Telling that Axios and its co-founder, Jim VandeHei, think being a skillful communicator is a "war for attention."
Pro-tip, it's not a "war for attention."
"War for attention"... I don't think this is the proper mindset to succeed in today's multiplatform and multiplayer communications environment.
From my experience, successful communication is well informed, consistent, persuasive, engages multiple stakeholders, and executes a street smart high-low approach.
Without making your audiences feel, think, and, most importantly, act, communications is a failure.
Good communications is not a war.
It's good to remember that works for Axios won't work for nearly 97% of organizations.
Axios sees its audience as current and future decision-makers.
Axios then breaks this audience into three different groups.
The first group is "Elites," so CEOs or policymakers.
The second group would be "Smart Professionals," so again, critical decision-makers at their respective institutions.
And then the third group they focus on a lot is "Aspirational Leaders," so either people who have just graduated college or are getting ready to graduate or are young professionals who are just kicking off their careers.
So Axios' approach to communications makes sense if your want to shape Congress, sell Hermes handbags, or vacations to the Aspen, but that is a mighty small audience.
I would go with more street smart communications that is high-low in its execution.
-Marc Ross | Founder @ Caracal
