I wrote some weeks ago about my interest in the Occupy Wall Street movement. I was interested in it from a communications perspective. I said then that I admired the protesters for their zeal and energy, and I was eager to hear their message.
Chirp. Chirp. Cue the sound of silence interrupted only by the chirping of crickets. Which is pretty much all the Occupiers have done – a bit of harmless chirping.
I am disappointed because they had their 15 minutes of fame; they had the megaphone; the world was listening; but they had nothing to say. Thousands of people taking to the streets with signs of all kinds, achieving: nothing. What a wasted opportunity. Chirp Chirp.
Which brings to mind this quote:
“Never confuse motion with action” – Ben Franklin
And this quote:
“Never confuse camping with communicating.” -- Steve Cebalt
So the PR lessons:
Camping in cities gets you some TV cameras to look at your cardboard signs. But you have to have the fundamentals of any communication:
1. A purpose. What problem are we trying to solve?
2. A target audience: Who can solve this problem for us?
3. A message: What would persuade this audience do solve our problem?
4. A medium: Cardboard signs are fine, if they are supported by intelligent spokespersons with a coherent message (see #3).
5A. A goal: What would success look like? How will we know when we’ve achieved it?
5B. And the goal can’t’ be this: “Can I go home now, this tent is getting cold and stinky and this isn’t as much fun as I thought it would be….”
So we can learn a lot from the Occupiers. Getting attention achieves NOTHING without a clear problem statement; a clear message delivered through the right channels, aimed at people who can address that problem; and a goal that defines success.
I was very supportive of the Occupiers when they started! I wanted to see them succeed at – something! But I’ve never seen such a colossal failure of a “movement.” They can shiver in their tents chirp-chirp-chirping until spring, and unless they address the 5 PR principles listed above, no one will care. Why should we?
Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.
Steve Cebalt
