Keep calm and say nothing
Helen Reynolds
Unboring comms training that taps into your creativity, grows your confidence and helps you make a powerful impact
Hiya comms pro,
In case you need to hear this:?nobody is getting to the bottom of their to-do lists.
I chat to talented comms people every day who confide in me that they're not achieving.
But they are!
Their problem is that they?are comparing themselves with the?perfect and impossible version of themselves that lives in their head.
What you DO do is good and worthwhile, and what you haven't done usually won't kill you.?
Pep talk over.
I know you're busy, so?let's get on with the newsletter.?
On the menu this week:
(BTW, if you're new here, you can familiarise yourself with the lore of the?Big Yellow Newsletter thing?is about by?browsing some?back issues .)
Comms Creatives Content of the Week
CCCOTW?is a bit unusual this week because it’s not more marketing than?comms. And I think you'll like this from?meditation app, Calm .?? ?
Calm put out a 30 second TV advert of silence during the US Presidential election campaign coverage this week.
A 'Calm' during the storm is just what the audience needed - a moment of silence at a highly noisy and?emotional?time.
Even as someone in the UK watching the election coverage on channel 4 on Tuesday night, I felt?slightly overwhelmed and turned off by the?information overload, I can only imagine what people in the US were feeling.
The silence is so on brand as a way to practically demonstrate how?users of the app get some peace in their busy lives.
But also, having 30 seconds of silence was such a good format, because most adverts are noisy and try to capture all your senses.
(I don’t know about you, but I find it really annoying when you’re watching a show, and the ad comes on and blasts?your ears off.)
Anyway, this would grab people's attention when they notice no sound all of a sudden. It makes us look by not doing what other ads all do.
Cracking stuff.
Comms tip: do the unexpected (and don't blend into the other noise)
I said this last week, and I'll say it again - being predictable is a sure fire way for people to ignore your brand.
Create something different from what other brands are doing to make your brand stand out. Stop thinking about best practice, because that's usually what others are already doing. To get attention - try something new. Ask yourself: “What is everyone else NOT doing?” and then, you might come up with some unique and creative content ideas. ?
Free: join our online discussion
Not long to go until our free session discussing how to handle awkward and negative comments on your brand's socials.
To get you in the mood, here's a BRILLIANT guest blog from the supremely talented Niamh Oakes from the award winning comms team at Manchester City Council .
And sign up for the free webinar (14 November, 12.30pm): Join the webinar
Live online comms courses?coming up
View more comms courses coming up:?take?a quick look at the course calendar
Get your 2025 calendars quick!
There are plenty available, but they sometimes take quite a while to arrive in the post.
So if you're shopping for Christmas presents for a comms colleague or yourself, get yours in the next few weeks.
*Swear alert
Comms Cartoons
Cool comms and social media jobs
Each week, Caroline and I scout about for great jobs and share a selection of them on Linkedin.? Brands don't pay us for this, it's just a curated list of jobs we think you'll like. Oh, and they've ALL got salaries listed . Huge thanks to Caroline, it takes much longer than you'd think to compile this every week! Here's?a list of potential fresh beginnings:
Got a lovely job you'd like us to consider for inclusion in the weekly roundup??Drop us a message on Linkedin, or post it into our Facebook group . ?
My email inbox is always stuffed to the brim with stuff I need to catch up on, so be sure to message us on the Linkedin company page where one of us on the team will see your message more readily.
Bye for now - and remember seek progress not perfection,
Hel x