How to Avoid Cringey Communications

This might be news to some of you, but the field of marketing and communications constitutes a profession. Professionals in the field possess undergraduate and, sometimes, graduate degrees in marketing, communications, journalism, design, photography or videography. Quelle surprise! Yes, I’ve ranted about people wanting logos and press releases, but it’s once again time for some friendly reminders.

I write this because an exasperated colleague recently wondered aloud if he should frame and hang his three diplomas and numerous awards for excellence on his office wall after a campus client didn’t want necessary changes in a publication. The client insisted, “Well, I like it!” when the marketing and communications team wanted to delete a wordy, sentimental, repetitive sentence; change a font that was unreadable when overlaid on a photo; unclutter a design; and replace a low-resolution photograph that would not reproduce well. The customer is not always right. I mean, I like a kitschy Elvis on velvet paintings as much as anyone else, but I know it isn’t good art and wouldn’t insist on its inclusion in the Louvre’s permanent collection.

Here’s the thing, my friends and colleagues: we work in higher education, a sector focused on producing experts. While we each have expertise in our fields, we are not experts in all areas.

Utilizing the camera on your phone and owning an SLR or video camera doesn’t make you a photographer or videographer. Nor does it mean you know what constitutes the necessity of a photograph or a video for marketing and communication purposes. How many pictures does an institution need of a speaker at a podium (a.k.a. “The Muppet”)? Or of a corporate sponsor handing a giant check for $1,000 to a campus representative (a.k.a. “The Grip and Grin”)? Or a group picture of conference attendees (a.k.a. “The Sorority Squat”)? Please note: No one produces yearbooks anymore. Or a hundred photos of every event attendee standing alongside the event organizer (a.k.a. “The HRH”). Or a video testimonial (a.k.a. “The Virtue Signal”). Or a video of someone running or trying to be athletic who is awkward (a.k.a. “The Steven Seagal”).

Knowing how to use a computer program that enables the use of colors, shapes, lines and images doesn’t make you a graphic designer. And please, let’s say no to clip art, stock photos and ombré-colored fonts. Besides those things, how often have we seen the inadvertent use of color and shapes that end up looking like genitalia or bodily fluids? These are the images we can’t unsee. Marketing and communications professionals must see what you don’t see at first, critically assess what images communicate and make sure whatever is conveyed is on purpose.

Should a T-shirt (to be given to prospective students during a December open house) featuring graphic representations of snowflakes and the words “Class of 2028” be approved for production and distribution? That’s not just a no, but a “hell, no.” Doing so would mark the wearer as a “snowflake,” a derogatory, politicized term. Cringe! While far-right Republicans might chuckle at the sentiment, I’m pretty sure students, parents, faculty and the administration would not be amused.

The ability to string together a series of words to create a sentence, a journal article, a novel, a dissertation or an essay doesn’t mean you are capable or qualified to be a copywriter. We’ve all seen cuteness, plays on words and idioms gone wrong. Once I read a headline for a proposed story about an alum who owned a peanut farm implying she was mentally unstable with a play on words. At another institution, a course for children about snakes called “Herps for Kids” was autocorrected to read “Herpes for Kids” in a newsletter. Yikes!

Marketing and communication professionals are experts in the mechanisms or how to get the word out about the institution’s work and accomplishments of its students, faculty, staff, alums and donors. Choosing the right tone, tenor, media and vehicle for messaging is their job. Conversely, campus clients are content experts. Campus clients share with marketing and communications colleagues what is to be conveyed, to whom and why it is essential to share the information.

Please allow marketing and communication staff to save you from yourself. Know your colleagues in marketing and communications aren’t being difficult, mean or power-hungry. And, a few words to marketing and communications folks: exercise critical judgment, politely persuade, firmly say no when necessary and don’t permit cringey communication. In the spirit of cringe, teamwork makes the dream work.