The Right Message to the Right Audience at the Right Time in the Right Context.
That’s the holy grail, right?
But what does context REALLY mean?
Sure, we know not not run make up ads in hunting magazines, but is there more?
As marketers we pour through media kits to find our demographics and review the platforms to understand the content and competition, from colors to imagery, that will attract attention, but does our message take into consideration the frame of mind of the audience?
I’m smart .. ish. I’m a marketer so I’m pretty good at math. Not PhD level working alone at a university blackboard solving for unknowns good at math, but I made it through calculus, so I kinda sorta get it. I set my alarm clock 15 minutes fast. I’ve done this since I can remember. Recently my son shook his head saying it was a waste, since I could easily figure out what time it really was. (Aww, he knew I was smart enough to do math. #ParentingWin. Don’t mock me, he’s a teenager, we take what we can get.)
Anyway, I explained to him that context matters. Despite being good at math, doing addition in the morning when the alarm clock rudely interrupts the peace of sleep is nigh impossible. During this moment, looking at the clock and seeing the time, even if I am lucid enough to remember that the clock is fast, I can only get to the point of “OMG, it’s 46 o’clock, I have to get up now!”
He laughed, and blew me off (see previous note about teenagers). The next morning I woke him up for school and told him it was late, it’s 46 o’clock. He jumped out of bed and raced into the shower., When he arrived downstairs I slyly asked him what time it was. He snorted, and gave the look of comprehension.
Context is frame of mind. What makes sense in one context, doesn’t in another.