One of the first rules of communication is to ensure you don’t insult or criticise your audience. When it comes to things related to Gods Own we are brilliant at making sure this rarely, if ever, happens.
Remember John Cleese and his comments about how forgettable Palmerston North was? It made national headlines and most likely put the fear of god into future visitors who might think to offer some constructive insights.
The second question most visitors are asked by media is invariably: “and what do you think of New Zealand?” This is invariably in anticipation of a glowing response.
But surely we need some constructive criticism in order to rattle the cages of the decision makers so shortcomings can be addressed and, where possible, we get ahead of the curve in core areas. For example, our ride on the knowledge wave has slowed markedly, and we seem to be settling for a lot less and are content with simply being ‘a good place to live’, compared with other countries.
In reality though, we are now officially behind in some key areas which has been reinforced by leaders in internet, mobile marketing, food, the retail sector and communications, who’ve all shared this view at different forums in the past month.
In the food space, at a recent food industry conference, a keynote speaker referenced research that shows our retail offering in food is viewed as lacking in excitement and interest. How can this be possible when we produce some of the best food in the world? Yet it seems people are bored and treat shopping for food as a chore, unlike our European counterparts who enjoy the rich experience of food shopping.
Move on to consumer engagement with mobile technology. At a recent Marketing Association event, Derek Handley, co-founder of mobile marketing company The Hyperfactory*, told the audience of senior marketers that we need to go out into the world and see what is going on. Being laggards in the internet and mobile phone space has serious ramifications for us locally and abroad. When computers, cell phones and Eftpos came to market we proudly talked about how we were early adopters. Guess what? Our broadband charges, speed and accessibility means we are now way behind.
One major step forward will be the move from “trickle” band to broad band and making it super cheap. Derek Handley, who stated the next 24 months will see a total internet overhaul globally, went so far as to suggest that the companies offer free broad band for a brief period so that people can experience its potential. This would speed up our adoption of technology, and means that in 24 months time, we have a fighting chance of being in these critical conversations, rather than left out forever.
I firmly believe that there are two key factors at play here. First, we don’t like to be criticised and see it as either unfair or malicious. Second we rely on virtual connections to experience the rest of the world – partly understandable given the cost of travel.
But travel is an investment people need to make in business if they want to move forward, so they truly experience other markets and can apply those experiences back here.
Another option could be for Air New Zealand to help more kiwis get out into the world to experience it for themselves, and I don’t mean the Pacific Islands or Australia. Finally we communicators need to build a culture of more direct and honest communication within companies and organisations. Of course, one can go too far as Paul Henry discovered.
* The Hyperfactory is a client of NetworkPR