TL;DR
Understanding history helps communicators make smarter decisions, avoid tone-deaf messaging, and craft a stronger communications strategy. By paying attention to past events and cultural context, communicators can better anticipate how messages will be interpreted and avoid repeating mistakes brands have made before. History also reveals patterns—such as how denial, defensiveness, or performative messaging can worsen crises—while transparency and empathy build trust. Ultimately, historical awareness strengthens judgment, helping communicators move from simply sharing messages to serving as thoughtful, trusted advisors.
Key Insights
- Understanding history helps communicators avoid tone-deaf messaging and reputational missteps.
- Historical awareness builds cultural literacy, helping communicators understand social movements, language shifts, and audience perspectives.
- Considering context—what else is happening in the world—helps ensure messages are interpreted as intended.
- History reveals patterns in crisis communication, showing that denial and defensiveness often worsen backlash.
- Empathy and transparency, as demonstrated in past crises, are key to maintaining trust.
- Learning from past brand mistakes helps communicators identify risks before messages go public.
- Historical perspective encourages long-term thinking about how messaging may be perceived in the future.
Knowing History Strengthens Your Communications Strategy
At some point in school, we all asked, “Why do I need to know this?” Whether it was the Pythagorean Theorem or the Dust Bowl, we can all remember a lesson that felt inconsequential as a kid.
For me, these moments almost always happened in history class. I really did not like that subject, and back then, when life consisted of basketball practice, rehearsals, chatting with friends on AIM, and Italian ice, I didn’t understand why history mattered.
I often found myself zoning out. So much so that when my 11th-grade teacher told us we had to pick a subject to present on for National History Day, I chose the Manhattan Project, thinking it was about building Manhattan. Had I known it was about the atomic bomb, I definitely wouldn’t have chosen it…
Hindsight is 20-20, and now I know that history was, in fact, one of the most important subjects in school. It gives us context, helps us understand why things happen, and saves us from the doom of repeating.
Because we didn’t just fall out of coconut trees. “We exist in the context of all in which we live and what came before us.” This Kamala Harris quote might have become meme-ified, but really, it’s true. Everything that happens today is shaped by past events.
Recently, this lesson glared in my face and unfolded a new truth: history, as well as the historic moments we watch unfold every day through the news, can actually strengthen communications skills. Here’s a little anecdote that shows how I learned that.
A connection on LinkedIn posted asking if any New Yorkers had neighborhood recommendations for an upcoming marketing activation. She listed Battery Park City as one of her preferred places because of its proximity to the water. Made sense to me. The big problem was…the event was set to take place on September 11th. In New York City.
Now, I don’t expect non-New Yorkers to fully understand the geography of our city. But for a major brand to host an event mere blocks from Ground Zero on 9/11 is not only insensitive and a logistical nightmare, it’s also a PR nightmare. I can literally envision the social media comments… So, of course, I spoke up.
Unfortunately, brands don’t always have a nosy, well-intentioned New Yorker in their comments, and they often miss the mark due to unawareness or misunderstanding of history.
Nivea ran a “White is Purity” ad, seemingly ignorant of how this phrasing echoes white supremacist rhetoric and historical racism.
Pepsi’s “Live for Now” ad starring Kendall Jenner was ripped apart for trivializing Black Lives Matter protests by implying a soda could fix deep-rooted racial and police brutality issues.
And most recently, American Eagle’s campaign featuring Sydney Sweeney used the slogan “Great Jeans. Great Genes,” which critics argued echoed historical eugenics.
Paying attention to history and current events helps us develop judgment, and judgment separates communicators who just say words to say them from trusted advisors.
Here’s how history teaches us to be better communicators:
Helps us Build Cultural Literacy
History and current events deepen your understanding of social movements, economic pressures, trends, shifts in language, and generational differences—all of which help prevent tone-deaf messaging. They help you craft communication that feels aware, not isolated or without a pulse.
Cultural awareness also supports your understanding of your audience—helping you write for them and not for yourself. Brands that communicate with their own agenda in mind (here’s what we want to say) get ignored. Those who communicate with their audience in mind (here’s what you need to know) build loyalty.
Teaches us the Importance of Context
“What else is happening right now that will shape how this is interpreted?” is a question you should be asking yourself before hitting send, post, or publish on anything. It helps you make better decisions, avoid misunderstandings and offense, and consider how something will be interpreted. Remember: whether it’s a corporate announcement, crisis response, or even a social media post, context is everything.
Strengthens Pattern Recognition
History reveals helpful recurring patterns:
Denial worsens crises
One of the most famous examples of this is, of course, Watergate. When the break-in occurred, the Nixon administration denied involvement and tried to distance itself. In time, investigations revealed the truth, and the cover-up became far more damaging than the crime.
For brand communicators, we know that denial compounds damage and the narrative quickly shifts from “mistake” to “deception.”
Defensive language fuels backlash
After the 2010 BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, the then-CEO famously said, “I’d like my life back.” The comment was widely perceived as self-centered, defensive, and detached, even as communities faced devastation. Naturally, this intensified the public outrage.
Language that centers the organization (or leader, in this case) instead of stakeholders amplifies backlash because it removes empathy from the crisis. Leading with empathy instead of defensiveness helps communicators showcase customer pain points, motivations, and objections. It gives us the ability to get inside the heads of stakeholders.
Empathy is the difference between “We regret any inconvenience” and “we understand this has caused frustration and uncertainty.” One feels defensive, while the other feels human.
Transparency shortens controversy cycles
Johnson & Johnson may be one of the most famous brand examples of how transparency can help in the face of a crisis.
After cyanide-laced Tylenol capsules caused several deaths in 1982, Johnson & Johnson reacted immediately with transparency and action. They didn’t try to minimize the situation or delay communications. They warned the public, pulled 31 million bottles from shelves, communicated constantly and openly, and introduced tamper-proof packaging. Not only did this save the brand, but more importantly, it saved lives.
The company quickly regained trust and is still cited as the gold standard in crisis communications.
Performative statements get exposed
Who can forget the rise in greenwashing in the ‘90s and early 2000s—when brands positioned themselves as environmentally responsible through branding and comms while continuing environmentally harmful practices behind the scenes.
When Starbucks switched to its “strawless-lid” as part of its sustainability drive, it was quickly revealed that this lid contained more plastic than the old lid and straw combo. In a further lesson of what not to do, Starbucks went on to push back and claimed the lid was made from polypropylene, a commonly accepted recyclable plastic. Critics quickly pointed out that only 9% of the world’s plastic is recycled.
Starbucks isn’t the only brand guilty of this deception, and over time, brand after brand got exposed that their messaging didn’t match their actions. Not only did these brands lose credibility in the space of sustainability (and beyond), but ESG (Environment, Social Governance) claims are still scrutinized to this day.
If your messaging gets ahead of reality, exposure is eventually likely, especially in the digital era, where documentation spreads quickly.
Improves The Risk Radar in Your Communications Strategy
History shows us what people react strongly to. This is helpful in identifying areas to avoid in our messaging or those that deserve extra care and attention.
This can include:
- Highly polarizing topics
- Phrases that trigger controversy
- Culturally sensitive issues
- Where public patience is thin
This increased awareness helps us flag potential risks before something goes live.
Before sending a message, ask yourself:
- “Will this hold up?
- “How would this look resurfaced in five years?”
- “Is this reactive, or principled?”
Looking back at history can actually provide a chance to see into the future…
In other words, it doesn’t just make us more informed—it makes us more discerning.
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