“Blessed is he who expects nothing, for he shall never be disappointed.”
Alexander Lock apparently (I had to look it up) and as true today as it was in the 18th century if my experience at 10pm last Thursday is anything to go by. As the exit polls confirmed a thumping majority for Boris Johnson I was left shrugging my shoulders. No gnashing of teeth, no drowning of sorrows. Just a sense of resignation. I’d emotionally ‘priced in’ the result already and my disappointment index barely flickered – even though the majority was more than I’d expected.
Why? Why was the result so clear from the opening salvos of the campaign?
There are plenty of reasons, but for those of us working in communications a handful of basics stand out.
First, know your target audience. As many have said, the Labour leadership misread large swathes of voters in parts of the country that were Labour for 50 years. Yes, they were squeezed by the Lib Dems in London and the Tories in the north. But if you don’t understand your audience, you can’t stick to another doctrine of sensible communications; tell people what they need to hear.
I don’t mean that in a cynical or underhand way. Certainly not in the manner displayed by certain politicians during the referendum campaign and beyond. But to connect with people we need to have answers to their problems and views on the issues that interest them. Focusing exclusively on what we want to say, rather than what people want to hear, is arrogant and self-indulgent. We need to find that sweet spot between what people want and what we can offer. And then make sure we can evidence our position and deliver on our promises.
Also, in comms 101, let’s not forget the importance of the messenger. It was clear for a long time that Jeremy Corbyn wasn’t convincing to the electorate. Worse, many thought him dangerous. You can’t win an election with a leader who polls so consistently poorly. Even an election characterised by massive distrust across the political spectrum. Boris Johnson isn’t everyone’s cup of poorly made tea for the cameras, but he was felt to connect in a way the Labour leader simply couldn’t.
Finally, I can’t finish a note on comms basics without the most important tenet of all. Keep it simple. Get Brexit Done was smart work. Five years in Government bought on the back of three words – one of which wasn’t even a word until recently. Contrast that with the complex ifs and buts of the Labour position on Europe and the catalogue of policy proposals the party put forward to a nation ill-prepared to receive them. Simplicity is not ‘dumbing down’ – a phrase I hear often from smart, gifted people at the top of their game who feel I’ve missed something in expressing their ideas. It’s simply recognition that most people don’t have time for my stuff, your stuff, or anybody else’s stuff – certainly not the stuff of Jeremy Corbyn. If we want something to stick, and we want people to take action as a consequence, it had better be easy to say and easy to remember.
So there you go. Know your audience, say what they need to hear, choose the right messenger and keep it simple. Hardly new ideas, but sometimes the old ones are the best. Good luck to the new Government setting out to rebuild their one nation credentials. And good luck to a Labour party on a long, hard road to recovery. Until then I’ll stay blessedly free of the curse of optimism.