The mysteries of the young
Howard Lake | 15 June 2007 | Blogs
I was lucky enough to catch Seb Coe on Radio 5 this morning talking about the 2012 Olympics.
I have never particularly been a Seb Coe fan – I was always in the Ovett camp myself – but I was struck by the immense common sense that he spoke when discussing the much-criticised 2012 logo.
His primary rationale was based on a developing a brand that would appeal to and engage with young people.
So, when one middle-aged caller vociferously criticised the logo for not being straight-forward and traditional, Coe gently pointed out this was probably a very good thing as that is not really what the younger folk among us are interested in, or likely to be inspired by.
He very eloquently went on to say that to succeed in building genuine relationships with young people, they needed to communicate in a style, language, and method that young people use themselves.
Apparently the 2012 brand will, over the coming months and years, demonstrate a huge flexibility in terms of application, particularly digitally, and it is far too early to base a judgement on the logo at this early stage – when it has not yet been used for much other than a static image.
He did not want a safe logo. One that just appears on a polo shirt, and then six weeks later is being worn to do the gardening.
He then went on to discuss complicated things like brand architecture at which point I got confused and gave up listening.
But as often happens, it does strike me that a parallel can be drawn with Seb Coe’s observations and our own fundraising activities, particularly those efforts to engage with the young.
I have come across a number of charities that very much want to engage with younger audiences, but are prepared to do it only on their own terms – in their own way, using their existing and tried and tested communication methods. Ones that are, dare I say it, traditional and straight-forward.
It seems a simple truth that to succeed in what is undoubtedly a difficult area, a basic given is that we must communicate in a style, language, and method that the audience choose to use themselves. Fail to do this and I would guess disappointment is just around the corner.
Oh and my view on the logo. Given what I heard today, I’m all for it, and I especially look forward to seeing it really flex its digital muscles.
About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.