Works Design’s Three Ws

Imagine a world where every word you communicate reaches those you’re trying to reach exactly as you intended. This is our resolution for 2025.

Often, when we kick off a project, we hear the same response when addressing the three Ws (who, what, why). Regardless of the project deliverable or the client’s sector, the answer almost always boils down to “communicating our initiatives to investors, analysts and employees.” While this objective isn’t inherently wrong, it brings to mind the well-known adage: “Trying to appeal to everyone ultimately means appealing to no one.” So, how do we break free from this one-size-fits-all mindset? Below are some key strategies we’ve successfully used to help our clients sharpen their messaging and create more meaningful connections with their audiences.

Who: Truly Understanding Your Target Audience

Before putting pen to paper, it’s crucial to really understand who you’re trying to reach, as this will impact not only the messaging itself but also the language and the vehicle(s) you choose to communicate that messaging. A former manager of mine often said, “Go beyond N of 1,” which I took to mean that we cannot assume everyone wants to hear the same thing in the same way. To this end, when possible, you should strive to push beyond investors, analysts and employees, and build out mini-personas for each of your target audiences.

• What’s their title, background and level of knowledge?
• What information are they looking for?
• How will they use this information?

Analytics, surveys and interviews are all great ways to gather the information needed to create these personas. The more concrete data you have, the more valuable these personas will be, and as these personas evolve, you may be surprised by the emerging insights. A 60-page PDF report might transform into a series of smaller, more digestible pieces (e.g., Excel tables, single-topic PDFs, video case studies), each released strategically to keep your communication relevant and top of mind.

What: Crafting Messages that Resonate

Now that we’ve established our target audiences, it’s time to define the key message we want each of them to take away. Two important factors to keep in mind:

• We live in an age of information overload, where the amount of content available on any given topic is constantly increasing.
• There is a general belief that our attention span is on the decline.

What this means for communicators is that now more than ever, it is important to keep our messages succinct, relevant and targeted to cut through the noise.

A personal anecdote that perfectly illustrates this notion of framing your message based on your audience was an interaction between my father and my younger sister when she was about 4 or 5. One day, while sitting in the car, she asked, “How do cars work?” My father, ever the storyteller, explained: “Fuel and air are injected into the engine, where a piston compresses the mixture, which then gets ignited by a spark plug.…” I’ll never forget the bewildered look on my sister’s face. I then chimed in, “You press the long pedal with your foot, and it makes the car go.” Although my father’s explanation was accurate, it completely missed the mark for the audience, leaving my sister more confused than before.

Another great example of relatability is from the podcast Think Fast Talk Smart, which referenced the book Made to Stick, written by Chip Heath, author and professor at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. In his book, Heath discusses the challenge the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) faced in communicating the negative impact of coconut oil in movie popcorn. When it first released the data that a medium-sized bag of movie popcorn contained 37 grams of saturated fat, which is almost three times greater than the American Heart Association’s recommended daily value of about 13 grams (based on a 2,000-calorie-per-day intake), the general public didn’t really know how to interpret this. Is 37 grams bad? Really bad?

It wasn’t until the CSPI reframed the information, explaining that 37 grams was roughly equivalent to a bacon-and-eggs breakfast, a Big Mac with fries for lunch and a steak dinner with all the trimmings combined, that the message truly began to resonate. This approach transformed complex data into something relatable and easy to understand, making the impact clear to everyone.

Why: Communicating with Meaning and Purpose

The final point I want to address is the big “W,” everyone’s favourite. Why? Why are you releasing this report? Why are you refreshing your brand? Why are you rebuilding your website?

In some cases, the answer may be that it’s a mandatory requirement or a check-box exercise, and that’s perfectly acceptable. However, we often challenge our clients to dig deeper and consider whether there is something more that can and should be achieved.

Are you trying to increase awareness? Engage more authentically? Defend your licence to operate? Understanding the true purpose behind your actions can help shape a more meaningful message and strategic approach.

In an interview, Tina Seelig, author and director emeritus at the Stanford Technology Ventures Program, discusses the importance of understanding the “why.” Seelig shares an exercise she challenges her students with that asks them to identify everything they hate about their suitcases and then find ways to solve these issues. As expected, the students returned with all sorts of adjustments to the traditional concept of a suitcase. She then asks the students if they asked the right question. Is it really about improving the suitcases we hate? Or is the real question, why do we need suitcases at all?

By stepping back and considering the broader challenge, the students could now think more creatively and focus on the real issue of “How can I make the things I want to be accessible to me in the places where I want them?”

Often, we jump straight into execution without fully reflecting on our core objectives. By taking a moment to pause, we allow ourselves to push boundaries and, perhaps, end up with a more robust, thoughtful solution than we could have previously envisioned.

With that, I’ll leave you with one final question: as you reflect on your most significant communication initiative, whether past or present, what is the key message you are trying to communicate? What is your why?