Richard pics to change the world - and the peril of (more) dodgy bar charts
Plus... join me at Comms Unplugged in September + ways to mix fire with ice.
Objectivity, not subjectivity - he says
If you hear me speak or read my LinkedIn content, you’ll know I talk a lot about using data to challenge what we ‘think’ and increase understanding of an issue or challenge.
Playing badminton with colleagues from my shared office the other week reinforced the point that no matter how objective we like to say we are, our thinking can often be skewed.
By the end of the game, I was a moving puddle, taking regular breaks, given the total run around. Whereas my colleagues were barely breaking a sweat. I sloped off for a shower, pondering measures like extra circuit training, and better nutrition.
It was only later that I hit upon the fact I’m 40-cough, while my opponents had at least 20 years on me, even 25. In my mind, on the court, I am as physically capable as I have ever been and my competitive nature has me eyeing a win as a realistic prospect. Yet hard science tells me (annoyingly) that nearing my fifth decade, I am at a serious physical disadvantage to the whippersnappers.
In reality, I am going to have to work very hard and be very lucky, to level things up because - no matter how determined or competitive I am - my age and physical decline puts me at an advantage.
Suddenly, it all made sense. I felt a bit better, as I sat down for my lunch back at the office. “Same time next week, guys? Cool. Bring your A game”.
Mixing creative fire with data ice
Ideas for getting creative with data was the subject of the blog I scribed recently for my friends at Alive with Ideas. Big thanks to James Morton for the opportunity.
One of the points I make is that outliers - data points vastly different to the others - can end up being the most interesting and spark great creative ideas.
Just like at a party, it’s the figures hanging around on the fringes that can turn out to be the most interesting.
Why do the public increasingly mistrust politicians, I wonder?
According to the latest Edelman Trust Barometer, more than 60% of people worry that Government leaders are purposely trying to mislead people.
A worrying statistic during a General Election campaign. And while those in power make earnest noises about tackling misinformation, we reap what we sow.
I’ve written previously how accurate presentation and use of data by those in authority is important if we are to deal with misinformation from bad actors. The current Conservative Government - and even the PM - has been repeatedly ticked off by the stats regulator for undermining confidence in public data.
Living in a 3-way marginal constituency due to boundary changes, I had 3 leaflets from the 3 main political parties complete with bar charts, all delivered on the same day, all saying different things. What to make of it?
Dodgy bar charts can make things look more clear cut than they really are. The main issue for me with the leaflets’ presentation of data was the Lib Dem party’s continued use of election results from 2019 ‘illustrating’ that “Labour can’t win here”. (Remember I highlighted them last issue, for questionable use of sewage spills data linked to political parties).
The boundary changes mean that results from 2019 are outdated. A 16% chunk of my neighbouring area, one that Labour won by 10,000 votes in the last election, has been added to make a new one - that’s going to have a big impact on what happens this time.
This type of selective use of data is something this excellent BBC article highlights.
What does this mean for comms pros?
Trust from your publics is a valuable commodity and should be treated as such.
To help maintain this, comms pros should be alive to unintentionally (and intentionally) poor and skewed presentation of data from their internal sources and stakeholders.
Key to this is data literacy, critical thinking and learning how to spot when something is awry - something I can help you and your team with if needed.
Using Dick pics to change the world
Catching my eye of late is a great data-centred equality campaign from US ethical cosmetics brand e.l.f Beauty.
e.l.f. is using newly crunched stats as the perfect hook to help raise an issue and drive action to double the rate that women and diverse members are added to corporate boards by 2027.
Some neat data work found 566 men named Richard, Rick or Dick are on the board of directors of US based companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange - that’s compared to only 806 Black women, 774 Asian women & 283 Hispanic women amid nearly 37k board members.
What does this mean for comms pros?
Sometimes as comms pros we can find it hard to think about how diving into data & analysis might invigorate creativity and spark our campaigns.
This campaign is a great example of how clever re-working of public data can give you a great story hook, and allow you to do something different & truly eye-catching.
Data viz in a Dorset field in Sept 2024 - join me!
I’m delighted to say I’m heading back for my third time at Comms Unplugged from 12-14 September - a unique two-day event in Dorset for comms pros.
Comms Unplugged is totally focused on giving yourself time, space & opportunity to step back from everyday life to hone in on learning, development & wellbeing - minus phones and PowerPoint presentations.
Presenting with the wonderful Sarah Holmes, we will get hands on and creative, showing you how Ripple Maps and visual storytelling can be used to see the impact of campaigns and to capture inspiring people stories.
I massively recommend Comms Unplugged to any comms pros looking for a unique two days of wellbeing, development & networking - plus live music and campfires - for a bargain price of £230 including food.
I’ve made numerous great connections there and I can’t wait to be back in the field.
Orlo Tour rolls into Manchester on 10 July
Taking in the scenery as part of the Orlo Tour in Glasgow in June was fantastic - as was helping inspire public sector comms teams & leaders to do more with data.
Next stop is Manchester on 10 July. If you work in public sector or not for profit comms, and what a great morning of insight, ideas and networking, sign up, it’s free!
Types of work I do, with people like you
- Workshops: Data literacy (including AI) for comms pros: audience insights, campaign tactics and evaluation.
- Projects: Social media data deep dives, using quantitative and qualitative analysis of big datasets for better outcomes and efficiency.
- Thought leadership: Keynote sessions, 1:1 support and editorial pieces on data in comms.
- Bespoke: Data mining, cleaning and merging of datasets, data for storytelling, thematic analysis of big content datasets, advising on good practice.
If you work in comms and want to make more use of data in 2024 and beyond, drop me a line at alex@whetstonecomms.com. I currently have availability from October 2024.
Data Communications Chronicles is written by Alex Waddington, founder of Whetstone Communications, which helps public sector and not for profit comms teams do more - and deliver more - using data.