"The Medium is the Message"

This most famous observation on advertising and promotion in the English language was uttered by Marshal McLuhan, the Canadian literary critic and thinker (1811 - 1980). What did it mean, and how is it relevant today?

It's meaning is fairly clear. When you send a message to the world -to your customers perhaps- the way you send it is important. It's as important or maybe even more important than the message itself. Take an example. A business sends out a promotional letter through the mail. The message in the letter is that the business would be a good supplier, but what is the message of the letter?

The medium you have chosen has two dimensions; a printed letter and the postal system. What do these media say about you? The printed letter may send the message that your company is rather old-fashioned, maybe a little too traditional or not up to date with the electronic possibilities of the 21st century. The quality of the writing and printing need to be very good indeed to overcome this impression. Using the postal system could amplify any negative slant, especially if the system is known to be unreliable. As I write these lines in England today the national postal system is on strike for better pay. Not the image that a business would choose for its promotion.

Let's look at a different means of promotion, and one that is right up to date. Every international business and most serious local ones have websites. Surely these convey a modern competent image of their sponsors? Not always. There are sites that really let their businesses down. Some of the major failings are blindingly obvious. Sites that are slow to load, or don't load at all, damage their businesses every time a possible customer tries to look at them. Sites with internal links that don't work or out of date messages in them tell the potential customer that the business is poor at maintenance. Suppose that an airline website gave you this impression- would you be happy to fly with them?

Finally there is the question of language. Most websites in the world are either created in English, or have an English option so that they are accessible to the widest possible audience. Now, English is a tricky language. When you speak it as a foreign language it is a minefield. Many native speakers can't write it perfectly, and somehow the mistakes we make in writing are so much more obvious than those we make in speaking. The message absorbed by anyone reading a mangled English-language website is that the business in question could not be bothered to do the job properly.

Conclusion? Your website should load quickly. All its internal links should work and dated materials should be up to date. The site should be designed by technical professionals, and written by literate professionals in the language used. Follow these simple guidelines and maybe your website will actually transmit the message that you want, and that you have paid good money for!

Here's a link to a website that fulfils my criteria. The English is written by English people and the Bahasa Indonesian sections by Indonesians. The business is primarily a school, but its senior people also offer a service in spotting and re-writing the English-language so that the medium actually complements your message.

English language School in Jakarta, Indonesia - Kursus

A final word from Marshall McLuhan. He said

"Today the business of business is becoming the constant invention of new business."

How true.

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You can check out more McLuhanisms at www.marshallmcluhan.com/poster.html

About the Author

David Keating works in marketing for a pioneering new English language school in Jakarta, Indonesia