Your Mid-Year Communications Plan Check: Is Anyone Actually Listening?

Look, by this point in the year, you're probably thinking your marketing plan is just fine, right? "We made it in December, we're sticking to it!" Well, let me tell you something - that's ridiculous. Absolutely ridiculous! The world has changed since December. You've changed since December! I can barely remember what I had for breakfast yesterday, and you're still following a plan you made six months ago?

THE ECONOMY IS A MESS, IN CASE YOU HAVEN'T NOTICED

Have you seen what's happening out there? Stock markets going crazy, tariffs being announced and then pulled back like some deranged game of economic peek-a-boo. Supply chains are falling apart. China, America - everybody's arguing! And what does Axios say? The ad market is getting hit. When ad spending slows down, you know what happens next.

This means every executive is going to be looking at your budget like my neighbor eyes the parking spot in front of my building - with pure, unbridled opportunism. "Do more with less" they'll say. Like that's some brilliant insight! You know what? If you can't prove your work affects revenue, customer loyalty, or helps during a crisis, you're toast. TOAST!

The smart play? Focus! Double down on what actually works - your owned media, building reputation, and direct audience relationships. Everything else? Ehhhh, maybe not so important right now.

AI IS HERE, SO STOP PRETENDING IT'S OPTIONAL

You know what makes me crazy? People who still treat AI like it's some far-off future technology. "Oh, I'm still figuring out what to do with AI." What are you, living in 2022? It's 2025! Everybody's using it!

It's not just for writing emails anymore. It's for media monitoring, audience analysis, seeing trends, optimizing campaigns. But here's the thing - and I cannot stress this enough - if your strategy is garbage, AI just helps you be garbage faster. Fantastic!

The whole point of using these tools is so you can spend time on what matters - the creative stuff, building relationships, all that human connection robots can't do. Yet.

Ask yourself these questions, and be honest:

• Where can we use AI without making our content sound like it was written by a toothbrush?
• Are we using data to refine our messaging, or are we just guessing like my Uncle Leo trying to pick lottery numbers?
• Have we tried new technologies, or are we still sending press releases like it's 1997?

MEDIA IS FRACTURED BEYOND REPAIR

You think getting attention was hard before? Try now! There are at least 12 different media bubbles out there. Twelve! People are getting information from places you've never even heard of. Meanwhile, newspapers are dying, social media algorithms change more often than I change my sheets, and nobody trusts anything anymore.

According to the latest Edelman Trust Barometer - and I actually read this thing, which shows you how desperate I am - people don't believe what they read anymore. Not from companies, not from the media, not from anyone! Can you blame them?

So now you've got to be super targeted. No more mass pitching. Nobody's buying it! You need relationships with journalists, with influencers, and directly with your audience. And it better be authentic, or people will see through you faster than a cheap window screen.

YOUR EMPLOYEES PROBABLY HATE YOUR COMMUNICATIONS

Here's a crazy thought - maybe talk to your employees like they're actual human beings? Revolutionary, I know!

Employees today want transparency. They want dialogue. They want to know what's really happening, not just the corporate-approved fantasy version. And if they don't believe in what you're selling, nobody else will either. Talk about awkward!

Think about it:

• Are you telling employees what's actually happening, or are you feeding them the corporate equivalent of "everything's fine" while the building burns down?
• Do they have ways to give feedback that doesn't disappear into the void?
• Are your managers equipped to talk to their teams, or are they as confused as everyone else?

Internal communications isn't just HR playing office psychologist. It affects trust, loyalty, and performance. Get it wrong, and your external communications might as well be shouted into a hurricane.

HOW TO FIX YOUR COMMUNICATIONS PLAN BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE

If you're feeling overwhelmed right now, join the club! Your 2025 plan probably has more cross-outs than my first attempt at writing a screenplay. It's fine. We're all pretending we know what we're doing.

You don't need to trash everything and start over. Just be strategic about it:

1. Look at your original goals. Are they still relevant, or have they aged like milk?
2. Be brutally honest about results. What's working? What's a complete waste of time? If you can't tell the difference, that's a whole other problem.
3. Check your audience. Have they changed? Are they behaving differently now? Maybe they're avoiding your content like I avoid people who talk about their dreams.
4. Test your messaging. Is your tone appropriate, or are you the communications equivalent of wearing a Hawaiian shirt to a funeral?
5. Prioritize ruthlessly. You can't do everything. Focus on what directly supports revenue, reputation, customer loyalty, and employee engagement. Everything else? Save it for 2026.
6. Build in flexibility. Conditions change fast - like that time I thought I had a perfect parking spot and then saw the fire hydrant. Leave room to pivot when necessary.

INTEGRATION IS YOUR ONLY HOPE

Once you've sorted through all that, make sure everything works together instead of against each other. Your paid media should amplify your best content, not just chase meaningless impressions. Focus earned media efforts where you have credibility. Use social media for engagement, not just broadcasting. And invest in your owned channels - your blog, podcast, newsletter - anywhere you control the narrative.

When you launch something, ask if all pieces are working together or if they're as disconnected as my cousin's conspiracy theories.

THIS IS YOUR MOMENT (WHETHER YOU LIKE IT OR NOT)

Look, this year is harder than expected. The economy's a mess, technology keeps changing, audiences are fragmented, and skepticism is through the roof. But you know what? That's your chance to shine!

The marketers and communicators who test their strategies, focus on what matters, and communicate authentically will come out ahead. The rest will be left wondering what happened, like I wonder where all my socks go in the dryer.

So take this seriously! Review your plan. Rethink it. Tighten it up. Make yourself indispensable.

Is it easy? No! Nothing good ever is. But it's better than the alternative - becoming as irrelevant as a fax machine. And nobody wants that. Nobody.

Do yourself a favor and contact our PR team at Winsome before your communications strategy completely falls apart. We'll help you figure out what's working and what's about as effective as a chocolate teapot. Or at the very least, check out our pr blog where we explain all this stuff without our constant complaining.

Seriously, why are we still here? Go! Make the call! Send the email! Do something before your competition does! What's the worst that could happen? We actually help you? Oh, the horror!