You Can’t Write About the Park Without Having Been in the Park.

We just appointed a new PR agency, and on a warm and sunny spring afternoon, I sat down with the representative from the PR agency to talk about preparing the upcoming annual report.   As is the case with all annual reports, aside from providing various spreadsheets of numbers with columns and rows of pluses and minuses, there must be a detailed narrative of the company’s achievements and performance for the year.    That required some serious copywriting, and the PR agency was called upon for assistance.   Together we discussed our achievements, challenges, obstacles, difficulties, and disappointments over the year.   While there were many successes worthy of accolades, there were also some disappointments that needed to be addressed.  

The park always took pride in its transparency and honesty in facing the public, whether the news was positive or negative.

To a consultant, the client’s concise brief in as much precision as possible is the most important aspect of the communication and working relationship.  As we discussed the many highlights and milestones of the year, I realized that this conversation was taking place only between the two of us.  In my mind, I wondered why the copywriter was not present to participate in the brief.   If he were to write about the park, he should experience the park firsthand.  I should tour him around the park so that he is aware of what we face every day and throughout the year.  He should become intimate with the park.  This is the only way the narrative would make sense, be accurate, and be expressed.  I asked the consultant about his absence, and the response was that he was busy working in the office.  The consultant added that we can supply him with the information, and he can then prepare the report from his office.   

Initially, this sent a chill up my spine, and I felt somewhat slighted and belittled, bordering on insult.   

If he sat in his office, he would have no idea of what it is like on site.   It disappointed me that he seemingly did not find it important enough to join the briefing or to experience the park.    This did not feel right and certainly ruffled my confidence in the copywriter and the agency.   I did not believe that the writer could do justice to the report by writing from his office without seeing the park and feeling the emotions that we all felt every day.   Those of us who managed the business and the park lived it every day to do it properly and successfully.   We don’t manage from an office, but manage in the park, in front of the staff, and certainly in front of the guests.  

I felt it was vital that the copywriter be intimately acquainted with the park, its operation, its strengths and weaknesses, to prepare what needed to be a masterpiece.

We stopped our discussion, and I insisted that we reschedule our meeting to include the copywriter.  I also insisted that additional time, as much as necessary, be scheduled to thoroughly tour him through the park so that he becomes well acquainted with the product and the subject of his writing.   It would give him the chance to feel and touch every aspect of the park, either positive or negative.   

Earlier, I wrote about how selling and buying are “Emotional.”   The truth is that everything in life is affected by emotions.   Writing is no different.   How he feels about the park, the highs and lows, will be captured and displayed in the writing.   Emotions are part of product knowledge and are intertwined in our professional and personal world.   It is not possible to describe a product without the proper knowledge and the emotions that go with the product.