Most people believe that good will triumph over evil.
This optimism is a core tenet of humanity.
Indeed, it’s so ingrained that we often assume that ‘good’ and ‘evil’ will be easy to tell apart – like night and day.
Sometimes this is the case; some crimes can never be justified, while some acts are universally welcomed.
However, much of our world view dictates ‘good’ from ‘evil’ on a purely subjective basis.
For example, religion will likely always remain a matter of individual opinion.
The same is true of culture.
There’s little doubt that globalisation has led to a degree of homogenisation of attitudes and behaviour, and we’ve lost much cultural variety along the way.
But this is nothing new; the Greeks and the Romans are perfect evidence that even the strongest and most influential ‘civilisations’ rise and fall.
This is because culture and ideas are subject to the same principles of evolution as biological species: only the fittest survive.
And as with biology, the key to continued survival is genetic diversity.
This means we must draw from as many influences as possible, but at the same time, ensure that we do not distill everything into a single, homogeneous result.
I was reminded of this while watching a fantastic TED talk from Dan Dennett (below).
He approaches the topic of cultural propagation from a philosophical angle, but there’s a clear relevance to advertising and planning in there too.
For me, the abiding lesson is that our individual cutural and moral perspectives are never ‘good’ or ‘evil’.
The ‘life’s a game’ concept is nothing new, but it seems to be particularly resonant at the moment.
Russell describes what I’m feeling beautifully in this great excerpt from his epic playful post*:
“Just like when I walk through the crowds on Oxford Street a tiny part of me is pretending I’m an assassin slipping steely-eyed through the crowds in order to shake the agents on my tail. And I bet it’s not just me. I’m not saying I’m massively deluded, just that, very often, some bit of us is always trying to play those games, to make mundane things more exciting.”
It’s one of those lovely insights that could translate really well into brand activity.
And this Nike spot hits that sweet spot beautifully:
It works because it’s engaging – even if it’s only in your own imagination.
* Yes, I know I’ve linked to it about 10 times already. But there’s a reason for that: it’s wonderful. If you haven’t read it already, I thoroughly recommend taking a look now. Thanks to Neil at Welcome to Optimism for sharing the Nike clip.
“Rather than simply interrupting [people's] escapism, we now have greater scope to make [their] lives better.”
Today’s suggestion – to incorporate an element of CSR into everything you do – continues this logic:
If brands are to become a meaningful part of people’s lives, they need to enrich those people’s lives too.
Rationale
“Give, and you shall receive”
This applies equally well to brands as it does to people; indeed, many of the world’s great brands were born on the principle of cooperation.
Lever Brothers built the foundations of today’s Unilever on the principle of ‘doing well by doing good’.
Similarly, Cadbury created an entire social eco-system for its workforce around the company’s factory in Bournville – an approach rooted in the Quaker ideal of mutual benefit.
For some reason, this ‘considerate’ approach to business went out of fashion for many years, reaching a low point in the corporate greed of the 1980s.
However, a renewed focus on ‘Corporate Social Responsibility‘ (CSR) became popular in the 90s, and brands today cannot justify a lack of broader conscientiousness.
But CSR isn’t just a ploy to enrich the company’s annual report.
Indeed, simply throwing money at a charity can often seem more like an acknowledgment of guilt than genuine concern.
For CSR to be effective, brands must demonstrate a real commitment to driving change and helping people.
This is most effective when the area of CSR focus relates to the brand’s core purpose and expertise, and integrates with the brand’s overall marketing.
For example, while I’d applaud a petroleum brand that donated 10% of its profits to feeding the poor, I’d admire and celebrate that brand much more if they invested the same amount of money in developing ecologically balanced sources of energy that ensured a brighter future for everyone, not just their shareholders.
However, it’s often difficult to justify that kind of longer-term CSR to shareholders, who invariably demand results today (and not 30 years down the line).
The good news is that CSR is a powerful and effective way to build a successful brand – a financial benefit that even myopic shareholders can relate to.
This is because CSR has the ability to create much deeper connection and engagement than broadcast advertising ever could; by helping communities and society at large, brands can demonstrate that they’re on the side of the people, and that helps to establish a more powerful bond.
So how can brands make best use of CSR opportunities?
Other initiatives, such as Nike’s ReUse-A-Shoe Program, take the concept of CSR even further:
Benefit
Feeling good about a brand makes it much easier for people to justify choosing it over alternatives.
Furthermore, genuine CSR inspires people to talk about the brand, driving word of mouth and amplifying ROI.
Action
Identify as many relevant opportunities as you can for your brand to give something back to its communities, and assign a meaningful portion of your brand’s resource – money and effort – to delivering these contributions.
Previous posts in the ‘planning for the future‘ series
John shared this gem a while ago, and I couldn’t resist re-posting it here.
