INDUSTRY RELATED: The Architecture of Connectivity
The Alpha Kilo Methodology is a study in Human Connection more so than PR. Let's get into it...
Industry Related is a weekly newsletter to unmask and straight-talk brand comms, from a multi-national, award-winning team that's worked with Airbnb, Diageo, The Eames Institute, Kartell, Harry's, and Savile Row, to name just a few.
Amy reporting here today from a train on my way to Boston where it is a sunny but cold 37F/3C and I’m becoming reacquainted with my love of train travel. With Amtrak running from the gorgeous, new(ish) Moynihan Station in NYC, a nicely stocked cafe/bar car, and so far reliable WIFI, it’s a delightful experience all-round. (Full transparency: I wrote that earlier in the week when this was meant to go out, but standby the sentiment so left it in.)
Let’s Talk About… Connection
Lately I've been floundering when it comes to TV programmes. I love a routine - and part of my evening routine is about an hour or so of some sort of show before I start my wind-down ritual. I have a propensity for true crime, but I’m really scraping the bottom of the barrel these days to find something that I either don’t already know the outcome of or that intrigues me from a psychological/sociological perspective. I’ve run down my favourite comedies - they can’t make Abbott Elementary episodes fast enough - and so I’ve landed in the world of stand-up comedy. I like the format because I don’t have to pay close attention and I’ve committed to being JOYFUL this year, come hell or high water, so regular laughter seems a good way to hold to it.
This brings me to what sparked this week’s column - Roy Wood Jr. I’ve always found comedians are the world’s great observers. They watch, they listen, they ponder humanity in all it’s weird and wonderful forms. The really brilliant ones are closer to the great philosophers in their dissection of human nature. I recently read a comparison of Dave Chappelle to Plato in his ability to craft parables, and I was there for it. Roy’s (let’s move to a first name basis, shall we?) Hulu special hit on precisely what we at Alpha Kilo have been banging on about for about a decade now. Why have we succeeded when others haven’t? Why is our new business pipeline bumping when others are struggling (especially since we operate on referrals only in the main)? Why do our faithful clients always say, “you need a new way to describe the agency, as PR doesn’t do it justice”? Pondering these truths, we decided to write a methodology on our approach to communication (whether that be through PR or IRL with events) and called it “The Architecture of Connectivity” (TM pending). For the record, we also took steps toward a new business strategy and have gotten as far as paying for a CRM that, to date, no one on the team has figured out how to use 😏
Instead of me summarising Roy’s genius, take a moment to click play on the link above for a preview of his musings on how we’ve become so disconnected. Where we once had multitudes of (mostly kindly) human interaction every day from groceries stores to all forms of retail, we now go through the world with our earbuds in, avoiding phone calls, averting eye contact, and plotting how to get out of engagements.
Connection isn’t just a personal game. It’s a professional one as well - and in the marketing world, it’s EVERYTHING. In the luxury sphere, it goes to 11. Luxury brands thrive not only on craftsmanship and exclusivity, but on emotional connection. The aspirational luxury world is in free fall with the economic squeeze hitting its consumer base, but moreso for brands that lost sight of the human element. Where Hermes wins is not only in its exquisite craft, but the fact that each purchase is a MILESTONE. It’s not a transaction, but an extension of Brand Me. It’s shaping life and legacy.
You don’t have to be a member of Mensa or the writer of this newsletter, to know that today as we dive into the Super Bowl and the ADtravaganza (TM me) that surrounds it, the big winners will be those who tug on the heartstrings or transport us emotionally.
Connectivity in Practice
Did you think we would leave you without some practical tips for increasing connectivity? Of course not. Here’s a few of our tried and true:
Set the intention
What is it that you want to say and how does it connect your brand to the audience you want to reach? With our clients, each year we identify 2-3 “narrative pillars” around which we center all of our outreach. These are present not only in brand communications, but in every event. Working under the genius of Jonathan Mildenhall in the halcyon days of Airbnb, every creative activation or story angle had to ladder up to Belong Anywhere. EVERY SINGLE ONE. This precision enables the message to imprint on the recipient through both clarity and repetition.
Pay Attention
Don’t just hire a firm to do research for you and ask ChatGPT to give you audience insight. Get in the game. TALK to your core consumer. ENGAGE meaningfully with key players, especially those whom you can learn from (read: the skeptics). Alpha Kilo slogan #48 Interested Makes for Interesting - ask questions, show interest, observe. Trust your instincts.
Get Outside your Comfort Zone
If you’re looking for a new way to connect with audiences, don’t just go to the industry standards or bureaucratic juggernaut agencies for the answer. Pull from unexpected sources. Some of our best campaigns have been for those outside our usual sphere of art/design/luxury - where we aren’t burdened with historical knowledge of one silo but bring insights and new approaches gleaned from other industries and sources. Engage people who are willing to rip up the playbook and take a new approach - and then give them the bandwidth to create new connections and new audiences for you.
At the end of the day, whether personal or professional, take a moment to look someone in the eye and say hello. Show up to that event. Ask your uber driver how their day is going. Listen and respond thoughtfully. I guarantee you’ll feel that spark of human connection and with it a bit of joy. (Seriously, I gave my uber driver a box full of cookies I had taken with me from a client lunch. The huge smile, gratitude, and response that he was excited to share them with his son still has me riding high.)
NEW NEWS for our paid subscribers: Industry Related Travel Guides are still rolling out! The latest is Chicago, with Singapore up next. Next up in the largess of paid content: straight-talkin, no-holds-barred interviews with our favourite journalists. Watch this space!
Thanks so much for reading, commenting, and being part of the community.
With love from Alpha Kilo