You probably don’t need us to tell you that the government’s latest coronavirus messaging has been met with a chorus of disapproval.
Not only has there been a huge backlash on social media and in the mainstream media, but tellingly the leaders of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have all rejected Boris Johnson’s ‘Stay Alert’ message.
So, what exactly is wrong with it and how can organisations create effective messages?
Let’s start by looking at the original, long-standing coronavirus message.
“Stay home, protect the NHS, save lives” was a strong message. It was clear, concise and memorable and people automatically knew exactly what it was asking them to do.
This has now been replaced by “Stay alert, control the virus, save lives”, which is equally concise, but crucially it lacks clarity.
“Stay alert, control the virus” is vague, largely meaningless and will mean many different things to many different people.
And, while I don’t have a medical background, I’m pretty sure ambiguity is not something you need when you are trying to manage a public health crisis.
Is Coronavirus sneaking around in a fake moustache and glasses? If we drop our guard, will it slip us a Micky Finn? What the hell is ‘stay alert’ supposed to mean? pic.twitter.com/8cUmAVBVL7
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) May 9, 2020
"I don't know what 'Stay Alert' means."@NicolaSturgeon says it would be "catastrophic" to drop the 'Stay at Home' message in Scotland, adding she is not prepared to change it "in favour of a message that is vague and imprecise". #COVID19: https://t.co/FoCPWjbFNj pic.twitter.com/I0Ohgcu6Hy
— SkyNews (@SkyNews) May 10, 2020
As the confusion about the new message grew on social media, the government released some guidance about what it meant.
No10 issues statement explaining new slogan pic.twitter.com/AZtj45rGGg
— Alex Wickham (@alexwickham) May 10, 2020
That in itself should have told them that the new message was not going to work – any message that needs explanatory notes isn’t going to resonate with the public.
Imagine a copywriter producing a slogan for a campaign and then saying that the pages of notes will explain what it all means. No-one would sign that off.
For me, an ambiguous message is comparable to having to explain the punchline to joke – you are simply not going to have the desired impact. Sadly, the issue at stake here is no laughing matter.
"I don't know what 'Stay Alert' means."@NicolaSturgeon says it would be "catastrophic" to drop the 'Stay at Home' message in Scotland, adding she is not prepared to change it "in favour of a message that is vague and imprecise". #COVID19: https://t.co/FoCPWjbFNj pic.twitter.com/I0Ohgcu6Hy
— SkyNews (@SkyNews) May 10, 2020
Of course, there is a huge degree of political tribalism on social media and I’ve seen some people claim that the confusion is being caused by critics deliberately misinterpreting the message.
The problem with that argument is that those charged with delivering the message and responding to questions about the policy it supports, don’t seem to understand what it means.
The government had to issue an embarrassing correction after Dominic Raab got the new rules wrong during an interview with BBC Breakfast on Monday. He also incorrectly told the Today programme on the same day that someone could meet both their parents at the same time "if they're 2m apart".
Now I really am confused. @DominicRaab just said that we can see more than one other person from different household outdoors, somewhere like a park. That is what it sounded like on @BBCr4today. Mum and dad can be met at same time, he said. 🤔
— Robert Peston (@Peston) May 11, 2020
Basically just pick your lockdown rules depending on which Dominic Raab interview you happen to have heard this morning pic.twitter.com/eiwGhXKcK8
— Matt Porter (@mattjp) May 11, 2020
Perhaps the 'Stay Alert' message may have fared a little better had it not been released a day before the Prime Minister’s address on Sunday, effectively giving those who didn’t like it a 24-hour head start where they could pull it apart.
Of course, we shouldn’t lose sight of the fact that the government faces an enormous challenge, having to balance the need to keep the public safe with the desire to restart the economy.
And perhaps that is the problem with the message – it is trying to do too many things and fulfil too many objectives. It has probably had to have been signed off, and had input from too many people.
So, if ‘Stay Alert’ doesn’t work as a message, what should organisations do to ensure they get their messaging right?
Here are eight tips from our message development and testing courses – both of which can be delivered online.
1 Focus on one message
You’ll often hear people talk about the importance of ‘three key messages’. It is a common media training tip.
But we believe that, in many cases, three messages are too many. The reality is that no matter how well you do in a media interview, the audience is unlikely to remember more than one major point you make.
That’s why on our courses we ask delegates to focus on establishing one key message.
2 Be clear on what you want the audience to do
The audience plays a crucial role in creating a powerful message.
You need to be clear on exactly who you are targeting and what you want them to do as a result of hearing your message.
Do you want them to be motivated into taking some form of action? Do you want them to be persuaded by a particular point or argument? Maybe you simply want to raise awareness of a product, initiative, or campaign.
3 Keep it simple
If you want people to remember your message you need to keep it short and simple.
It needs to be a single sentence of fewer than 20 words, contain simple language – no corporate-speak - and take around 15 seconds to deliver.
Anything longer, or containing complex language, will be too difficult for people to recall.
4 Support
A key message needs to be supported by examples in a media interview, otherwise, it will be little more than rhetoric.
And the most impactful examples are those which are personal to the spokesperson.
These stories and anecdotes help to make the story relevant to the audience and bring it to life – people are naturally curious and want to hear stories about other people.
Let’s say, for example, you are launching a new product which aims to help elderly people live in their own homes for longer. A story about looking after an elderly relative in this situation and how this product could help them will enable people to see and understand the benefits.
Additionally, personal stories provide a human side to an organisation and can help spokespeople grow in confidence in an interview.
Statistics can also play an important role here, but they need to be used carefully and creatively.
5 Loosen the messaging noose
You may have carefully crafted the key message, but it might still contain language your spokesperson is not comfortable using.
But that’s ok because messages do not need to be repeated verbatim – apart from anything else, that is going to be boring for the audience.
Empowering and encouraging spokespeople to use the language they are comfortable with will help make messages memorable and bring them to life.
6 Stick with it
We often come across spokespeople on our media training courses who have a strong key message, but they only use it once.
If you want a message to resonate with your audience you need to stick with it and repeat it.
Repetition will strengthen the message. But don’t fall into the trap of using the same language – that will bore the journalist and the audience.
Create some variants of your message that you can use in media interviews.
7 Negatives
No matter how strong your message, there is a risk it will not be heard if spokespeople do not prepare properly for a media interview.
Challenging questions, negative subjects and questions on wider issues all have the potential to become the focus of the interview if they are not handled well.
That’s why, when preparing a message, we encourage spokespeople to also spend time considering the difficult questions and other issues that could be brought into the interview.
8 Test
Once you are confident you have a good message, put it to the test.
Is it clear? Does it inspire? Is it emotionally engaging?
We believe that journalists, with their understanding of how different audiences work, are ideally placed to vigorously test and refine a message before it goes out to a wider audience.
This is something we are being increasingly asked by our clients to help with and we can test messages across a range of media interview formats.
You can get more tips to help you develop a message which is compelling and that resonates with your audience by downloading our free message development template.
Media First are media and communications training specialists with over 30 years of experience. We have a team of trainers, each with decades of experience working as journalists, presenters, communications coaches and media trainers.
Click here to find out more about our message development and testing courses.
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