Wednesday, March 20, 2013

man bites dog


I've never been comfortable with any brief that includes any notion of 'we need to educate c*nsumers about [product x] so they learn about the benefits as part of an [x] lifestyle' kinda thing.

The idea that anyone is sitting around waiting to be educated by any brand is borderline delusional.

If we want education we can go back to college, read a book, go to a conference or watch a documentary.

We almost certainly don't go to a supermarket.

Often the most effective brand communications are about confirmation not information.

Psychologists talk about the principle of commitment and consistency.

By requesting an initial commitment that confirms an existing worldview people are often more willing to agree to subsequent requests that appear consistent with their original commitment.

'Are you one of those people who want's to live a healthier lifestyle but life seems to get in the way?'

For further confirmation consider this, from Lord Vetinari - the benevolent dictator of the Terry Pratchett novels.

'Be careful. People like to be told what they already know. Remember that. They get uncomfortable when you tell them new things. New things… well, new things aren’t what they expect.
They like to know that, say, a dog will bite a man. That is what dogs do. They don’t want to know that man bites a dog, because the world is not supposed to happen like that.
In short, what people think they want is news, but what they really crave is olds… Not news but olds, telling people that what they think they already know is true.'


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