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BJ Bueno

Are You Ready For Some Football?

The 2012 Football Season has finally started, bringing joy to the hearts of fans everywhere—at least as long as their teams are doing well.  While there’s lots of action to watch on the gridiron, you’re going to want to pay special attention to social media this season.  The NFL, its teams, and even individual players are proving to be surprisingly adept at using Facebook and Twitter to strengthen the relationship they have with their fan base.

Social Media From The Sidelines

In Customers First we talk about one central concept: the better you understand your customer, the more completely you’ll be able to meet and surpass their expectations. This is the recipe for fanatical brand loyalty.

The NFL hasn’t always demonstrated a concrete understanding of what their fans want the most—witness the most recent frustrating lockouts—but they seem to have gotten a handle on things as far as social media is concerned.  They’re using their Facebook presence to give all of the Monday Morning quarterbacks a platform to share their opinions and be heard, posing to their fans the very same questions that are normally discussed by James Brown, Boomer Esiason, Dan Marino, and the rest of The NFL Today crew during halftime.  A post asking which of five rookie quarterbacks starting this Sunday would be the most successful drew over 2,700 responses. While there’s no doubt that the fans admire the athletes on the field, it seems that the behavior they most identify with and emulate with is that of the commentators.

Adweek has given the NY Giants a glowing review of their social media efforts, and we think you should pay particular attention to the bit at the end, which discusses how the sales of tickets and Giants memorabilia is being integrated successful into the social media content mix. Translating online activity into real world revenue works best when the conversions are not forced, but occur naturally and organically. The Giants present a wide range of content, including images of the locker room before the game, exclusive game photographs and post-game live chats with team personnel.

A comprehensive narrative is built, delivering a powerful emotional dividend of anticipation, excitement, and (in the case of the season opener against the Cowboys) heartbreak. It’s a complete experience. Sales solicitations to watch the game again or purchase tickets for the next game mesh seamlessly into the mix. Putting the customer first—providing the information and emotional experience they’re seeking—strengthens the relationship in such a way that they’re predisposed to do more business with the Giants.

An Effective Social Media Presence

When we talk about individual players having an effective social media presence, we’re really talking about the power of the intersection of two powerful unconscious forces: archetypal images and the cultural narrative.  Sports stars and celebrities attain a quasi-mythical status through media exposure. Some of the commentary surrounding Patriot’s quarterback Tom Brady would lead one to expect that the man could change water into wine in between throwing touchdown passes. This puts them in a unique position where they are both more and less than they actually are.  Some of their actual humanity becomes obscured by celebrity’s glare; at the same time, they become powerful symbols of skill and perseverance. The ups and downs of a professional football career track neatly against some powerful cultural narratives, such as the hero’s journey, in which a pure heart and determination can prevail over even the most unjust fate.

Put it all together, and you get Peyton Manning. After many, many years of loyal service to the Indianapolis Colts, Manning was laid low by a neck injury that sidelined him for a season. His team let him go, and today, the elder Manning is the quarterback for the Denver Broncos. Manning’s Facebook page addresses the situation with humor (there’s a great image of Steeler’s coach Mike Tomlin saying “What do you mean, his neck is fine?”) and language that frames this period in Manning’s career as a new chapter in an exciting narrative.  Fans aren’t just tuning in to see the game: they’re seeing Manning’s return and his triumph over circumstances. What happens when fate deals a good guy a bad hand? No one knows for sure, but they’re using social media to make predictions none the less.

Not everyone can throw a perfect spiral pass. Few people can take a hit from a linebacker and get up again. It’s pretty hard to kick a football forty yards through the uprights. But what we can do, as marketers, is take the lessons the NFL is teaching about the effective use of social media and apply them to our own online conversations. Be prepared for touchdowns!

September 20, 2012 by

The Writing on the Wall: Bic’s Lost Opportunities on Social Media

I love BIC Cristal for Her! The delicate shape and pretty pastel colors make it perfect for writing recipe cards, checks to my psychologist (I’m seeing him for a case of the hysterics), and tracking my monthly cycle. Obviously, I don’t use it for vulgar endeavors like math or filling out a voter application, but BIC Cristal for Her is a lovely little writing utensil all the same. Ask your husband for some extra pocket money so you can buy one today!

