8 lessons from space-focused comms

Perhaps it’s the inner Captain Kirk in all of us. Maybe we’re fascinated by the movies’ extraterrestrial sasquatches and battles against swarming alien fleets.

Either way, outer space captures the imagination—and journalists’ attention.

President Donald Trump’s call on Monday for the creation of a Space Force as a sixth branch of the military will be debated by the experts. Yet it serves as a reminder of the lessons that space communications have taught us.

“We are going to have the Air Force and we are going to have the Space Force—separate but equal,” he said. “It’s going to be something.”

Whether this is a passing whim or a clear presidential initiative, the final frontier has long offered PR inspiration. Here are a few takeaways from space-related communications:

1. Tell a story.

If you want to capture the public imagination, it’s not enough to launch a product or a rocket. Your big new thing has to be part of a broader narrative.