The “slow movement” is s-l-o-w-l-y beginning to infiltrate all aspects of our lives. We have ‘slow food’, ‘slow-yoga‘, ‘slow beer’, ‘slow building’, ‘slow gardening’, ‘slow coffee’, and even ‘slow money’. The underlying principle of this slow movement is that taking one‘s time to do things thoughtfully and deliberately can be much more beneficial and rewarding than rushing to get things done.

I’d like to suggest another ‘slow movement’ - slow marketing communications!

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not suggesting that we slow down our break-neck speed of implementing various MarCom activities. If something has to be Tweeted now, it has to be Tweeted now. If an editor needs some information ASAP for a story that is on deadline, he/she needs it ASAP. Or if your boss needs a report by the end of the day well, you know.

What I’m talking about is ‘slow planning”. It seems that MarCom professionals are in such a rush to implement various tactics that sometimes not a lot of thought or strategy goes into the action. Your favorite magazine rep calls and is ecstatic to let you know you can get the back cover at a 50% discount with some free banner ads thrown in for good measure. Too good of a deal to pass up. Right? Not necessarily.

The best example of this “rushing into action” syndrome is social media. Some companies don‘t want to be left at the social media starting gate so they ‘empower’ someone, usually at a junior level, to put together a Twitter or Facebook page. Often times very little strategic, long-term thinking goes into the initial effort. Perhaps it shouldn’t be a question of “does this need to be Tweeted now?” Perhaps it should be a question of “should it even be Tweeted?”

What I’m suggesting is that we apply the ‘slow movement’ to strategic MARCOM planning. Let’s be a bit more thoughtful and deliberate in thinking about what the bottom line goals and objectives are and what’s the most effective way to achieve them. Then we can go about accomplishing them in break-neck speed.