Engaging Target Audiences
David Hoffman practices a simple but profound idea. He says, “it's not what you say that your audience hears. Your audience hears a combination of what you say and what they already think and feel. Therefore, to communicate effectively, to reach your target audiences, you must first deeply understand them.”
Hoffman is a veteran corporate communicator & Tribeca Disruptive Innovation Foundation Fellow who has been consulted on audience engagement by executives at more than a dozen Fortune 100 companies, including AT&T, GE, Google, Verizon Wireless, United Technologies, Merck, Amazon, and Sony. His start-up clients include Mesosphere, Yerdle, Cherokee Uniforms, Liquid Robotics & TEDMED. He has worked directly with leading entrepreneurs including Jay Walker (Priceline founder), Jeff Bezos (Amazon founder), and Megan Smith (Obama administration U.S. Chief Technology Officer, former Google VP).
Hoffman was recently the Executive Producer of LabTV, a Jay Walker media startup, where Hoffman’s team produced over 1,000 videos on medical science that captured over 13 million views on YouTube in just 9 months.
Hoffman is a TED conference veteran, twice a presenter. He is also a documentary filmmaker with more than 150 national TV shows and 10 CLIO advertising awards to his credit. His work has received Emmys, CLIOs, Golden Globes, and an Academy Award, just to name a few honors.
Hoffman’s company, Varied Directions International, acts as a special agency that works with companies to find credible, authentic ways to engage audiences, these days largely using video presented on YouTube and Facebook. Among his collaborators are Steve Block (25 years SVP of advertising at AT&T) and Charlie Miesmer (chief writer for 15 years at BBDO).
Hoffman and team are often responsible for framing and articulating target audience positions and key messages. Clients appreciate their breadth - there is no area of national and international communications that they have not produced and supervised. Their approach reaches out to and engages employees, customers, members, press and influentials.
They are equally effective, working with for-profit and non-profit organizations, including Future500.org, The Discovery Channel, Turner Broadcasting, The American Hospital Association, ASPCA, The Air Force Association, and EarthShare.
Use the links on this page to see how clients and collaborators have praised David Hoffman and Varied Directions International, in their own words.