The Musings Of An Opinionated Sod [Help Me Grow!]

Beware Of People With Brains

Check this clip out … www.youtube.com/watch?v=8o7BRlUL7e0 … it was broadcast today across Australia and is totally genuine. 

As far as I am concerned, he is a hero!  No, not because he is soldier trying to restore peace in East Timor … but because he stopped an Australian News Network trying to manipulate viewers into believing the terrible situation in East Timor was worse than it already was.

My point is that whilst theatrics can 'add' to the effect of what you say – without a foundation of truth, all you are going to do is give people reasons why they should never engage you.  Times have changed … people forge their opinions from many channels, not just from ads … so if you are not 'living your claims', you'll not only be quickly discovered, but also quickly discarded.

One of the things I have tried to promote is 'Unplanning' … where you embrace brand truth, warts 'n' all – even if the consumer perception is negative.

By dealing in facts, we can connect with consumers based on a pre-existing perception of the brand, and then, by re-shaping how they look at that fact, we can achieve brand engagement and sales results because suddenly they see things with a fresh perspective. 

Of course I am not advocating this philosophy all the time – it depends on what the client is trying to achieve and the market you are operating in [not to mention the need for great creative to pull the whole thing together] – but what I do know is that Scalextric, Super Noodles, Tango, Skoda and Virgin to name but a few, all achieved far greater results when they embraced 'truth' rather than focus on 'theatrics' to spice up a marketing idea that in reality, wasn't that motivating for consumers.

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