Are you a good steward of your company’s communication budget? What am I asking? First, we need to understand what stewardship is. Webster’s Dictionary defines it as “the conducting, supervising, or managing of something; especially: the careful and responsible management of something entrusted to one’s care.”
This week’s headlines are spreading all over the web: “Corporate profits almost double the historical norm.” Check out this article by Jay Bookmen on it here.
When things are going well, and you are not pinching pennies, you are most prone to wasteful spending.
Be strategic and plan out your corporate communications. Do this using the pyramid above. Every corporation has main objectives for the year, and other things still need to be done, but are always behind those key initiatives.
A Level
In your top category, put those things that are the most important. Now, this is where you will dedicate more time, space, and budget to communicating this than to all the other items combined. For example, you would have this lead or be in every newsletter you send out. You will make videos here because you know you will use those over and over again. You commit to writing about this in different ways. It may even be a special place on your company’s main webpage.
B Level
These are items that, had it not been for those in A Level, would be. You commit to communicating regularly on these topics, maybe once a month in the newsletter rather than weekly. You will make fewer videos on this because they won’t be used as often.
C Level
This level means you are committed to the topic and may do a quarterly story or project to keep it top of mind at the company.
You may still do a few pieces that do not fit in A, B, or C, but those are more of a one-off and not a commitment of resources at a level that would tax the budget. You may also have departments coming to you for help, but if they don’t fit into the plan, you may turn them away, explaining that they are not part of the company’s priorities. Maybe they fund that themselves.
Possible Scenario
Your company is rolling out a new product. You decide to produce a video for the company’s internal people to get everyone on board. In addition, you choose to use this piece in the annual, quarterly, and department meetings. Given the project’s widespread use and importance, you want to ensure it is a high-impact piece. In addition, the production quality is essential for large screens.
Contrast this with one of the many C-Level projects that go up on your company website every week and come down after a week. Do you commit the same production level to something with a short life span?
Gold, Silver, or Bronze
Many companies like a certain quality of video when producing what amounts to a small Hollywood Film. The problem is they are making this quality all the time, when the simple newscast quality we see each night on the six o’clock news would be acceptable and perfect for communicating our message.
Consider in your communications about creating product levels and when to use them in your tiered communication strategy. For example, you may have a newscast, documentary, and Hollywood-produced videos all used in the A Level. However, you may only have documentary and newscast quality in the B Level. You may be okay with using a newscast-quality or no newscast-quality at all for the C Level.
Being a good steward is about putting the right resources to work to accomplish the goal. Don’t overdo it, even if it is an A-level.
Just because you have the money, don’t always spend it all. Instead, pay what you need and no more.