As of this morning, there are 56 pages of Amazon reviews for Bic for Her pens. Many of these are hysterically funny, while speaking to the peril of introducing needlessly gendered products. The reviews, many of which were added over the holiday weekend,  are being discussed everywhere, from the more feminist corners of the blogosphere to mainstream business publications.  It’s the type of publicity opportunity brand managers dream about at night. But when you look to social media to see what Bic has to say about the whole brou-ha-ha, you’re going to find a whole lot of nothing.

Putting the Social in Social Media: Joining the Conversation

We’ve reached the point where discussing whether or not Bic ever should have introduced Pens for Her is moot. The pens are here, the public has responded to them with a level of intense fervor one can only find at the intersection of comedy and social commentary. And Bic has a huge opportunity on their hands.

Social  media provides the ideal platform for a brand that fully understands its customer base to capitalize on situations like this. Every time you introduce a new product, you are, in effect, issuing an invitation to dialog. The vast majority of new products—especially in the writing instrument market, which has steadily been losing ground as the world communicates via keyboard—arrive with a whimper, rather than a bang. This type of response is phenomenally rare.

Bic, it appears, couldn’t be bothered to show up to participate in the conversation. The Bicforher Twitter account is a spoof; the #Bicforher hashtag is dominated by people pointing to the Amazon reviews. Go to Bic’s Facebook page and there’s absolutely no sign that one of Bic’s products is in the center of the media spotlight. The most recent mention of the Bic for Her pens is over two weeks old; wall postings that refer to the Amazon reviews have been ignored.

It’s important to understand that social media is a messaging vehicle that is wholly unlike the traditional broadcast media we’ve used to market products for generations. Social media has changed customer expectations about what meaningful brand engagement looks like.

When customers take their time and energy to comment on products and services, they expect the brand to respond, in a timely fashion. And they make decisions about the ongoing nature of their relationship with that given brand based largely upon the nature and tone of that response. If Bic responds with the right emotional tone, satisfying or even surpassing what the consumer expected from the brand, they could turn around what at first glance appears to be a PR disaster into a brand-building opportunity.

Silence is never the answer. Bic needs to address the Bic for Her buzz, and they need to do it soon. Ideally, Bic would have an idea of who their best customers are, and what motivates their purchasing decisions. There’s a reason it’s important to have an in-depth understanding of your customer base. Being able to avoid bone-headed product introductions is a good reason, but as we see in this case, knowing when and how best to respond to public scrutiny is another.  There’s a way out of this mess for Bic. They just have to be able to read the writing on the wall and be willing to leave some messages of their own there for the whole world to read!

September 11, 2012 by

Watching the Horizon: The Power of Predictability in Social Media

All eyes were on the sky last week, watching the approach of Hurricane Issac. The storm moved slowly but steadily toward the Florida coast.  This was a problem for the organizers of the Republican National Convention, hosted this year in Tampa.

It’s never a good idea to minimize the potential impact of a hurricane.  Even smaller storms can do devastating damage. That being said, most people who live in the area have the knowledge and experience to weather the storm safely. Many of the people who attend the Republican National Convention, however, aren’t from Florida. Delegates came from all over the country—and many of them had never been closer to a hurricane than their television set. Ensuring the safety and security of all event attendees is obviously a top priority for RNC organizers.  What should they do?

This is the point when we see the value of an accurate weather forecast coming into play.  You’d better believe that the decision makers in this situation paid close attention to the models meteorologists were presenting. What was the likelihood the storm would turn and track out to sea, harmlessly winding itself out over open water? What was the likelihood that Issac would hit Florida directly? What about New Orleans—was the city once devastated by Katrina in for another direct hit?

Knowing the odds of every projected scenario helped the RNC organizers decide what to do to best protect their convention attendees. There were also important political considerations to take into account. Florida Governor Rick Scott was scheduled to make a major speech on the first day of the convention. He instead cancelled all appearances, to focus his energies on storm response.

Were these the right decisions? After a storm has come and gone, it’s easy to look back and answer that question. Before the storm, it’s a lot tougher to be certain of your decisions in an uncertain environment.  Even the best forecast can not tell us, with 100% precision, where the storm is going to go until it actually hits. The best we can do is anticipate, based on probabilities and past experiences (the RNC had to delay their 2008 convention as well, due to the impact of Hurricane Gustav), and act accordingly.

Social Media & The Perfect Storm

Watching this story play out (and being in Florida, we’re not exactly disinterested observers of hurricanes!) one thing that becomes clear is how dependent decision makers are on the accuracy and reliability of the weather forecast. Should the convention open on time? Should it be held at all? Should everyone who was planning to attend actually show up? All of these decisions were dependent on insights gleaned from examining the weather forecast.

