“Unmass the Message” applies not only to marketing communications, but also to education, as well. In fact, you could substitute the words “student-centered learning” for “Unmass the Message.”

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard and a number of other universities are trying this not-so-novel approach in the classrooms of their hardest classes. Take Introductory Physics, for example. As noted by the New York Times in January, MIT has reduced their Introductory Physics class from 300 to about 80.  The university has noticed the failure rate dropping and increased attendance.

Could you say that, in this instance, education is learning from industry? I think so. Marketers have long understood that you simply cannot say the same thing to everyone and expect everyone to understand exactly the same way. Innate physical and physiological differences make such a goal completely impossible, no matter how well crafted the message.

Imagine, then, that some in the marketing world still haven’t learned this lesson themselves.  “We’ve got to do it fast, so we can’t spend the time figuring out who exactly we’re talking to. Let’s just get it done.”

Whoa. Really?

Such work may win design awards, but not having focused work wastes money and time. If you’re a client, it’s your money and time. The old saw is true: taking the time to do anything right in the first place prevents you from having to do it again. In this industry, it also means less stress, more revenue and happier clients.

In working with fairly small clients (as measured by the rest of this agency), I find that even just a little bit of thought can help distill exactly who you need to speak to. Knowledge of the client, discussions with clients, internal discussions and familiarity with industry benchmarks make this a simple process. While this process doesn’t replace the value from a more in-depth process to determine your target audience, it certainly does help ensure you’re not wasting your time or money.

Think that unfocused messages don’t happen that often? Here’s a quick test:  What do you remember from the Super Bowl, nary two months ago? You do have first-hand experience with being bombarded with media messages that don’t speak to you. You may have even realized that you were supposed to be engaged by an advertisement or message when you weren’t. It’s not that unusual.

Think about it: when you were in school, you knew when you weren’t understanding something you were supposed to, but you got the benefit of asking questions. “What’s the limit of f(x)? How am I supposed to find that number?” As a consumer, however, you often don’t get the opportunity to ask questions. “Why doesn’t GoDaddy say anything about what they do in their commercials?”

So, take a page from MIT’s book (which I say came from Trone’s book): be student-centered.  Be people-centered. Be consumer-centered: your consumer, not every consumer. Unmass the Message.