Cory’s statement is truly insightful: content like music, films, novels, and news is valuable in and of itself, but its value increases exponentially when it enables us to connect with others.
Because it’s those connections that people really care about.
So don’t just think about how you can connect your brand to your audience.
Think about how your brand can help your audience connect with each other as well.
After the recent post on KINDED, I was interested to read about a Canadian credit union’s approach to ‘random acts of kindness’.
Springwise report that Servus is giving away 20,000 ten-dollar bills to allow people to “make someone’s day” and start what they refer to as a “Feel Good Ripple”.’
In their own words,
“The Feel Good Ripple was developed to inspire everyone to make a positive impact in their community – today and into the future. It’s the credit union way of creating harmonious communities and sharing our cooperative beliefs.“
Participants have already put some of the money to good use, including anonymously buying an elderly couple breakfast, and buying pet food for the SPCA.
It’s an intriguing initiative.
On the one hand, it’s great for provoking conversations; my first reaction – ‘what would stop someone from pocketing the money?’ – even works in the campaign’s favour, by increasing the likelihood that people will talk about it.
It’s also a refreshing and differentiating alternative to the usual banking campaign full of stock images and financial cliché.
Furthermore, generosity isn’t an attribute people normally associate with brands in the financial services sector. This ‘corporate philanthropy’ angle highlights the brand’s credit union philosophy and co-operative approach.
Sure, cynics may suggest that it’s all just marketing spin – that’s it’s just another example of brands trying to buy people’s affection.
But does that matter?
The brand could have used this money to produce the usual, irrelevant blandness.
Instead, real people are benefiting from the campaign.
And when it comes to choosing between one bland brand and the next, that little ‘feel-good’ edge could become a critical motivator.
Sometimes, it’s not about how good you are, but about how bad everyone else is.
KINDED is a fantastic idea – one of those rare occasions where I want to go out and try a brand just because of its communications.
It’s organised by KIND, a “not-ONLY-for-profit” brand of hand-made, all-natural snacks from Australia.
I’ll refrain from calling this a campaign, because it’s not.
Rather, it’s a wonderful way to bring the brand philosophy to life, giving KIND relevance and making the brand a welcome part of your life.
The underlying concept of this ‘movement’ is ‘ random acts of kindness’, but it adds elements of the game ‘tag‘ and features from this fascinating initiative that tracks the movements of dollar bills in the U.S.
Here’s what the brand has to say about its ‘movement’:
“Ever wish you could do an incredible kind act for someone else, but can’t do it alone? The KIND team wants to help make it happen.
KINDED is a movement inspiring unexpected kind acts. These kind acts can be anything from helping someone carry heavy bags, sharing your umbrella, or paying for a stranger’s coffee.
“KINDED cards” serve as licenses to do kind acts for people who might otherwise be wary, making KINDED easy to pass on.
And since each card has a unique code and can be mapped online, you can track how far your chain of KINDING travels and view kind acts happening around the world.“
They go on to explain that the KINDED cards make it easier to overcome the social awkwardness that some people associate with helping a random stranger, by acting as an ice-breaker and explanation.
At the time of writing, 719 ‘KINDINGS’ have already been performed.
You don’t need to wait for someone to pass their card to you though – you can apply for one and start a chain of your own simply by popping over to the KINDED website.
So why do I think this is such a great activity?
Firstly, the concept is very simple: it focuses entirely on sharing the brand’s philosophy.
That may seem a narrow objective, but I now know exactly what the brand stands for – what makes it different, and why I should be interested. And that’s enough to make me want to try it.
Secondly, there’s no need for people to buy anything. It sees the world from the audience’s perspective, overcoming the “I know you’re trying to sell me something, so why should I even pay attention?” factor.
But most of all, this activity will bring joy and warmth to people’s lives – it will make people happy.
That’s powerful ‘CSR‘ that will inspire conversations, PR coverage, awareness, and goodwill.
Thanks so much to Springwise for the pointer. Images ‘borrowed’ from the KINDED website. And no, as far as I’m aware, I have no connection of any kind to KIND – I just think this is a great way to build a brand.
Many thanks to Niall over at Simply Zesty for sharing this video
UPDATE: seems a few people have run similar stories in the past day or so too – this post from All Facebook is one of the best examples
Apple’s North American online store went down for ‘updates’ earlier today.
Engadget reports that during this outage, the site displayed the following image:
Sure enough, loads of people contacted Engadget, who duly ran a story that attracted close to 100 comments.
I’m amazed: Apple have managed to transform a conventional source of irritation into an effective talking point that encourages people to check back until the store opens.
A few weeks ago, over on the wonderful Noisy Decent Graphics, Ben shared some history relating to the oldest logo still in use today.
He came to the conclusion that it’s the S.P.Q.R. mark, which dates back to Ancient Roman times:
This started me thinking about the world’s longest surviving brands.
The world’s major religions – Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity and Islam – would probably all make it into the top 10.
