Navigating comms and PR | Lulu Cheng Meservey (Substack, Activision Blizzard)
Lenny interviews Lulu Mazervi, former Head of Comms at Substack and current EVP at Activation Blizzard, on how to make ideas spread. They discuss finding cultural erogenous zones, taking risks, building direct distribution channels, and crafting memorable messages for maximum impact.
Deep Dive Analysis
25 Topic Outline
Introduction to Lulu Meservey and Comms Philosophy
Principles for Making Ideas Spread
Example of a Memorable, Viral Phrase
Crafting Sticky and Repeatable Phrases
Learning from Comms Mistakes
Why Taking Risks in Comms is Crucial
Understanding Audience's Cultural Erogenous Zones
Applying the Cultural Erogenous Zones Framework
Comms Strategy for Underdog Startups
Concentric Circles Framework for Spreading Messages
Defining Layers in the Concentric Circles Framework
Implementing the Concentric Circles Framework
Mathematical Formula for Purpose-Driven Comms
Physics-Based Framework: Pressure, Force, and Area
Balaji Srinivasan's Application of Concentric Circles
The Power of a Super-Specific Audience
Common Reasons Comms Fail
Strategic Focus on Direct Communication Channels
When Founders Should (and Shouldn't) Use Twitter
Leveraging LinkedIn for Career-Related Content
Examples of Effective Human-Voice Comms
The Importance of Going Direct
Steps to Establish a Direct Communication Channel
Consistency Over Virality in Content Strategy
Lightning Round
5 Key Concepts
Cultural Erogenous Zones
This framework suggests that people have existing passions and worldviews that are difficult to change. Effective communication involves shaping your message to fit into these pre-existing interests, rather than trying to create new passions from scratch. It's about finding the bridge between what your audience already cares about and what you want to communicate.
Concentric Circles Framework
This is a strategy for spreading a message by starting from the innermost circle of influence and moving outwards. It begins with internal stakeholders like employees and co-founders, then expands to power users, investors, and eventually broader audiences. The principle is that each outer circle will follow the lead and credibility of the inner circle, ensuring message control and organic spread.
Comms for a Purpose Formula
This framework connects communications directly to business goals. It involves identifying a specific business goal, determining which people need to take what actions to achieve that goal, understanding what beliefs those people need to hold to take those actions, and finally, identifying the intellectual spaces (mediums) where those people can be reached with the message.
Physics-Based Comms Framework
Based on the formula 'pressure = force / surface area,' this framework suggests that to increase the impact (pressure) of your communications with the same amount of effort (force), you should decrease the 'surface area.' This means hyper-targeting a specific audience and sharpening your message to resonate deeply with them, rather than trying to appeal broadly with a weaker message.
Going Direct
This concept emphasizes that founders or senior executives should communicate directly with their audience in a human voice, rather than solely relying on traditional media or corporate messaging. It involves building your own audience and channels early on, allowing for authentic connection, self-defense against attacks, and the unique ability to convey your mission and innovation.
10 Questions Answered
To make an idea spread, it must be memorable and compel people to share it voluntarily, often by making it a joke, using an analogy, repeating it, creating a colorful mental image, or telling a story instead of using subjective adjectives.
For startups, the enemy is the status quo, and minimizing risk by doing nothing allows the status quo to win. Taking risks (mistakes of commission) allows for observation, learning, and quick adaptation, leading to long-term improvement, similar to investing in the market rather than holding cash.
This framework advises communicators to identify what their audience already deeply cares about or is passionate about, as these are difficult to change. The goal is to shape your message to fit into these existing worldviews and passions, rather than trying to create new ones.
Underdogs should acknowledge their limited resources and avoid competing on incumbents' terms. Instead, they should build their own distribution, craft stories that fit their audience's 'cultural erogenous zones,' and identify key influencers in concentric circles starting from their core team.
By using a mathematical formula: define a specific business goal, identify the people who need to take action for that goal, determine what they need to believe to take that action, and then pinpoint the mediums through which to deliver that message effectively.
This physics-based framework suggests that to maximize impact (pressure) with limited resources (force), companies should decrease their 'surface area' by hyper-targeting a specific audience and sharpening their message to resonate deeply, rather than trying to appeal to everyone.
Many communications fail because companies speak like faceless corporations instead of people, which doesn't resonate as people trust and like other people. Another common reason is trying to appeal to too many people simultaneously, which waters down the message and prevents it from standing out.
Going direct is crucial for both offense and defense: defensively, it allows companies to stand up for themselves against attacks when going against the grain, and offensively, it ensures their unique and innovative message is conveyed authentically, as no one else can tell their story as well as they can.
Not every founder needs to be on Twitter. It's important if they are super mission-driven (to find like-minded people and defend their mission) or if their charisma is a significant part of recruiting. However, founders should choose the communication channel where they are most authentic and effective.
First, assess what you're good at and enjoy (e.g., long-form writing, video, audio). Second, set up your account on the chosen channel and prepare a pipeline of content (e.g., a week or two of posts) to launch with momentum. Third, establish an ongoing content strategy with a consistent cadence and community engagement.
16 Actionable Insights
1. Find Cultural Erogenous Zones
Shape your message to fit your audience’s existing passions and worldview, rather than attempting the difficult task of changing their core beliefs. This ’light lift’ approach makes your message more likely to resonate and spread.
