Read on Twitter
I understand it if you want to shy away from #politics in this next cycle, because politics is ugly.
Me, I'll be highlighting practical lessons in #marketing you can take away from the political sphere.
Me, I'll be highlighting practical lessons in #marketing you can take away from the political sphere.
1. Create the demand:
A. Teach women to live in fear for their lives
B. Get poll results that say most women have felt fear for their safety in the past week
C. Use this as evidence in support of social/policy change https://twitter.com/divasamilee/status/1144775546233954304
A. Teach women to live in fear for their lives
B. Get poll results that say most women have felt fear for their safety in the past week
C. Use this as evidence in support of social/policy change https://twitter.com/divasamilee/status/1144775546233954304
This is so neatly done that even if you point it out, people will go, "OK but isn't it a real problem? Don't we have to worry about the women being safe?"
Discuss the truth of it elsewhere; that's politics. I'm trying to help you by showing you the #marketing.
Discuss the truth of it elsewhere; that's politics. I'm trying to help you by showing you the #marketing.
2. Control the terms of debate.
Antifa are poorly behaved, but their naming/branding and semiotic control are shrewd.
They took advantage of the West's 50 year hangup with Nazi Germany, and now people can look like fools for even attempting to articulate that they are bad.
Antifa are poorly behaved, but their naming/branding and semiotic control are shrewd.
They took advantage of the West's 50 year hangup with Nazi Germany, and now people can look like fools for even attempting to articulate that they are bad.
Note that the reason this works is because the sequence of symbolic logic we use is not "Nazi, and therefore Bad," but rather "bad, and therefore Nazi."
By creating confusion at the final step ("It's in the name, antifa!") they render criticism incoherent.
#marketing
By creating confusion at the final step ("It's in the name, antifa!") they render criticism incoherent.
#marketing
"Bad" is not really a concrete image, whereas "Nazi" has clearly defined characteristics and is therefore better at capturing the imagination.
The more Nazi-like in appearance, the easier it is to believe someone is bad, and the less Nazi-like, the harder it is.
The more Nazi-like in appearance, the easier it is to believe someone is bad, and the less Nazi-like, the harder it is.
This trick won't work on people who are precise about their thinking, such as those who know that none of the modern parties are truly "Nazis" or even 1930s Italianate "fascists."
But that kind of careful thinker may be estimated at about 2% of the general population, at best.
But that kind of careful thinker may be estimated at about 2% of the general population, at best.
Here's an example of strategic miscalculation that may be generalized to a #marketing principle:
Some concepts generate their force from shock value. The first time rape is explained to you, your reaction is "wtf?" Same with genocide. https://twitter.com/moritheil/status/1189941003475726337
Some concepts generate their force from shock value. The first time rape is explained to you, your reaction is "wtf?" Same with genocide. https://twitter.com/moritheil/status/1189941003475726337
The first time you hear of genocide, your reaction is "That's messed up!" But if you study the history of genocides, you have trouble keeping track of them all, and generate takes like "I can't condemn this genocide because it wouldn't be fair to others." https://twitter.com/elivalley/status/1189309200284966912
Meanwhile kids forced into hours of Genocide Class in high school crack jokes about it, because it's impossible for teens to take things seriously.
https://twitter.com/JTHanden6/status/1047147556030033920
What can we learn? Tread lightly and don't overplay your hand.
#marketing
https://twitter.com/JTHanden6/status/1047147556030033920
What can we learn? Tread lightly and don't overplay your hand.
#marketing
"Looking for credible information on #COVID19?"
This is a #marketing trick. No one is looking for CREDIBLE information; everyone is looking for TRUE information.
This is a #marketing trick. No one is looking for CREDIBLE information; everyone is looking for TRUE information.
Why would they conflate the two?
It's easier to get you to believe that only information from Approved Sources has a chance of being true if your mind is already thinking that "credible = true."
#politics #marketing
It's easier to get you to believe that only information from Approved Sources has a chance of being true if your mind is already thinking that "credible = true."
#politics #marketing
5. Preconditioning
If you're accustomed to the experience of that which you most hope for being totally out of your personal control, then you are likely to fall back into that pattern when it matters. https://twitter.com/moritheil/status/1249361059615514625
If you're accustomed to the experience of that which you most hope for being totally out of your personal control, then you are likely to fall back into that pattern when it matters. https://twitter.com/moritheil/status/1249361059615514625
6. Doorbusters/loss leaders/ringers
You love Pocky. A store advertises:
"We have the ultra-rare green tea flavored Pocky!"
You get to the store and they are sold out. But, they have regular Pocky!
You are more likely to buy regular Pocky.
#politics https://twitter.com/niggafactory/status/1249356245942894595
You love Pocky. A store advertises:
"We have the ultra-rare green tea flavored Pocky!"
You get to the store and they are sold out. But, they have regular Pocky!
You are more likely to buy regular Pocky.
#politics https://twitter.com/niggafactory/status/1249356245942894595
Now, I am not saying that Bernie went into anything as a ringer for the Dems, but he effectively became one.
Whether they planned it from the start or convinced him to play a role, it was ultimately an example of a classic #marketing trick. https://twitter.com/moritheil/status/1247945358619131908
Whether they planned it from the start or convinced him to play a role, it was ultimately an example of a classic #marketing trick. https://twitter.com/moritheil/status/1247945358619131908
7. The Halo Effect
Your first impression of an idea or product is heavily influenced by who presents it, and this carries over into later evaluations of that idea or product.
This is why marketers get celebrity endorsements. https://twitter.com/Wolfknight74/status/1255209522823606272
Your first impression of an idea or product is heavily influenced by who presents it, and this carries over into later evaluations of that idea or product.
This is why marketers get celebrity endorsements. https://twitter.com/Wolfknight74/status/1255209522823606272
8. What Politics Actually Is
I probably should have talked about this at some earlier point, so here you go:
(With apologies to Jorge Luis Borges for misspelling his name in a hurry.) https://twitter.com/moritheil/status/1263193839180931073
I probably should have talked about this at some earlier point, so here you go:
(With apologies to Jorge Luis Borges for misspelling his name in a hurry.) https://twitter.com/moritheil/status/1263193839180931073
9. Hypocrisy Is A Feature
When you understand the symbolic-real divide that occurs in #marketing, PR, etc. the apparent hypocrisies of #politics become clear. https://twitter.com/moritheil/status/1263194209181478913
When you understand the symbolic-real divide that occurs in #marketing, PR, etc. the apparent hypocrisies of #politics become clear. https://twitter.com/moritheil/status/1263194209181478913
When a judge rules that a police department whose purpose is "To Serve and Protect" the public doesn't have any legal obligation to protect any individual person, he is quite clear on the difference between the abstract public, and you, an actual person.
#politics #mindset
#politics #mindset
Likewise, when a political party claims that it is here to help women get justice, any individual woman's claims will still be accepted or rejected based on their political utility.
The party serves the IDEA of women, not actual, regular people who are women.
#politics
The party serves the IDEA of women, not actual, regular people who are women.
#politics
This is, again, counterintuitive... https://twitter.com/moritheil/status/1263194618163847170
But only until you understand what is actually going on. https://twitter.com/moritheil/status/1263195285238530048
