This is not a rebrand. It’s a re-focus.
More than two decades ago, I stepped foot into my first Communication class inside Milligan College’s Paxson Communication Center. Comm 101: Intro to Mass Media, taught by the one and only Terry Mattingly. I don’t think it’s hyperbole to say this class changed my life.
Don’t get me wrong. We probably discussed some things that would be culturally irrelevant now. But we were living on the edge, contemplating the future of mass communication. The wild frontier of the world wide web had only recently opened up to us. We were a generation of trailblazers, leading the world into the digital realm. Social media didn’t exist. Live streaming didn’t exist. Blogging barely existed. And the 24 hour news cycle was still in its infancy. The Internet world was our oyster. And we were ready.
Times, they have a-changed.
Communication has changed. A lot. I doubt many people would approach mass communication the same way today as they did two decades ago. The methods of communication have evolved over the years. I’ve come to realize that some basic principles of communication continue to remain. The techniques have changed, but the fundamental foundation has basically gone unchanged.
Contemplating the Stalagmite Theory
During a recent conversation about social media strategy, I was reminded about the the Stalagmite Theory of mass communication. A very rough definition of this theory is that media messages impact society by building up over time. Much like the constant drip drip drip of underground water over a long period of time leads to the growth of a stalagmite, effective messaging lead to societal change over an extended period of time.
Change isn’t always on a grand scale, like a sudden end to racism or everyone holding hands around the world singing Kum-ba-yah. The goal could be as simple as choosing to eat out at the new restaurant down the street instead of ordering takeout online. It’s important to remain consistent and patient in your messaging if you want to make an impact. Just keep building that stalagmite. Just keep drip, drip, dripping.
Churches utilize the Stalagmite Theory without realizing it
Since graduating from Milligan, I’ve heard this theory explained to church leadership like this: people in the pews need to hear a message at least seven times before it begins to sink in. And with all of the other messages fighting for our attention, I would wager that this number is even higher now than it used to be. That means you’ve got to be consistent with your message week-in and week-out. Why do you think so many churches use sermon series now? They can focus on one message and build on it over a longer term than just one stand-alone sermon.
Drip drip drip.
This is especially true during major church campaigns. While I was on staff at a church in central Indiana, I was on one of the planning committees for a major fundraising campaign. Our outside advisor reminded us that we were going to consistently hammer home the message of our campaign – A Changed Life: Priceless – so much that our core team was going to be sick of hearing about it. It was at that moment, though, that the regular church goer was going to start to begin noticing the message. It takes even longer for them to begin to understand and ultimately own the message. That requires consistency and patience.
Drip drip drip.
But everyone wants to go viral
I agree. It would be cool to create something and have the Facebook algorithms and Google bots and Twitter hive-mind would smile down and show mercy upon your amazing piece of content and send it far and wide to the outer reaches of the Internet and back again, making you King of the Hill for a day or two. Or maybe a month.
But if that’s the only thing you do and don’t have a more consistent strategy around it, are you really going to have much impact after the next Flavor of the Month strikes the Magic Viral Unicorn’s fancy? Nope. Not really. You had one shot in the dark and now what do you have? Not much. But if media signal was part of a coherent, consistent message, well…
Drip drip drip.
Why do you think the same ads get played over and over and over again?
Smart advertisers are looking for the best ROI (Return on Investment). Do you know why they keep going back to the using ads that share the same message over and over? Why to politicians say the same thing over and over and over again? Because it works. There’s name recognition. The product is at top-of-mind.
Drip drip drip.
I know what you’re thinking:
“No ad controls me.”
“Media doesn’t have any influence over my life.”
“Music can’t impact the way I think or the way I live.”
The point of this post isn’t really to argue with you about these responses. But let me just say that media signals impact your life more than you realize. Especially when they build over time. you know, like a stalagmite.
Drip drip drip.
It’s not some hidden media agenda.
The Apostle Paul knew this
Paul knew that outside influences can impact who we become. He didn’t have television, smartphones, twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or video games. But he still had a message that should resonate with us today – especially if you think mass media doesn’t have an impact on you.
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. – Philippians 4:8
Think about those things and you’ll become those things. Proverbs encourages us to walk with the wise so we can become wise.
You know why?
Drip drip drip.
What does this have to do with my re-brand?
First of all, this is not a re-brand. Nothing’s really changing. I’m not going off into uncharted territory or anything like that. I’m simply…refocusing.
This is a re-focus.
It’s a re-focus on things that are important. It’s a re-focus on things that matter. I’m re-aligning things. And I hope this re-aligning, re-focusing, readjustment will help you understand what I’m trying to say. Shoot, I hope it helps me understand what I’m trying to say. Because if I don’t understand what I’m trying to say and what I’m trying to do, how can I possibly hope that you’ll understand and buy-in?
In other words, I want to strengthen my drip.
Drip drip drip.
A colleague of mine recently left her job to pursue other adventures. She and I had talked several times about the Stalagmite Theory and how we needed to remain consistent in our messaging. With so much interference and so many competing signals out there, your main message will be lost in the shuffle if you don’t remain consistent. That’s true in communication. But it’s also true in life itself. If you want to have influence on the people around you? Be yourself. Be a stalagmite. Just you be you.
Drip drip drip.
The Stalagmite Theory and the Todd Family Motto
A decade or so ago, I discovered that some branch of my family tree had used the motto “It behooves us to live!” I’ve taken that and run with it as my own ever since. I also claimed it as the mission of this site and my Facebook page (do you like that page yet? Go ahead. You know you want to. Everybody’s doing it). So I’ve been saying for a while now that I’m writing about living life by the Todd family motto and helping you to do the same.
But have I really been doing that?
Maybe.
But not as much as I’d like. There have been some seasons when I’ve drifted away from that mission. And I’d like to see that change. Because – let’s be honest here – I’m not getting any younger. My kids aren’t getting any younger. Pretty soon I’m going to run out of cute kid stories to tell. It’s time to re-focus on what I keep saying this site is about.
Drip drip drip.
It’s time to re-focus and discuss what I think it actually means to live. If it behooves us to live, what does that mean? It means things like living
- joyfully
- generously
- lovingly
- creatively
- passionately
- locally
- globally
- and many other -ly words
If we’re really going to talk about how it behooves us to live, we need to dwell on these and other such things.
You might not even notice much of a change in the short-term. There’s still family stories to tell. There’s still Star Wars to discuss and geeky stuff to geek out about. And there’s still room for a lot of the stuff I’ve already been talking about. They’ll just be…re-focused.
Because it most certainly behooves us to live. And this is not a re-brand.
Drip drip drip.
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