This model, while not absolutely definitive, was considered reliable enough to guide major decisions, costing hundreds of thousands —if not millions— of dollars. The RNC is reacting conservatively, making choices to preserve not only the safety and security of their attendees, but their brand image as well. We’re not political commentators here, but it’s safe to say that neither political party would want to be perceived as partying and having a good time while a natural disaster unfolded, particularly in New Orleans.

Wouldn’t it be nice if we had the ability to forecast social media interactions the same way we track hurricanes? Knowing when not implementing a plan, no matter how much time and resources has been devoted to it, is the right decision for the greater good is a tremendous strategic advantage.  You act differently when you know the storm of public contempt and derision is headed your way.

Had McDonald’s known ahead of time what would have happened when they launched the #mcdstories hashtag last year, they could have sidestepped an embarrassing debacle.  Kenneth Cole would have known better than to use the Egypt uprising as a sales promotion hook. Weather forecasts help ensure safe events in real life. If you’re seeking some measure of security for your brand in the dynamic environment of social media, you need a comparable forecasting tool to gauge public reaction to your content before you post it.  This predictability is essential to find a safe port when storm winds are blowing. That’s the value of putting Customers First.

September 5, 2012 by

Being the Apple of Their Eye

PhotobucketBy now you’ve heard the news that Apple has been recognized as the world’s largest company. We can’t say we’re surprised. We’ve been fans of Apple for years. Our enthusiasm isn’t tech-based (although we love our iGadgetry as much as anyone), but is instead borne out of the intensely intimate focus Apple has on understanding and serving their best customers.

The Power of a Cult Brand

Ask any analyst or industry insider what Apple sells, and they’ll rattle off a list of items: the iPhone, the iPad, the Mac. They’re all right, and they’re all wrong. What Apple really sells, and the reason why Steve Jobs was able to steer the organization to such a dominant position, is creative empowerment.

Human beings are complex creatures. We like to think we’re logical, and that all of our decision making comes from a rational, objective place. What Apple, and other dominant organizations like Harley Davidson, Ikea, and Nike—companies we call Cult Brands—realize is that while logical considerations certainly have some weight, they’re hardly the most pressing factors guiding consumer decisions. The feelings and emotional associations consumers have with your brand is the ultimate driver of purchasing behavior and enduring customer loyalty.

In many ways, the consumer views brands the same way they consider their own personal wardrobe. They choose outfits for many reasons: to project a particular image, to attract others, to express their personality—clothing is, ultimately, an expression of identity. They form brand relationships the same way, choosing the organizations they view as the best extension of their selves.

No one stands in line for three days to buy a cell phone because it offers better coverage or has a longer battery life. People stand in line for three days to buy a cell phone because they love the way it makes them feel.

Apple commands fanatical loyalty because they’ve identified and found a way to represent what many, many people consider an integral part of their very best self. This best self is creative, focused on appreciating beauty in many forms. This best self is social, centered on connecting with friends. This best self is generous, sharing everything from personally penned profound thoughts to funny pictures snapped on vacation. Unconsciously or consciously, most of Apple’s customers believe that they are already creative, social, and generous. Unconsciously, they believe that owning an Apple product makes them more so.

If you’re going to be a dominant organization, you need to know, intimately and in great detail, who your customer’s best self is. Delving into and defining the qualities they see as most important in themselves (a process we call Brand Modeling) will help you understand the qualities and type of experience they want from you. Apple does this at every touch point, on and off line. That’s not saying they do everything perfectly; there are always bugs to be discovered. But they address the imperfections in a way that their best customer’s best selves recognize and appreciate.

One is left to wonder what’s left for Apple. After you become the biggest brand in the world, what’s left?

August 28, 2012 by

The Social Side of Social Media: Can You Crowdsource Creativity?

We’ve got to hand it to Mountain Dew.  They’re trying so hard to do social media right—especially when it comes to listening to their customer base and soliciting creative insights from the people who actually love their products. If there was a direct relationship between efforts and results, someone in the Mountain Dew PR team would be getting top honors right about now.