2. Decrease Surface Area for Pressure
For startups or underdogs, focus your communication efforts intensely on a smaller, highly targeted audience. By decreasing the ‘surface area’ of your target, you can apply more ‘pressure’ (impact) with the same amount of ‘force’ (resources), leading to greater influence.
3. Build Your Own Distribution
For startups and underdogs, assume traditional media and institutions won’t support your disruptive message, and build your own direct distribution channels from day one. This involves winning hearts and minds by shaping your story to fit your audience’s cultural erogenous zones and identifying influencers to spread it.
4. Take Calculated Risks
As a startup, embrace ‘mistakes of commission’ over ‘mistakes of omission’ by taking risks in your communications. Doing nothing allows the status quo to win, whereas taking action allows for learning, adaptation, and growth.
5. Make Ideas Memorable
To ensure your ideas spread, make them memorable and repeatable. This can be achieved by turning them into jokes, using analogies, crafting short sticky phrases, creating colorful mental images, or telling engaging stories instead of using subjective adjectives.
6. Propagate Messages in Circles
Spread your message outwards in concentric circles, starting with your closest internal audience (employees, co-founders) and moving to power users, investors, and then broader audiences. This sequence ensures message control and leverages the credibility of inner circles to influence outer ones.
7. Simplify Message for Clarity
Boil down the essence of your company or mission into one sentence that a second grader could understand. Cleanse it of cliches and common parlance, then turn it into an analogy or something with vivid imagery to make it sticky and easily repeatable.
8. Align Comms with Business Goals
Establish a clear business goal (not a communications goal) and identify the specific people who need to take action to achieve it. Then, determine what beliefs they need to hold to take that action and where they intellectually reside to deliver targeted messages effectively.
9. Communicate as a Human
Avoid speaking like a faceless corporation; instead, have a founder or senior person speak in the first person with an authentic, human voice. People trust and connect with individuals, making them more effective ambassadors for your company and its mission.
10. Select Optimal Direct Channel
When building direct communication channels, choose the platform (e.g., long-form writing, video, audio, short-form) that best suits your spokesperson’s natural communication style and invest fully in that one channel. Avoid spreading yourself thin across too many platforms initially.
11. Prepare Content for Launch
Before launching a new direct channel (e.g., Substack, TikTok), prepare a pipeline of content (e.g., a week or two of posts) to launch strong. This builds momentum, helps the algorithm favor your new account, and ensures consistency from the outset.
12. Prioritize Content Consistency
Maintain a regular and consistent content cadence on your chosen direct channels rather than sporadically trying to go viral. Consistency is a significant factor in audience growth and engagement over time.
13. Gift Product to Key Influencers
Identify individuals who are both obsessed with your product and have a large, relevant following among your target audience. Shower these key people with free product to turn them into passionate evangelists who will spread your message organically.
14. Utilize Underused LinkedIn
Leverage LinkedIn for career-related content, as it is an underutilized platform with high user attention and a low ratio of genuinely interesting or useful content. This provides a significant opportunity for your content to stand out.
15. Maintain Message Integrity
Avoid watering down your message or identity to appeal to everyone, especially those who will never like your product or mission. Diluting your unique qualities can cause your true fans to lose their passion and prevent you from standing out.
16. Establish Communication Cadence
Prime your audience by establishing a regular communication cadence through your direct channels. This ensures that when you need to convey important information, it doesn’t seem unusual or crisis-driven, allowing your message to be received as intended.
7 Key Quotes
You have to make it memorable and you have to make people want to say it of their own volition.
Lulu Cheng Meservey
If you're a startup, your enemy is the status quo.
Lulu Cheng Meservey
It's so much easier to take what they're passionate about and understand it and then convince them that if they care about that, then they should care about your thing because of this connection.
Lulu Cheng Meservey
You can't skip a circle, is my point.
Lulu Cheng Meservey
If you decrease the surface area, then with the same amount of force, you can apply more pressure.
Lulu Cheng Meservey
You can't be remarkable if you're trying to appeal to so many people that you have to become the average of 500,000 people's tastes.
Lulu Cheng Meservey
People care about people and trust and like people.
Lulu Cheng Meservey
3 Protocols
Crafting a Sticky and Repeatable Phrase
Lulu Cheng Meservey- Minimize the cognitive burden on the recipient; ensure a second grader could understand it.
- Ensure it immediately paints a picture or is a widely understood reference.
- Boil down the essence of your company or mission to one sentence.
- Cleanse it of all cliches and common parlance.
- Turn that cleansed sentence into an analogy or something that has imagery.
Implementing the Concentric Circles Framework
Lulu Cheng Meservey- Create a one-page document listing your audiences, aiming for about five or six circles.
- Rank these audiences by how much they can influence your success and how much credibility other groups assign them.
- For each audience, identify their 'cultural erogenous zones' (what they care about).
- Determine where they reside intellectually (e.g., which podcasts, conferences, subreddits, or social media platforms they use).
Establishing a Direct Communication Channel
Lulu Cheng Meservey- Assess what you are good at and enjoy (e.g., long-form writing, video, audio, short-form posts) to choose your primary medium.
- Set up your account on the chosen channel (e.g., Substack, TikTok, LinkedIn).
- Prepare a pipeline of content (e.g., a week or two of posts) to launch with momentum, as algorithms often favor strong initial activity.
- Develop an ongoing content strategy, including a consistent cadence for communication, a plan for community management (responding to people), and how announcements will be made.