Jonathan Sanchez, Singapore

When my friend got married a few years ago in a beautiful church in Kent, England, I was asked to make a speech. She was – and remains – my dearest friend. That aside it’s fair to say, even as a competent pitcher, speaker and presenter, that I was absolutely terrified. The concept of pitching to new clients, new partners and new colleagues comes easy to me. I think it might be the ability to hide behind your experience, or the PowerPoint, or even the water cooler when speaking.

But speaking to a group of people that are passionately connected to the subject (the bride and groom) have a deeper knowledge of them than you do (they are largely close family – excepting the ever present group of serial-best-friend-wedding-attendees) and the competition is tough (you’re setting up for the groom) it can cause an emotional terror akin to standing in front of a firing squad, albeit a fire-squad with nice hats and morning suits on. Sounds a bit like trying to connect with tight social networking groups doesn’t it?

As I rehearsed my speech, and thought about what witty adlibs I was going to pepper my words with (we call this ‘messaging’ in our PR world) the bride’s aunt approached me. This is akin to being a small fishing boat in the South China Sea during a Malacca Squall and seeing a Singaporean Tanker drift alongside, eerily foreboding - but inherently reassuring.

She whispered these words in my ear ‘it’s ok, it’s a speech at a wedding, we are all here because we love Holly (the bride) and no one wants you to fail’. With those words my fear dissipated, my trousers sighed with relief and I was ready. Needless to say 5 years later people still tell me the speech was the highpoint of the wedding (a blessing and a curse, as you’d expect the ‘I do’ moment to be the real star of the show)…

The point I am making here is that this is, in a roundabout way, a powerful example of consumer engagement and actionism. It takes moments to draft a speech at a wedding, but years of understanding, emotional empathy, trust and relationship building to earn the right to deliver the message in a welcoming environment. As communication consultants we must always strive first to build the connection to earn the right and respect of our audience before we propose an action, make a point of view or even try to join in.

Consumers don’t want tactical band-wagoning, they don’t want brands to approach them with the message that ‘you like this so we immediately like it too’ they want brands to spend time to understand, relate and empathize with them. Through real life experiences, adding emotional value and gently reflecting the good in them, the consumer and what it is we believe in.

Living in Asia, and quite frankly being Asia obsessed, this point of view is highly relevant. Actionism must not be confused with Activism. The individual can make a point without collective protest. The way to deliver that message is not by shouting at, but by being with. The warmth of people and thought here should never be mistaken for a lack of actionism or intent – however the approach must be appropriate.

Only then can you successfully wed what our partners and clients want to say with what our consumer want to hear, understand and do.