But something’s not working quite right.  Mountain Dew was searching for a name for their new green-apple flavored soda. They turned to the masses, and the masses responded—not always a guaranteed thing in this world! Unfortunately, the masses didn’t respond with really brilliant, insightful, sales-generating names for the soon-t0-be-debuted beverage.
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August 15, 2012 by

Playing Chicken With Your Brand: The Need for Authenticity

If we ever needed an illustration of how social media has changed the dynamic of corporate communications, we need look no further than Chick-fil-A.

It’s no secret that the leadership of the quick-service chicken chain is openly hostile towards same-sex marriage; they donate millions of dollars to anti-gay organizations. Dan Cathy, son of the founder, uses what he calls Biblical principles to run the business. The restaurant is not open on Sunday; they operate debt-free.

How does this play out on social media?

Putting the Social in Social Media

We talk a lot here about the need to belong, and why participating in groups is so important to people. Right now, let’s talk about the mechanics of how people get into groups in the first place, and what they do to stay well-positioned in the group, once they’re in.

Groups are formed by affinity; like-minded people gravitate toward each other. One way for the individual to be welcomed into the group is to announce they have the same values and beliefs as the rest of the group. Chick-fil-A does an exceptional job articulating its organizational values to the public. Customers who find these values in alignment with their own will favor Chick-fil-A. Customers who find these values counter to their own obviously will not.

Social media provides the platform where groups form and engage with each other. After Dan Cathy’s statements confirming the organization’s committed negative stand on same-sex marriage, the Jim Henson Company decided it no longer wanted to work with Chick-fil-A. They made their decision public on Facebook.

In response, the next day, Chick-fil-A posted paper signs in their franchises, announcing Jim Henson toys would no longer be available at Chick-fil-A due to a mysterious safety recall.

That’s the type of incredible coincidence the internet just loves. Gossip and speculation flew faster than the speed of light. There are countless articles, blog posts, and social media postings questioning the sincerity of this voluntary recall. Chick-fil-A did not present as credible. The bad impression compounded when it became obvious that someone was manufacturing sock puppet Facebook accounts to defend the brand.

It did not help matters that the Consumer Safety Protection Commission has reported no known safety issues with the puppets.  The CSPC is the governmental agency that usually handles this sort of thing.

It’s hard to be taken seriously as an organization guided by Biblical principals when you look like you’re bearing false witness. This, more than anything, is what may do real, lasting damage to Chick-fil-A’s brand equity. People believe what they believe about equal rights for all: a chicken restaurant is not going to change their mind—no matter how good those Waffle Fries are!

But now an element of doubt has been introduced into the equation. Chick-fil-A’s biggest fans (the people we’d call their Brand Lovers: the most profitable, engaged customers) and those who are favorable toward the brand are faced with uncomfortable questions.

An Alignment of Values

Were they lied to? And if they were, why? The customers who adhere to this brand and its values are not people who would leave over a forthright statement that acknowledged that the chicken restaurant parted ways with the Jim Henson company over political differences.  Lying is bad enough.  Lying for no discernible reason is worse.

Not every Chick-fil-A customer will ask these questions.  But some of them will, and they’ll talk to their family and friends. Brands are built on trust between the customer and the organization. There is a vital and critical sense that the values of the brand are in alignment with those of the the customer.  Right now, Chick-fil-A’s knocked the cart right off the rails. Even if they’re not lying, it looks like they are.

It’s obviously a tumultuous time at the company. Don Perry, VP of Public Relations, recently died. To move forward, especially in the arena of social media, it’s essential that the brand focus on bringing its actions back into alignment with the values their customers know and expect. Honesty is the best policy. And in today’s fast paced social media environment, verifiable honesty is even better.

What do you think? What advice would you give Chick-fil-A as they move forward?

August 8, 2012 by

The Lost Years? Lessons Learned From Microsoft

Kurt Eichenwald, a contributing editor at Vanity Fair, has investigated what he calls Microsoft’s Lost Decade—a period of lackluster performance and diminished profitability. He lays blame squarely at the feet of a cannibalistic corporate culture.  The story is getting lots of attention, particularly as it relates to the controversial management practice of “stack ranking.”

Microsoft’s CEO, Steve Ballmer, went to Forbes to reply.  His response (Lost decade? What lost decade?) is full of enthusiasm for Windows 8, Bing (currently #2 in the search engine marketplace, trailing Google by only 51.2%!) and the Surface, Microsoft’s computer/tablet hybrid designed to showcase the power of Windows 8.

Which one of them is right?

