Man on the Moon

2012 will mark the 50th anniversary of what has come to be called President Kennedy's "moon speech." It was in the summer of 1962 in Houston, Texas, when the still relatively-new president announced this major undertaking. Within ten years, he said, the United States would land a man on the moon as a way of establishing our dominance in the space age as well demonstrating America's ability to achieve big goals. The speech itself, of course, generated much attention. Plus, over the past half century the fact we actually achieved that goal has been alluded to often as a prime example of one of the great successes in our nation's history. It remains a source of great pride.

In addition to this representing a major scientific achievement for our nation, the declaration and its ultimate success is an important example of successful strategic communication. In terms of communication, so much had to be done and sustained. This to-do list included: identifying key publics to which to share information, generate understanding, garner active support, and establish trust; create a range of specific communication strategies by which to connect with publics; create a series of messages that would need to be expressed and adjusted over an extended period of time; and install a management mechanism to oversee these overriding strategies, the necessary tactics to achieve them, and the personnel to make them happen. Each one individually represented a complex undertaking. Collectively, they are as huge and challenging as the challenge itself.

These are exactly the ingredients that go into strategic communication. By design, strategic communication is a complicated undertaking that requires strict attention from all involved. Granted, striving to land a man on the moon is not an everyday or normal assignment. Nevertheless, the steps that comprise strategic communication, irregardless of the task at-hand, represent a significant challenge because of a fundamental purpose or goal for which it is designed: to persuade. Getting various publics to take certain actions they might not otherwise take is no small thing. Effective strategic communication can make that happen.