Ever wonder what U.S. presidents do when they’re off-duty? Turns out, when they’re not making history, some of them are out making casts — like Herbert Hoover, the Fishing President.

When the Great Depression hit, he reached for a rod instead of a podium. Fishing, to him, wasn’t leisure; it was a kind of recalibration. A return to stillness. In his book Fishing for Fun — and to Wash Your Soul, Hoover wrote:

“All men are equal before fish.”

It’s a beautiful idea: humility in the face of nature. But it also begs a sharper question: Are all fish equal before men?

It’s a reminder that perspective equalizes us — but also that perspective itself depends on where you’re standing.

Context changes everything. Without it, a fish is just a fish. A person, just another data point. But add context, the waters they swim in, the currents that shape them, and suddenly the story comes alive.

That’s where campaigns often miss the catch. They go after numbers, not nuance.
And nuance is where connection lives.

Context Is a Campaign Superpower

Context is what turns data into depth. It’s the difference between counting clicks and understanding why someone cared enough to click at all.

When you know the environment your audience moves through — their beliefs, pressures, habits, and hopes — you don’t have to shout to be heard. You just have to show up in the right current.

Whether you’re marketing a mission, building a movement, or trying to make your message matter, context is the current that carries connection.

So, what kinds of context shape strategy? Let’s wade in.

The Six Currents of Context

People don’t make decisions in a vacuum. They make them in neighborhoods, in news cycles, in late-night scrolls, and in shared histories. Context is what gives those moments meaning and helps a message feel relevant instead of random.

These six types of context reveal the world your audience moves through and how to meet them there.

1. Cultural Context
Culture is the water people swim in, invisible until you notice how it shapes the current. Beliefs, values, and local customs influence what resonates and what repels.
Use it when: You’re localizing campaigns, speaking to identity-based communities, or launching something rooted in belonging.

2. Economic Context
Money changes the mood. In times of scarcity or uncertainty, people tighten focus on essentials, values, and trust. Campaigns that acknowledge those pressures feel more human and more credible.
Use it when: You’re pricing a product, asking for donations, or gauging what feels possible for your audience right now.

3. Social Context
Every message moves through a web of relationships: families, institutions, peers, and generations. Understanding those dynamics means knowing who carries your message forward and why they care enough to share it.
Use it when: You’re aligning your mission to real-world needs or designing experiences that respond to social norms and expectations.

4. Technological Context
Access defines participation. The platforms people use and how fluently they use them shape the way they learn, connect, and act. Meet them where they scroll, not where you wish they were.
Use it when: You’re choosing outreach channels, designing mobile-first tools, or testing whether your audience prefers a DM over an email.

5. Historical Context
No campaign lives in a vacuum. The stories that came before, good or bad, frame how your message lands. History shapes trust, and trust shapes response.
Use it when: You’re addressing legacy issues, reframing outdated narratives, or revisiting old tactics with new insight.

6. Environmental Context
Where we live influences what we value. Climate, geography, and local realities define urgency, opportunity, and tone. When your message fits the landscape, it feels grounded, not abstract.
Use it when: You’re working on sustainability, regional resilience, or anything that touches land, air, or water, literally or metaphorically.

(And yes, timing counts too. Launching in the right season or moment can make all the difference.)

The Fish Analogy, Revisited

Let’s go back to the water for a second. Take one fish, say, a striped bass.

To one person, it’s dinner.
To a New England angler, it’s a striper.
To a marine biologist, Morone saxatilis.
To Indigenous tribes, a resource with sacred and historical meaning.
To policymakers, a climate-sensitive species that signals change.

Same fish, five stories.

That’s context in motion. Each perspective adds a layer of meaning, reshaping how the same subject is seen, valued, and acted on. It’s not just about knowing your audience; it’s about knowing the world they’re looking from.

When you understand that, your message doesn’t just land; it resonates.
The difference between data and understanding is the same as the difference between fishing and catching.

From Data to Dialogue

Understanding context is what turns outreach into a relationship. When you see the cultural, social, and emotional layers shaping your audience, you stop speaking into the void and start having a real conversation.

Context turns data into dialogue. It’s how you make someone feel seen instead of studied. It’s what transforms a spreadsheet into a story, a list of names into a living, breathing community.

Because no one wants to feel like a fish out of water.

How Understanding Builds Momentum

Understanding turns communication into connection — and connection into change.

Campaigns that work don’t chase reach; they build resonance. They start with curiosity, move with empathy, and grow through understanding.

When you lead with context, connection follows. And when connection takes hold, movements begin.

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