For years, the general public’s perception of Esbjerg has been associated with fishing, unskilled work and tough West Jutland types.
When Esbjerg Municipality suddenly announces a city in development with attractive jobs and no fishing, the recipients receive a message that goes against their existing perception of Esbjerg.
Can you reject something that is true?
In the spring, I researched different people’s perceptions of Esbjerg in my thesis. I compared the perceptions I found with the messages in Esbjerg Municipality’s branding efforts.
The most interesting thing – especially for those of you who don’t care about Esbjerg – was that although the municipality communicated “true” messages in their branding efforts, the messages were not always accepted as true by the recipients.
And what does that mean? In Esbjerg’s case, it means that Esbjerg is not perceived as a city in development, even though 100 urban development projects are underway.
Why wouldn’t it be? Reality is reality, right?
I’ll spare you the long, theoretical background on why recipients of a message may reject messages that are factually correct.
Instead, let’s return to the example in the introduction.
Target group’s perception of Esbjerg:
Esbjerg is no longer fishing, but people’s perception doesn’t change immediately.
The recipients reject the message that Esbjerg is a city in development because the message contradicts their existing perception – even though the fishing port in Esbjerg has been closed for almost 20 years and the city has two universities and a large campus with 10 bachelor’s degree programs.
So how do you get people to believe “true” messages that are far from an existing (and wrong) perception?
The first step is to accept that you are perceived the way you are and then examine and understand why you do it. Remember that reality is more complex than true/false.
The next step is to accept that deeply held beliefs don’t change overnight. It takes time and persistent effort.
What do I actually do?
You communicate messages that the recipient will accept as true. Let’s return to the Esbjerg example.
As illustrated in the figure below, the general perception of Esbjerg is far from Esbjerg Municipality’s perception of Esbjerg.
The goal is to draw the general perception of Esbjerg closer to Esbjerg Municipality’s perception, so that the message that Esbjerg is a city in development will be accepted as true.
In practice, this means gradually ramping up the “Esbjerg is a developing city message” by, for example, communicating the development results that have been achieved and focusing on how the city is developing.
When the general perception of Esbjerg no longer contradicts the message of being a developing city, the message will be accepted as true.
Which communication channels should I use?
The possibilities are endless.
If you have a good story(read more here), you can go to the press. A press story has a high degree of credibility and will therefore make it more likely that your message will be accepted as true by the recipients. On the other hand, the journalist has the power, as it is the journalist who decides if your story can be used.
Another option is more classic marketing, where you can communicate your message through ads, newsletters, events, etc.
When choosing a communication channel and form, it’s important to consider who you want to communicate with and what you want to achieve.
Remember: No matter who you want to influence and how, your message will have a greater impact if it is reflected in your actions and concrete results.
