Messaging is the art of framing an idea in a way that will stand out and be noticed, resonate with an audience, and stick in their minds in a way that shapes behaviour. One way to be distinctive is to say something unexpected or counterintuitive. Whereas most companies promote their products as being the best, IKEA ran a marketing campaign intentionally positioning itself as “proudly second best” – earning a coveted Film Gold Lion at Cannes 2023.

In this atypical campaign, IKEA departs from the conventional emphasis on product functionality, instead highlighting emotionally resonant moments of parenthood. Key products such as the ANTILOP Highchair, BOLMEN Step Stool, and the SMÅGÖRA cot are featured, showcasing babies and children engaging with their parents – not with the product.

The focus is on capturing meaningful experiences rather than just displaying products in use. By harnessing the power of narrative and emotion in its communication, IKEA encourages consumers to connect wit...

The top two global sportswear brands – Adidas and Nike – have both taken a reputational hit from scandalous comments and social media posts by high-profile celebrity partners. The circumstances were parallel, but the way each company responded to its crisis had profound implications for damage limitation. An analysis of the coverage data reveals some important lessons for communicators everywhere about the interaction between corporate culture and the effectiveness of crisis response.

The headaches for Adidas came from Ye (Kanye West) who criticised the brand and went on to make anti-semitic comments in the media that caused social media uproar. Adidas eventually cancelled its partnership with Ye, but only after weeks of speculation during which time more than 4,000 articles were published, according to data from Newswhip. These articles drove millions of engagements, many of which criticized Adidas for not acting more decisively.

Meanwhile Nike was much quicker to sever its partners...

The Brent Spar episode proved that it is not enough for a company to be in the right, if it also fails also to engage with stakeholders and ­convince the media. It showed that even a major multinational can be defeated by hostile public opinion. Shell lost the PR battle, and then lost the regulatory battle as a result.

The context

The North Sea contains over 350 drilling rigs and oil production platforms. They are very large and contain some level of contamination from oil exploration and production. After a period of service they become obsolete or unsafe and need to be disposed of.

One such platform was Brent Spar, a 14,000 ton, 200-metre high platform which by 1995 was no longer usable. Its part-owner Shell spent three years and millions of pounds on research and environmental modelling which concluded (correctly) that the least damaging option was to tow Brent Spar to a very deep area of the North Sea and sink it. This would cause minimal environmental harm -- as opposed to ever...

Silicon Valley Bank collapsed in March 2023 after a run on deposits doomed its plans to raise fresh capital. Weak communication was a primary factor in the crisis, on two dimensions:

• Failure of communication strategy. SVB underestimated how sensitive depositors would be to the news, in the context of recent financial failures.
• Failure of storytelling. SVB communicated without context and neglected to build a narrative.

SVB was a $200 billion institution and had been the go-to-bank for tech boom startups. They took cash deposits and invested them in securities including U.S. government bonds, a strategy that racked up large losses when interest rates rose. SVB had to sell its investments at a $1.8bln loss and decided to raise $2bln in fresh capital to cover the losses.

Objectively speaking this situation and SVB’s action to resolve it should not have been particularly worrying. However, the way the bank communicated the news on 8 March 2023 caused panic and contributed to a vira...

On February 13, 2023, three students were killed and five others injured in a mass shooting on the campus of Michigan State University. The gunman, 43-year-old Anthony Dwayne McRae, shot himself dead when he was confronted by police.

In the aftermath of the shootings, Vanderbilt University in Tennessee decided to send a consoling email to students using the following text:

We must recognize that creating a safe and inclusive environment is an ongoing process that requires ongoing effort and commitment. We must continue to engage in conversations about how we can do better, learn from our mistakes, and work together to build a stronger, more inclusive community. One of the key ways to promote a culture of care on our campus is through building strong relationships with one another. This involves actively engaging with people from different backgrounds and perspectives, listening to their stories, and showing empathy and support.

At the bottom of the message, in small print, the email...

Some of the best communication campaigns are those where the company creates and gives away something genuinely useful, and has the courage not to spoil it with commercial messaging. A great example popped up as an Instagram ad recently.

Onstar is the connected technology platform installed in newer General Motors vehicles, which among other things can connect a driver remotely to a human advisor to coordinate with emergency services in the event of a crash.

In this campaign, they partnered with a centre that uses art therapy to help people process and heal from trauma from road accidents. We hear the therapist talking about trauma, and we watch people who have been affected by crashes as they explore how creative expression can mend psychological wounds. It's nicely shot with a gentle touch.

The deeper message from Onstar is that their technology gives their customers peace of mind: that they will get help if they're involved in a crash. Beautifully though — that message is never s...