

Also why I think that it is not unheard of for designers and marketers to jump between those two professions often. Some find they get one side or the other better.

A short story/example.

It was not a rare thing for me to work with a company that needed some work done on the aesthetic side of things and worked with the marketing team. Their audience was the early 20's to around 45yr old age group. Great, solid demographic to market to.

The very first thing they wanted to do was do a direct mail blast, some other printed publications and some direct email marketing campaigns.

What?!?! Blew my mind. Even though I would get paid regardless.

Anytime someone hands me a piece of paper, a brochure, information, card, or mails me something...and I did not ask for it. The first thing I do is toss it right in the trash.

I did not ask for this, I did not want it, you are selling me something or a service that I also do not want or have no need for.

Right in the trash with you.

Just the same with email campaigns. If I do not shop or use your service regularly, there is a maybe 5% chance I open it....maybeeeee 5%. That small chance I do....even a smaller chance of me clicking a link or following through on anything in the email.

Cut it out.

I fall into that demographic stated early. My attention is not on print media and good luck with email. My attention is on my phone and social media apps. That is where you have your best luck reaching me. Other then that, I do not want to marketed at.

It is like walking into a store and a sale rep coming right up to you asking you what you want, if you want to try anything and starts trying to sell me stuff.

The chance of me coming back to your store after that is low.

Understand where attention is and how to best use it.

So instead of that company wasting money on me redesigning print material, I helped them understand where their audiences attention is and helped to design digital ads for different platforms that would better reach who they want.

Design and tell your story where people are actually listening.

Write more.

I think there is something amazing about someone who can write well. The way they can communicate exactly what they want to say, the choice of words....it is a true talent that often gets overlooked. Especially for those of us who are in the visual creative department.

First it is hard to find a dumb person who can write really well. They usually run hand in hand. That is not also to say that all smart people are good writers. But I would bet on the former as opposed to the later. So being able think and problem solve the issue of written communication makes you that much more valuable. At the end of the day, what are we as creatives? We are communicators and problem solvers. But instead of using sentences we use other visual means to solve the problem. So in my mind...it only makes sense that they would have a carry over from one to another.

Secondly, it is just an amazing skill to have. People pay big bucks if you can write well. Many of us are caught up in the kerning, tracking, white space....the photography, type setting and all the other things involved in putting together good designs. When it comes to communicating to others, especially clients....this is where we usually fall behind. It is tough to live just off your ability to design and have them speak for yourself. So it is important that we learn how to write so we can effectively convey what we have to say. At the very base of it, if you are missing out on this skill you simply leaving money on the table.