Who’s the Audience, Again?

The most recent internet tempest created by CEO comments — this time by the chief of Papa John’s — has been cited as another instance of wading into the “red state/blue state divide” by Todd Wasserman at Mashable.

It is that, though I suspect there is also a deeper communications issue at play.  First, I’ll go on record and say I don’t have a problem with CEOs or anybody stating their beliefs in public.  Of course, I’d recommend they think through what they have to say ahead of time, paying attention to the impact of their comments on a broad spectrum of audiences.

And that — the impact on multiple audiences — is likely the underlying issue here.  It’s a consequence of a communications universe that has become more complex and fragmented over the past 25 years and totally blown open in the age of the internet and social media.  In this environment you are never speaking to just one audience — not any more.  No one can totally wall off statements to analysts or investors from consumers or other interested parties.

That’s a lesson we emphasize again and again throughout the preparation and communications process.  It complements the lesson that audience is always the right starting place in communications, particularly when your objective is to persuade.