Snake Charm: Leveraging the Snake’s Finer Characteristics in PR and Communications

The Aspectus Singapore Team

With the Snake symbolising intelligence and transformation, its qualities offer valuable lessons for PR and communications. Strategic timing, adaptability, and intuitive messaging are essential for impactful campaigns. Embracing creativity and resourcefulness ensures brands stand out in competitive markets, showcasing transformation while fostering trust and collaboration for long-term success in PR.

Let’s talk about the Snake. Yes, that nimble, enigmatic creature that will charm its way into the spotlight this Lunar New Year. According to the Chinese zodiac, the Snake symbolises intelligence, strategy, and transformation — all qualities that make it the ideal muse for public relations (PR) and communications. Ready to shed your old communications strategy and embrace something transformational? Let’s make it happen.

Strategic PR Timing and Planning

First things first: snakes don’t slither aimlessly. Every move is deliberate, calculated, and strategic. Timing and precision are everything and are at the core of many a successful PR campaign or activity.

For example, rapid response commentary to breaking news impacting your industry, and especially your target audience, is a wonderful opportunity to insert your brand into the most important conversations of the day. It’s also a great way to share unique perspectives from your company, differentiating your brand and asserting your authority as an industry thought leader. Working with a partner who has strong media clout and relationships with the editors who matter is key to this.

Equally important is research and foresight into industry trends and key market events. Again, working with a PR agency with extensive knowledge of how the media works, what they publish when, and what’s on their editorial wishlist is instrumental.

In partnership with some of our clients, we’ve found success in securing media coverage with pre-planned commentaries based on different scenarios, while leveraging our media relationships to secure media interest simultaneously. When the news breaks, we release appropriate commentary. With this strategy, we’ve secured coverage for clients on topics like the annual Singapore Budget, or the recent impacts of US Fed Rate Cuts.

Applying the same principle of timing and precision to any campaign is integral. Just as the Snake chooses the right moment to strike, time and time again, we’ve seen campaigns score results by carefully timing announcements or launches so they won’t get overshadowed by noise surrounding major events such as government elections, for example.

As you build your brand communications strategy, timing and precision bodes well for cementing your position as a thought leader and a go-to for the most influential editors.

Adaptability and Transformation

Snakes shed their skin periodically and this has been considered a symbol of renewal and transformation. With brands, it’s important to showcase that you’re a brand that’s here for the long haul because it builds trust, loyalty and continued engagement with you. But to demonstrate that, you need to show how you’re evolving. However, communications about transformation can be extremely complex, bearing in mind that not all of your stakeholders will embrace change readily.

Messaging plays a critical role here. Authenticity is non-negotiable. At Aspectus, we’ve helped numerous organisations achieve their business and communications objectives around transformation, be it the digital transformation, the energy transition or ESG and sustainability reporting, helping them showcase not just compliance but innovation and leadership.

Check out our Asia ESG whitepaper if you’d like to know more about the practical and strategic considerations for effectively communicating your ESG efforts.

Intuition and Emotional Intelligence

If the Snake had a mantra, it’d be, “Read the room.” These creatures are masters of intuition, hyper-aware of their surroundings. In the same vein, a company will do well by adopting the Snake’s hypervigilant and intuitive nature by engaging in active listening and understanding audience sentiment from your external communications.

Empathetic communication is critical, especially during crises or sensitive campaigns. But it’s not just about the big moments; consistency across all channels — from digital platforms to blogs to media engagements — is key. And don’t forget about internal communications. Your employees are your most important stakeholders, and engaging with them thoughtfully is crucial to reinforcing your brand values.

Here’s a tip: working with a PR and communications agency who is already a subject matter expert in your industry is crucial. A particular agency may have won awards or received accolades but if they are not familiar with the stakeholders in your space – whether it’s the nuances of regulatory compliance, or the energy transition, your campaign may not hit the mark with your PR and communications efforts or be able to ‘read the room’ in addressing challenging engagements with your audiences.

Mystery and Intrigue

There’s something about a Snake’s mysterious aura that’s undeniably captivating. In PR and communications, a touch of intrigue can make your campaigns just as compelling. At Aspectus, we call this Considered Creativity.

Considered Creativity is story-centric, finding a narrative that’s informed by original insight, but also leverages the topical zeitgeist to capture attention. However, through compelling storytelling techniques, considered creativity can establish your brand’s messaging and inspire your audience to act differently. For example, we helped PlanRadar with creative storylines adapted from global brand messaging around the construction technology space, and connecting with regional nuances for specific audiences. As a result, we secured 17 pieces of coverage and 1 million estimated views.

And let’s not overlook social strategy. Teasers, exclusive content, and subscriber-only perks can also build excitement and anticipation. Of course, there’s a fine line here to observe — authenticity and transparency must always shine through. In the digital space, we have developed social strategies that build on the reputations of our clients, not just in terms of brand exposure to their target audiences, but also in generating solid leads to meet business goals. 

The Resourceful Spirit of the Snake

Last not least, the Snake is resourceful, finding solutions to challenges, no matter how daunting. Similarly, at Aspectus we don’t wait for big launches or announcements to make news. Instead, we proactively create opportunities to keep your brand in the spotlight and continue the momentum throughout the year.

Tapping into the resourceful spirit of the Snake, it’s all about finding the right opportunities for our clients, whether it’s with timely commentaries around breaking news, creative thought leadership campaigns to profile executives, or finding the right way to cut through the noise in crowded markets to showcase their competitive edge.

Whether it’s strategic planning, adaptability, emotional intelligence, mystery, or resourcefulness, the Snake’s qualities offer a masterclass in impactful communication. At Aspectus, we live and breathe these principles, turning them into PR campaigns that deliver real results. Ready to shed your old communications strategy and embrace something transformational? Let’s connect, we’re here to support.