An article from Dan Beedell, “east to west” Communications [abbreviated]. [“east to west” is one of the charities Runnymede Deanery has worked with for many years, providing support workers with a Christian background for some local schools.] This piece is well worth reading for any Church trying to get its message out there, which is why we have abbreviated less than usual.
“Parenting is a complicated puzzle! Some theologians would argue it’s even harder to understand than the book of Revelation! I was in Kingston (Surrey, not Jamaica) over half term and heard a parent in exasperation say to their whining child, ‘do what I mean, not what I say!’ It made me chuckle at the absurdity of the statement but I also thought ‘been there, said that’.
This simple moment reminded me of something I was told at university about product branding, namely that lots of companies launching products into new markets fall foul of the local language, especially when the translation offered a different meaning than what they’d been hoping to share. Just for fun, here are some more printable ones:
• Clairol launched a curling iron called "Mist Stick" in Germany where "mist" is German slang for manure.
• Coca-Cola’s brand name, when first marketed in China, was translated as "Bite the Wax Tadpole".
• KFC scared Chinese consumers when "finger licking good" was translated as "eat your fingers off".
• Parker Pen, when expanding into Mexico, mistranslated "it won't leak in your pocket and embarrass you" into "it won't leak in your pocket and make you pregnant".
• The American Dairy Association replicated its "Got Milk?" campaign in Spanish-speaking countries as "Are You Lactating?”
We can (hopefully) see that there is a real importance to thinking about what it is we want to share and how we go about it. It’s easy to fall into common traps around language. I recently did a piece of work around communication for east to west’s trustees and the journey we’d taken as a charity around the language we use with our supporters and partners. If you’ve received wePRAY over some years you will have seen a transformation in both the message and style of what you receive. Online, our website has been updated. The twice-yearly newsletter is now termly and its production/delivery has been brought in-house (saving around £2,000 a year). We have updated the way we verbalise what we do with partners and supporters, tailoring our language so it’s relevant to its audience.
This process began by investigating and challenging three simple questions/assumptions: Does language matter? If we speak, will people listen and understand? Do people want to hear what we have to say? We discovered the answers were Yes, No and No! The language we use matters massively. It must be accessible, understandable and engaging. If it’s not, it doesn’t matter what you’re trying to say, people won’t or can’t engage as you hope they will.
The second answer was No! It challenged the assumption that how we speak is easily understood. How easy is it to slip into jargon or acronym? How many of you would understand Bleeding Edge; Horbgorble; TTFN or GIF*? Communication is full of this in-house(!) language; those who are not ‘in the know’ are very much left feeling on the outside of what is happening.
The third question led to a very humbling response. Assuming people want to hear what you have to say is just that… an assumption! When we realised that not everyone wants to know more about ‘bringing hope to young lives’, we began to think about how we position ourselves in the noisiness of modern society. How do we make our voice clear and one which people want to engage with? In essence, in all its busyness, how do we make east to west stand out and present itself as something people want to discover more about? The key is simple. It’s communication! Clear, carefully thought through, engaging, informative communication!!
When we understand what it is that we’re trying to communicate, think about the audiences we’re sharing with and then do so in a coherent, accessible way, we can change the way we’re viewed, understood and even perceived by others…and then we can begin to achieve new and exciting things!”
And if you wondered what Bleeding Edge, Horgorble, TTFN and GIF mean, go to https://www.easttowest.org.uk/post/wepray-march-2020 and scroll to the bottom. Remember, you can always read the full version of Dan’s monthly musings on their website!
east to west Prayer Requests: This month please pray for Family Link Worker Alisa, her family and her work especially around a new east to west project, working with a child through CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services), and for God’s guidance in all that she does.