Why “The General Public” is a Taboo Phrase at Forthright
I’m gonna let you in on a secret. I HATE it when people say their communications or advocacy campaigns target “the general public.”
Why? Because it isn’t true!
There is no such thing as the general public.
I genuinely cannot think of a *single* communications campaign that targets the general public, because it doesn’t make strategic sense. Not even a company like Coca-Cola targets everyone on earth. I’d bet a million dollars that Coke isn’t trying to sell regular Coke to everyone that lives and breathes on our planet.
I haven’t personally met their Chief Marketing Officer, but I can bet that Coke isn’t targeting newborn babies. They’re also probably not targeting someone like my Mom (hi Mom!) who never let me drink sugary beverages as a child. Coke has a set of folks in mind who are most likely to buy regular Coke. And those folks are a different target audience than those who would drink Dasani plain sparkling water (hi again, Mom!). Successful communicators are those who can get really, really specific with their target audiences.
Targeting is Critical
Whenever a potential client comes to me with a new project, one of the first things I ask is “who are you trying to reach?” A tiny red flag goes up when the response is “oh, you know, everyone…” because that strategy isn't going to help them connect with the right audience! So I challenge them to dig a little deeper. I ask questions such as:
Who will be most impacted by your campaign? Are they in charge?
Who is the decision maker who will make your campaign succeed or fail? Who can say yes or no? Is it voters? City council? The Mayor?
Who does your decision maker listen to? Who has their ear? Who do they trust most?
You really don’t need the entire community
Sometimes I hear even the savviest clients saying they still want everyone in the community to know about their organization—even after chatting through these questions. That makes sense on a macro level, especially for our nonprofit clients. Sure, it would be ideal if most people who had the means to donate to you knew about you. But I tend to still gently push back—we probably don’t need all of your county’s 14-year-old boys to know about your early childhood nonprofit, do we? Wanting a wide swath of your community to know who you are and what you do makes sense. However, focusing your limited time and resources on those who would mean the most to your organization makes sense AND helps you accomplish your goals.
Have you run a super-targeted campaign lately? We’d love to hear about how you narrowed your target audience down!
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