BlakeAtwood.com

Kem Meyer told us to stop doing so much.

OK, she didn’t actually use those words, but that’s what she said. That’s what she always says. Her blog’s mantra is Less Clutter. Less Noise. so even though it may seem she’s contradicting the Stop Talking. Start Doing. motif of the conference, she’s actually reinforcing it.

People today are overwhelmed by choice, bombarded by advertising, and struggling to redeem their time. It’s up to us in the communications business to convey necessary messages without adding to the mess. Kem listed five myths, but here are my distillations in active form:

Reduce the gap between intent and perception.
See these unfortunate domains as an example. Be warned! Most are risque. But really funny.

Focus your audience’s vision.
Watch this awareness video for an example.

Every communication piece can afford liposuction.
Have you heard about the new stop sign?

Hit the heart within nine seconds.
Nine seconds is both the average attention span for a normal web user and for a goldfish. Trigger an emotional response to engage your audience.

Spend money on the experience, then on promotions.
A bad, personal experience is worse than a typo. A cool flyer that leads to an inauthentic experience is just more dead trees.

The distillation of the distillation? Effective and engaging communications wisely communicate concisely