In these challenging times you might be wondering whether it’s worth investing in creativity to land your messages internally? You’re under pressure with your budget, but you know, you still need to deliver. The thing is, a great creative idea needn’t cost the earth. Something simple can stand out, hit the nail on the head and be effective.

Changing people’s behaviour is never an easy thing to do, but getting people to listen to what you’re saying will always and forever be the first step. We 100% believe creativity is the key to cutting through all the noise and clutter in people’s working lives and minds. Being an Internal Comms design agency, you could say we’re biased, but we’re not on our own.

 

Good creative work, like good user experience, can make communications 10-11 times more effective.

Rory Sutherland, Vice Chairman, Ogilvy UK

 

With this in mind, we asked our creative team what they believe makes good creative work. This is what they said…

 

1) Make people feel something

Great communications tap into our emotions, creating a reaction far more powerful than any rational reaction would’ve been. People don’t stop being people the moment they enter the workplace. The best communications make us feel curious, proud, moved or believe in something. They understand the heart of what needs to be communicated and express it emotively.

If you use creativity to make employees feel something they’re more likely to engage, more likely to remember, more likely to take action and spread the word.

 

 

2) Make it authentic

Build something authentic. Realness helps your message connect with your people.

Getting the tone of voice right, is just as important as what you see. Always try to put yourself in the shoes of the audience, how would you want to be spoken to? What would make you read something?

Edwards Vacuums poster

  • The right tone of voice can pull at people’s heart strings, make them smile or question things.
  • Adding personality to copy humanises it and allows your message to speak directly to your audience.
  • Keeping it conversational encourages interaction!
  • Don’t let grammar ‘rules’ get in the way of a great message. Remember those ‘rules’ are guidelines, not rules.

It should be obvious from the creative execution that your people’s voices have been heard. If it isn’t, rethink it.

Aggreko Sometimes Poster

 

3) Make people think

You only get something different out if you put something different in. Have the bravery to try something unexpected. Turn things on their head. Whether it’s a clever piece of design or copy, a recognisable face or phrase or a something that raises a smile, we all find joy in figuring something out for ourselves!

Guardian posters

 

4) Make it about stories

We’re all suckers for a good story, and knowing how to tell a great one will help you inspire your people and land your message more effectively. Break away from the business as usual message, and land communications that tell an engaging story. What’s the human angle? Some of the greatest stories share moments of incredible vulnerability. These are the moments that are relatable, and so often not spoken about. Be brave. Be vulnerable.

 

5) Make your communications two-way

Employees want a conversation to make sense of things, ask questions and share their thoughts. Use creative ways to encourage your audience to get involved and participate in the conversation.

GSK mobile

 

6) Make no assumptions

Never assume you know what your people want or need… both in format or content. In the consumer world nothing goes to market without insight and testing with the intended user. Internal communications should be no different. Ask your people what they would like and test your ideas. Without doubt the end solution will be far better received and occasionally completely different to what you expected to deliver!

 

7) Make people laugh

Just that.