Why in Government, quality, not quantity still rules.

It’s fair to say that most marketing campaigns subliminally set out to reach the largest number of people possible. We all know the importance of targeted thinking and will (hopefully) have identified the key behavioural or socio-demographic characteristics of our primary audience, but having done that, it’s easy, as marketing people, to be seduced by the opportunity to pick a few hundred thousand extra people along the way.

The guys at McCann who launched Dumb Ways to Die, (arguably one of the most successful pieces of public sector marketing ever) are probably still in shock with 112 million people seeing the thing on You Tube, but without taking anything away from its’ undeniable brilliance, it wouldn’t have slipped their notice that the entire population of Victoria is a bit less than that. And of course the total numbers of people in the Metro trains area of Melbourne, for whom the ad was first made, are a smaller audience again.

This transformation in the way media channels operate raises a heap of interesting questions for public sector ad campaigns in the digital age. In chasing audiences, it’s both incredibly seductive and officially “a brilliant thing” for any of us to see a campaign get previously unheard of numbers of views on things like You Tube or for our brand to feature positively on Twitter or shared across Facebook. Huge awareness is never a bad thing. I’ve been that soldier.

Unlike their private sector counterparts, the dual edged sword of opportunity for public sector marketing and communications people to reach untold numbers of people in the digital age is the accompanying problem of not being able to control the “distribution” of their work.

In my time in Government, it was strongly held that it was somehow “illegal” for organisations like the RTA to advertise interstate and vice versa for the TAC to advertise in NSW. All of our TV, press and radio bookings on social marketing campaigns were intrastate only and that model had been in place for ever. While a few of us fought for more interstate sharing of research and proven creative solutions, what we couldn’t foresee was the way that the whole media landscape would change and allow people not just interstate but all over the world to legitimately see our ads.

As the You Tube ticker rolls into seven figures, the critical thing that excited marketers running all too elusive successful viral campaigns mustn’t lose sight of is how well their campaign is resonating with the original primary target. In Government, more than any other industry, that’s the primary priority and ranks above all else. Being really popular in another state or country can be considered the ultimate “nice to have”.

But not your prime consideration. And its critical never to lose sight of that.

How to avoid falling into the same trap? The advice I give to the departments I work with is simple, but often overlooked. Prior to starting any campaign, digital or otherwise, make sure all your stakeholders…particularly the person approving the budget…share a crystal clear understanding of precisely what success looks like.

Before the first ad runs, have a dashboard in place with clear metrics, updated as the data arrives. And then as your You Tube views and Facebook shares go sailing skywards, take a leadership role in constantly framing results in the context of your original plans. It’s what old codgers like me call the “so what” question. And keep updating the info as it comes in. All the while enjoying the benefits of learning more about what works and what doesn’t

And when your tiny campaign actually does “go viral”, by all means enjoy the spoils of success, confident that you have, if anything, met and over delivered on the original objectives. Now that’s quality

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Why in Government, quality, not quantity still rules.