New year, New media

Ah, that time of year is upon us again—a time of rebirth, renewal, refreshment and yes, in this year, recession. It comes as no surprise then that as companies and organizations across the board are making their resolutions for the new year, one of the first on their list is “cut costs”. And what is often the first line item to go under the knife, for both private enterprises and non-governmental organizations? You guessed it–communications.

Disclaimer: I work for a brand strategy and integrated communications agency, so don’t expect me to take this lying down. But I promise I am not going to launch into a sales pitch or tell you why communications should be the last thing sacrificed to the gods of financial austerity. Instead, I have one simple resolution that I would urge all the non-profits, UN agencies and NGOs I work with here at Keen to set for this new year: get more bang for your communications buck–and go digital.

I direct this towards my friends in the non-profit world not to single them out, but because this is something that the commercial world has already got a head start on. Keen’s multimedia team has been building interactive digital maps, on-line meeting planners, flash and video presentations and content management systems for hotels, resorts, residential developers and other private sector enterprises for years as a way of taking information that would have once been relegated to the static medium of print and sharing it with the world–with just one click.

Our Advocacy Communications division has been happy to borrow from the experience we’ve honed creating digital and online communications strategies with our commercial clients–because what is advocacy if not “selling” an idea, needed information, a new way of thinking or a social cause to your target user? And we’re happy to see that NGOs and non-profits are steadily coming onboard.

Over the last year, we worked with UNESCO to adapt an HIV/AIDS awareness education for teachers into an online learning module, have developed an online knowledge management system for project managers in the International Labour Organization, built a web-based database of communications tools for emergency response with UNICEF, and most recently, collaborated with IUCN on creating a multimedia presentation advocating for mangrove preservation. 

All have had a worldwide reach, and all can be updated with just a few clicks–compare that to the time, effort and resources that non-profit organizations tend to spend on printing (and subsequent distribution), and you can see why we think digital is the way to go in 2009–whether you’re a business with a product to sell, or an organization with an issue that demands the world’s attention.

Don’t get me wrong–we like paper and love print design, and can’t imagine a world without it. But the next time you sit down to compile another report or publication, think about its purpose–who you’re reaching, where you want it to go, how you want it to be used, and how long you want it to last. And then think about how much further your message might go if it is instead powered digitally.