framing Archives - Claxon Communication

The name you choose matters a whole awful lot when it comes to framing your issue or cause. Take, for instance, Valentine’s Day.

Valentine’s Day’s reputation has taken a dip in recent years as it has become largely synonymous with schtuff–chocolates, roses, teddy bears, teddies. Schtuff.

Sasha Dichter, the man behind the Generosity Experiment, is on a mission to, in his words, “reboot” Valentine’s Day–to make it about generosity instead of schtuff. If he is successful, Valentine’s Day will become Generosity Day, “one day about sharing love with everyone, of being generous to everyone, and to see how it feels and to practice saying ‘Yes’.”

Both Valentine’s Day and Generosity Day are about love. However, the name you use to refer to February 14 reflects your belief about love.

By re-naming the day, Sasha has re-framed what it stands for.

More than 2500 people have taken the Generosity Day pledge. If you believe Valentine’s Day should be about sharing love far and wide, help Sasha re-name and re-frame. Say ‘yes’ to the Generosity Day pledge.

How are you framing your organization, your mission, your cause? Are you good or is it time for a re-frame?

This is the first in a new series called Word of the Week. Each week, we’ll take a different word or expression and look at how it can help you create better messaging, punchier copy, and more engaging content.

This week’s word is FRAMING.

“Framing” refers to how you structure or present your cause or issue.

We frame things largely through word choices. For instance, “drilling for oil” sounds pretty different than “exploring energy options”. Whether we’re spending “government funds” or the “taxpayers’ money” makes us think about those dollars differently. “Pro-life” and “pro-choice” are two different frames on abortion.

Why should you care about framing? Your frame reflects your beliefs. It communicates where you stand on an issue and that, in turn, lets people decide whether they want to stand with you.

Framing is a strategic choice about where you want people to focus. For instance, in 1996, the Canadian government decided to get rid of “unemployment insurance” and usher in “employment insurance”. The goal was to shift the focus from unemployment to finding employment. (It took awhile for people to embrace “EI” instead of “UI” but change is hard, eh?)

Is your organization framed in a way that clearly communicates what you stand for and what you believe?

Tomorrow, we’ll look at how Valentine’s Day is being re-framed. Bring on the generosity, people! (Yes, that was a hint.)

Tag: framing

Re-Framing Valentine’s Day

Word of the Week: Framing