Let’s start by talking about this Lost Decade thing.  To begin with, how do we decide which years are lost? Microsoft hasn’t been knocking anyone’s socks off with their innovation or sales numbers. (Eichenwald is quick to point out that the revenue from the iPhone far exceeds the revenues generated by all Microsoft products combined.) But Ballmer isn’t wrong when he points out that invention and innovation take time, refinement, and resources. Those years aren’t lost, Ballmer argues. They’ve been quietly necessary.

Harley-Davidson isn’t known for being a particularly quiet company, but they’ve had their share of lost years. During the infamous AMF era, the now-iconic company was in a death-spiral. Quality had tanked, customer satisfaction was a thing of the past, and the brand was headed toward oblivion until a group of dedicated individuals took action to save the company from within. It was a hard time for the brand, a time where they were neither innovative or productive. Yet they’ve recovered, and today are the dominant motorcycle manufacturer in the domestic market.

The Vital Role of Culture

It’s important to note that internal cultural changes played a pivotal role in Harley-Davidson’s revitalization. It turns out to be pretty essential that people build products they’re proud of. Understanding the intrinsic motivations of your work force—those unconscious psychological forces that lead your employees to choose your organization as their employer—is an essential step in effecting meaningful organizational change.

And that brings us back to Kurt Eichenwald.  He’s focused on the problems within Microsoft’s internal culture. The mechanism by which employees expect to be recognized and rewarded for their contributions to the brand’s success has been fundamentally broken, he argues, by the stacked ranking system.  It’s not unlike grading on the curve: 10% of your people are star performers, 70% are your average folks, and the bottom 20% aren’t cutting the mustard.  They need remedial education or they need to be replaced.

Rather than creating an atmosphere of collaboration and innovation, this methodology fosters fear, anxiety, and individual competition.  The focus is not on being the top 10%, it’s on avoiding being regarded as part of that bottom 20%.  Where the employee’s attention is focused is where the company will inevitably go.  You can make a ship so safe it sinks.

What does this mean for Microsoft?  The decade past may not be lost, entirely, but dangerous lessons have been learned inside of that corporate culture.  If Microsoft wants the innovation, creativity, and spark that they’ll need to remain relevant, much less competitive, in today’s tech market, changes need to be made.  Understanding and recognizing what motivates people to do their best work for you, their most creative, higher-order thinking, is a good place to start. The shift toward a more humanistic corporate culture is where it begins.  Who knows where it will end?

August 1, 2012 by

Beyond Batman: Understanding The Events That Shape Our Customers

We join with the world in sorrow and grief over the Aurora, Colorado massacre.

As a culture, we’ll be a long time figuring out what went wrong, and why. As business leaders, we have to understand the impact of events like this have on our customers.

For the owners of movie theaters, this is a huge and immediate concern. But what does it mean for the rest of us? You may not think there’s an immediate connection. If you’re selling women’s clothes or automobiles or the finest financial planning instruments, at this point, you’re thinking, “Exactly what does this horrible shooting have to do with my customer base?”

Culture, Community, and The Ties That Bind

We’ve talked before about the fact that our customers don’t exist in isolation. Approaching business from a humanistic perspective means understanding that we’re all connected: every single customer is part of a family, a neighborhood, a larger culture. The groups we belong to partly define us. Our behaviors, decisions, and world views are partly shaped by the behaviors, decisions, and world views of the people we associate with.

It’s important to remember that systems—all systems, every system—move inevitably from stability to instability. Entropy is a universal force. Things come undone. We see this on the physical level as well as the social level.  Once great institutions—the central forces that guided and shaped every decision that people made—are not so powerful anymore.

People no longer identify as strongly or as wholly with their church, country, or community as they once did.  This process can take place over the course of time—an in-depth examination of American Catholicism is a good example here—or it can happen very rapidly. How many people applying to work for your organization this week are going to have Penn State proudly listed at the top of their resume?

The groups may falter and fail, but the need to belong remains. Let’s bring our attention back to Aurora for a moment. Examining the coverage of this horrific event reveals one surprisingly strong narrative thread: outrage that this shooting happened specifically in a movie theater. People go to the movies to be entertained, surely, but they go for other reasons: to be anonymous in the audience, free from the responsibility to be aware of and engaged with others, and to give over one’s attention wholly to a story. The setting may be secular, but the experience is close to sacred. To be violated here, in this fashion, is not a trivial thing.

