By watching the type of content that your target audience regularly
enjoys you may get to understand how those brain neurons fire up when
they are entertained. FILE PHOTO | NMG
To convince people to change their minds, you should get into
their brains as much as possible for two good reasons. The first is to
understand how they think and what state of mind they are in, and
the second is to discover the triggers you need to pull to get them to act in a predetermined way.
the second is to discover the triggers you need to pull to get them to act in a predetermined way.
In my induction into
advertising I was instructed to get into people’s minds as a habit of
nature and it was then that I understood why the industry is viewed with
so much suspicion. I like to think that what we do is in the field of
‘persuasion’. The haters on the other hand will call it deception,
manipulation, trickery and even sorcery.
In truth,
every advertising agency worth its salt has its secret sauce, the
special ingredient to delivering spectacular results for their clients.
Personally, I prefer to shy away from the ivory tower, the one where
many creative minds ascend to congregate and indulge in academic or
intellectual matters that are highly cerebral.
If you
are unfamiliar with the ivory tower, I would love to give you the grand
tour. The ivory tower is housed in many boardrooms where communication
specialists converge to isolate themselves from the maddening crowd.
In
it they conjure advertising and promotion initiatives for the very
target audiences they intend to influence even though the view of the
world from the tower is usually obscure.
The downside
of the ivory tower is that most of the brilliant ideas devised therein
will never resonate with the intended group for obvious reasons.
It’s
a wonder why so many creatives still visit the ivory tower with all its
faults but perhaps with the incessant client pressure it may be the
only place that offers solace for the imaginative mind. The alternative
though, requires a grounded approach that takes more time and sharpens
instincts.
We usually start by roaming the streets with
our eyes wide open. The Holy Book says that Wisdom stands at the city
gates distributing insights for all to see and hear, but most people
treat her like those merchandisers that distribute flyers in the traffic
– they roll up their windows.
Everyday, consumers are making thousands of decisions about
where to go, what to buy and other ways of spending their money, and
we’ve made it a habit to observe them when they do so in public.
In
the supermarkets, in the restaurants, at the petrol station and in the
stadiums, we watch and listen for identifiable patterns that inform our
campaign planning and helps to develop wining strategies.
The
second thing we do is to regularly connect with men and women from
every walk of life. To do this you must truly be interested in people so
that you can find common ground and hold lengthy conversations. It is
in this interaction, with a bias to listening, that you will derive
powerful insights about them and their lives.
Finally,
to get a glimpse into people’s minds, you must increase your tolerance
to a variety of content. Yes, you must watch those Latino telenovelas,
the violent World Wrestling Entertainment, or the bible thumping gospel
hour, however disposed you are to that type of viewing.
By
watching the type of content that your target audience regularly enjoys
you may get to understand how those brain neurons fire up when they are
entertained.
Therefore, in order to generate the kind
of insight that feeds advertising initiatives and makes cash registers
ring around the clock, consider roaming the streets with your eyes open,
connecting with people from every walk of life and increasing your
content tolerance.
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