Surprisingly, this Wikipedia page suggests that they might be joined by a few hotel brands.
Less surprising was the fact that breweries would probably make the list too; I can think of a few beer brands that have been around for more than a couple of centuries.
It’s by no means the world’s oldest beer brand, but it’s certainly one of the most widely recognised; indeed, it enjoys such cult status that people happily wear Guinness T-shirts, even if they’re not big fans of the drink.
So what is it that has helped Guinness to survive and continue growing for so long, and what can other brands learn from its success?
Here are a few thoughts:
The brand is a story
Many people still believe that the recipe for Guinness was discovered by accident when Arthur accidentally burnt a batch of his normal brew. The story goes that he sold this batch at a discount to porters at the local docks, who all came back asking for more. Regardless of whether this story is true*, it’s exactly the kind of trivia that the brand’s core consumers love to share in pubs and bars, inspiring talkability at the point of purchase and consumption.
In a similar vein, I’ve heard many people retell the more accurate story that Guinness was regularly prescribed to new mothers, people who gave blood, those with heart conditions, and for a variety of other ailments. A variety of functional qualities, not least the drink’s high iron content, mean that many people still believe the brand’s historic claim that “Guinness is Good For You.”
The product is highly distinctive
In a market saturated with hundreds of lager brands that all look, smell, and taste the same, Guinness offers something different. It’s thick, dark, and bitter, and as a consequence, it stands apart from all the competing offers at the bar.
What’s more, outlets invariably serve Guinness in distinctive, branded glassware – vessels so prized that drinkers often ‘forget’ to return them once they’ve finished their pint.
It’s part of numerous consumption rituals
To many people, Guinness is Ireland, and vice versa. Every year, people make a point of visiting bars on March 17th to drink a Guinness in honour of St Patrick. A good proportion of them will do so in an Irish Pub – another ‘brand’ which has successfully travelled the globe, invariably taking Guinness with it.
And then there’s the product ritual itself. The real Guinness pour – ‘119.53 seconds to perfection’ – is a brand ritual like no other. It’s an unparalleled intangible social object, reinforced by barstaff and brand fans the world over. Not only is the ritual observed, but people share the story themselves, citing the brand’s famous “good things come to those who wait” explanation.
Crucially, consumers can be a part of all these occasions – indeed, the brand is often merely a facilitator in their occasions – and that draws people deeper into the brand’s franchise.
It delivers a strong expressive (emotional) benefit
Guinness is often seen as a ‘real man’s beer’. The strong, bitter taste takes some getting used to, and more than a couple of pints in one sitting requires determination. The associations vary subtly by culture, but most relate to strength, courage, and masculinity, as well as a sense of mystery and intrigue.
It delivers inconic communications
The brand has built on its talkability through a long-standing association with iconic advertising. From the famous “Guinness is Good For You” slogan and the instantly recognisable toucan, to more modern incarnations such as the Rutger Hauer “Pure Genius” campaign and the award-winning surfer (both below), Guinness’s advertising regularly inspires conversations.
It’s an experience
It’s hard to rush Guinness, even if you could find a reason to want to. It’s a stout that’s meant to be savoured, not guzzled. The rituals, the distinctive glassware, the experiential settings all combine to make a Guinness so much more than a “quick pint”. Because of this, Guinness actually helps the drinker to slow down, which makes it a relevant choice at the end of a long day.
It’s tasty
While taste is a matter of subjective interpretation, it’s unlikely the brand would sell 1 billion pints around the world each year if it didn’t tickle the right taste buds. And that makes a big difference; no matter how much hype surrounds a brand, if it delivers fundamental utility, it stands a better chance of surviving in the long run.
I’m sure I won’t be alone in raising a glass (or two) in celebration of the Dark Black on September 24th.
*Apparently this story is pure legend, but I think I’ll stick with it anyway.
Remember that alcohol is only fun in moderation – don’t ruin the occasion by having too much.
the process of sharing the right things with the right people in the right places at the right times.
This has significant implications for ‘media’.
On the one hand, it necessitates a more tailored approach to establishing audience connections.
The conventional model focuses on reaching an audience, but what does that matter? As the saying goes, you can lead a horse to water… we need to ensure that the horse drinks as well.
This means being much more specific when it comes to identifying where and when we can engage people with what the brand wants to share.
It’s about relevance and resonance, not reach and frequency.
On the other hand, we need to be a lot more open-minded when it comes to defining ‘media’.
Why limit ourselves to the conventional choices?
There is nothing* a brand cannot use to communicate.
Our imperative is to identify the best opportunities for sharing things in the most efficient and effective manner.
To do this, we need to plan around people’s whole lives, not just around paid media and their associated ratings.
* Really, nothing. If you’re doubtful, give me an example of something you think couldn’t be used as ‘media’, and I’ll try to think of a way it could be used.