Right now, our customers are largely conscious of this. We know a woman who told her mother she was going to a midnight showing of Batman, to show solidarity with and compassion for the Aurora victims. Her mother’s advice? Wear sensible shoes. Just in case you have to run. You never know.

A year from now, two years from now, those words may have faded, but the sentiment will remain, tucked away in the collective unconscious of our customers. The spaces we assumed were special and sacred, different from the rest of the world and free from the world’s worries, aren’t, really. This will shape their decision making in new and complex ways. We see this after every large scale traumatic event, even if it appears that our customers aren’t directly affected.

It is our role, as business leaders invested in providing superior service to our customer base, to be aware of the changes in group behavior. Some people are going to buy running shoes in the wake of Aurora. Some people are going to buy guns. What about your customers? You need to know what they’re are going to do and why they’re going to do it. That’s the type of awareness that separates leading organizations from the rest of the pack.

July 24, 2012 by

Up In Smoke: What To Do When Your Market Disappears

Last week, we talked about a powerful Thai campaign designed to encourage people to stop smoking. There are lots of people who get pretty happy when folks kick the cancer-causing habit, but we have to admit that the sentiment is hardly universal.

Tobacco farmers aren’t big fans of the stop-smoking movement, as you might expect. Fewer smokers means a smaller market for their crop.  Other companies are feeling the pinch too. Cigarette and pipe manufacturers, ash tray makers, and lighter companies are all experiencing dramatically declining domestic sales.

What’s going to happen to these brands if the whole planet eventually goes smoke free?

Let’s look to history for some answers. After all, it’s not the first time consumer demand for a product has dropped off precipitously. Markets can and do disappear.  Have you tried to buy an 8-track player recently? Good luck with that. The same thing can be said for floppy disks and manual typewriters. Try locating a pay phone somewhere near you. It might take a while.

When a market disappears, the companies that depended upon that market tend to choose from three options. One option is to hang in there, catering to the nostalgic customer. Markets never disappear entirely. Did you know that there are still zeppelin manufacturers? Another option is to go out of business entirely, and a third option, far more popular, is to stay in business but change what you do. The Royal Typewriter company, for example, today specializes in consumer information technology, including cash registers, shredders, and copier supplies.

Understanding Your Customer’s Unconscious Expands Opportunities

There is another option for companies facing a dwindling marketplace, but it’s only open to those brands who have a deep and comprehensive understanding of the unconscious psychological motivators that drives their customers to choose them over all other competing brands. In this strategy, you continue to do what you do, but you present it to your customers in a whole new way.

For example, let’s look at Zippo. Full disclosure: we wrote about Zippo in Customers First, discussing their dubious brand extension into the world of fine fragrances. Now, however, we think the brand is on the right track as they embrace a new strategy.

Zippo built their brand by positioning themselves as the lighter of choice for the rugged, resourceful man. Their customers saw themselves as can-do guys, who wouldn’t let something like a little bit of wind stop them from enjoying a cigarette when they wanted one—or from being there for a damsel in distress who needed a light.

That wasn’t all. Zippo lighters made it possible for the average Joe to tap into his inner MacGyver. Portable, dependable fire is a handy tool to have. You can start a signal fire. You can smooth the end of a fringed, frayed rope. In a pinch, you can warm canned food with a lighter. In a really bad pinch, you can even cauterize a wound—although we, ourselves, would never recommend such a thing!

Zippo understands that their best customers may never, in fact, use their lighters to do any of these things. Chances are that they’re much more Yogi Bear than Bear Grylls. That doesn’t matter. They’re far more likely to do these things than they are to smoke, and having a Zippo makes it possible.  What Zippo is selling here is empowerment. When a man uses a Zippo, he’s able to connect with a powerful archetypal masculine image that resonates on a deep and primal level. It’s a tangible way for consumers to connect with an internalized vision of their best self.

You’re just not going to get that from flicking your Bic. We’ll see what happens over the coming years.  We’re fairly confident that the smoke-free trend is going to continue. Habits change, even deeply ingrained habits like smoking. But unconscious psychological motivators? Those are constants—and those constants can be used to ensure brand longevity, even when an entire market goes up in smoke.

July 10, 2012 by

More Powerful Than Heroin: Using Cultural Stories To Connect

PhotobucketTobacco is one of the most addictive substances on the planet. It was way back in 1987—a quarter century ago—that smokers were first told that it was easier to give up heroin than cigarettes.

