Consumers and businesses alike are being bombarded with content.   An argument can be made that they suffer from digital fatigue.  With the dizzying array of marketing channels now available and the explosion of digital and social as media, companies are scrambling to learn new forms of communication often at the expense of presentation. In other words, the medium becomes more important than messaging.

As I step back and look at communications trends in business, I see marketers quickly scrambling to learn new technologies sometimes at the expense of basic principles of marketing. Fear of irrelevance in terms of digital parlance has made many irrelevant to their core audiences. Simply put, content is there, but it stinks. Has anyone scanned a QR code lately?

Regardless if the medium is paper or digital, it is still important to ask the following questions in order to cut through clutter and engage your audience:

-Have the fundamental elements of good design changed? (Am I employing good design?)

-Have the fundamental principles of marketing changed? (Is my offer valuable to my audience?)

-Has our visual interpretation changed? (Do they understand me?)

While the methods of delivery are almost too numerous to count, the goals and basic principles typically remain unaltered.  Excellent design, a timely offer and a message that leads me to believe my needs will be met will be remembered, even amidst the clutter.