We’ve had a weird couple of years. “A weird couple of years” is probably a very low-level of describing it, if we’re honest with ourselves.

But there have also been some really weird forms of comms, and comms practices that we have seen. Whether it’s a group of celebrities singing a song on social media during lockdown, or it’s the slightly less cringe-inducing move to digital that has proved so popular that City AM is going digital-only on Fridays – the past couple of years has shown us that whilst we have been impacted by worldly events, progress doesn’t stop.

Which brings us to the topic of this blog. As other things move on, so too does comms and comms techniques. However – sometimes – we see that some people seem to believe that the best ways are the old ways.

The (c)old(war) ways.

Unfortunately, we are seeing this come from some of the highest offices in the land, and unfortunately that means it’s coming from some of the highest orifices in the land too. An early example of this would be the infamous “go home” posters that were posted around the shop in 2013, which were, really if we’re honest, abhorrent. Reminiscent of the myriad posters and propaganda that were everywhere during the western world, and the Soviet world, during the cold war espousing and pushing fear through everyone, you do have to ask yourself who thought this would be a good idea, and who had final sign off on it.

On a better note, during the lockdowns in the UK, we saw government comms that were focused also on snappy, short, and easily understandable slogans. Often three words in succession; they were easy to implement, simple to remember, and generally built trust in what government was saying. Alas, it was not to remain. As time went on, we found ourselves at the mercy of more and more fluffy examples that confounded, dismantled that trust that had been built, and simply weren’t effective. It almost ended up being similar to the worker’s slogans of the USSR, designed to look like a lot was being said, when there really wasn’t a lot of substance. Swings and roundabouts.

And then, out of almost nowhere, we come to a failed satellite launch from the UK’s only spaceport in Cornwall. Of course, the satellite launch is not what we focus on here, but rather the tweets that emerged after it the launch. These came from the twitter account of the Secretary of State for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy – the Rt Hon Grant Shapps MP. In a now deleted tweet, it appears that Mr Shapps is talking to members of the team as this very spaceport all by himself. However it was spotted by some keen-eyed observers that this photo had…Boris Johnson MP in it originally…and he had mysteriously disappeared. We will leave the rest out, due not only us having to hold our sides from laughter, but also because it’s ludicrous. Armando Iannucci said it best when asked about a new series of The Thick of It – to paraphrase: “how can I write satire when this is going on in real life?”

The point to all of this is that comms moves on, and these examples of regression are just (and this is putting it lightly) plain silly. In a world where online access is more and more prevalent, criticism is literally everywhere, and anyone can point something out instantly – you need to be careful, and you need to make sure that your ideas and implementation are watertight. You need, really, to hire professionals and experts – ones that don’t make you look silly, and actually add to your reputation and brand.

This shouldn’t be a hard decision.

With things that you don’t have the skills for, you hire someone who does. Whether it’s painting your hallway or having your appendix out – you’d hire the expert unless you wanted a botched job – which costs more in the long run, takes more time, and opens you up to immense criticism.

So, if you need help with your communications strategy, no matter how large or small your company is, let us know. We have the communications experience, we have the public affairs expertise, and we have the genuine joy of getting something incredible into play. What we won’t do is recommend you edit people out of your photos, we won’t get you to hire a few vans and put posters on them, and we won’t get you to make any two-tone posters proclaiming the glory of your small soviet republic of choice.

We can’t promise that we won’t give you a slogan or two to use. But if we do, they’ll actually be useful.