Today, the CDC reports that 19.3% of American adults smoke. That’s nearly one in five, which is pretty bad. In Thailand, the numbers are jaw-droppingly worse.  27% of the entire Thai adult population smokes.  46% of adult men do: that’s nearly every other guy you meet!

Thailand’s government is very interested in reducing the numbers of people who smoke.  They’ve used a video campaign that we think is fascinating, because it deals in a very complete and sophisticated way with one of the most important unconscious psychological factors that influences people’s behavior: the cultural story.

Connect With Your Customers: The Cultural Story

The video begins with images of people standing outdoors, smoking.  Some people are standing alone, while other people are standing in small groups. A small child, not even yet into their teenage years, approaches, pulls a cigarette out of their pocket, and asks for a light.

In every instance, the adults refused to light the child’s cigarette. In fact, the vast majority of the adults went on to tell the child why they shouldn’t smoke at all. One woman told the child how cigarettes contained insecticide, while another man talked about the many diseases associated with smoking. Still another man talked to the child about not being able to play and have fun if they smoked.

(You can see the video for yourself here, in this Adweek story.)

Ok. Let’s take a break for a moment and look at what is happening here.

All of these adults, the ones who are refusing to light the child’s cigarette, are sharing a contemporary cultural story with them. In this complex narrative, tobacco plays the ultimate bad guy. The adults take on the role of wise adviser or guru in this tale. It’s their job to prepare the child—a hero-in-training who doesn’t even know they’re in peril—with the warnings and wisdom they’ll need to prevail over the looming peril of addiction.

When we watch the adults telling this cultural tale, we can see that they’re really invested in the storytelling. They feel compelled to not only share this story, but to share it in the most effective way possible.  There’s a real effort to share the anti-smoking rhetoric in a way that the children will understand and find relevant to their experience.

Think about the man who talked about the child not being able to play any more. He didn’t tell this kid, “Someday you’ll experience decreased cardiac function if you keep this up!” or “In 30 years, you won’t even be able to think of taking the stairs!”  All of that would have been meaningless to the kid. The adult focused on the benefit that would matter most to the child—and he did this intuitively, automatically, reacting to the child’s request within seconds.

That’s a powerful demonstration of the power cultural stories have upon us. These narratives surround us, making up the subtle cultural background of our lives. If you asked any of the adults in that commercial, chances are none of them are professional anti-tobacco educators. But the role of the cultural story that smoking is bad, especially for children plays in the society is so pervasive and overwhelming that when presented with the actuality of smoking children, these individuals  felt compelled to reinforce the narrative.  They may not be professional anti-tobacco educators, but they did quite an impressive job as amateurs.

The Power of Cultural Narratives

As marketers, we need to understand which cultural narratives affect our customers the most. We also need to know how our customers see themselves in relation to that cultural narrative. And for that, boys and girls, let’s go back to commercial:

After hearing the adult’s reasons for refusing them the light, the children handed the adults a note, and then quickly left the area. The note read, “You worry about me, but why not worry about yourself?” along with a helpline number. Many of the adults threw their cigarettes away at that point. All of the adults approached retained the brochure; the helpline experienced a 40% increase in calls.

What happened? Ogilivy Thailand, which produced the campaign, did two very smart things here. In Thailand, as in much of the world, the cultural norm is that children are the ones stories—especially instructional, moralistic stories—are told to. They’re not the ones who tell the instructional, moralistic story. By placing the child in the counter-intuitive role of the wise adviser or guide, the unconscious is shocked into a new state of awareness and receptivity. The adult who was not aware they were being taught at all find themselves overwhelmed by the wisdom of the lesson they received.

This cognitive shift is accompanied by the realization that one’s role in relation to the cultural story has also changed. The adults who were, in the first version of the tale, the powerful wise adviser and guide, can now regard themselves as the child’s role: they themselves can be the hero-in-training, preparing to fight off tobacco’s addictive powers.

Changing your role in a cultural story is a powerful thing.  The call to be a hero—especially if it comes at the right time—can transform a life. We don’t know yet how many of those helpline calls will result in someone giving up cigarettes for good, but we feel safe in saying that it’ll be more than a few.

Understanding the unconscious, and leveraging that understanding to create effective messaging can do amazing things. If this knowledge can be used to break consumers free of one of the most addictive substances on the planet, what can it do for your brand?  That’s something well worth thinking about!

July 3, 2012 by