The Times--And Marketing Tactics--They Are A Changing

by Bonnie Boots

 Before the 60's revolution ever hit its high-water mark, Bob Dylan was telling us, "The Times They Are A Changing." Sure enough, they were, and the first people to sense it were the sensitive ones, the poets and musicians, as well as the artists and writers and other creatives who always seem to have their antenna set to more subtle fields of information.

Now I see the creatives in advertising, the people working as concept designers, storyboard artists, jingle writers, animators and others, signaling that its time for yet another huge change in thought to sweep through.

Every month, I read several trade journals related to advertising and direct response marketing. Through those publications and their web sites, I'm able to see an amazing array of advertising concepts from all over the world. In the last year, I've seen a subtle shift that signals a turn away from fear-based advertising and towards advertising that is positive.

The targets of advertising, the people reading magazines n the doctor's waiting room or watching TV in their homes, have voted "Yes!" to this change by responding in greater numbers to positive campaigns and rejecting negative campaigns.

The marketplace is making it clear-people are fed up with being frightened into buying things, whether that thing is a breath mint or a foreign relations policy. And so we see, for instance, the Jenny Craig campaign, which once had Kirstie Alley telling the world that shame was her motivation for losing weight, now embracing the unashamedly queen-size Queen Latifah who tells us that Jenny Craig is all about healthy living and positive attitude.

Advertisers and marketers are trying hard to get a handle on how to manage this new demand for positive messages, but after more than a century of churning out fear-based marketing, many are finding it a bit tricky to transform. You can see this very clearly in the current campaigns to choose the next American presidential candidates.

There are few places where you'll see a more masterful display of marketing tactics than a presidential campaign. Big contributions pay for costly marketing experts who guide every speech and press release, and it's to be assumed that by now the three front contenders, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and John McCain, have the best advice money can buy.

And yet, what do we see? One misstep after another as the candidates fall into pothole after pothole on what each hopes is the road to the White House.

Fear-based marketing has long ruled the progress of political campaigns. But not this time. This time the target market has voiced a clear rejection of smear tactics and negative messages. So you'd think the candidate's handlers would steer them entirely toward positive messages.

Instead, every time one of the contenders drops in the polls, they let lose with a vinegar and oil dressing of smear and fear. And each time this happens, the public's reaction is swift -and punishing.

Why, then, do those negative old school tactics keep reappearing? Because there's simply no playbook for positive politicking. Fear and smear is what the people who build campaigns know and understand. And as the old saying goes, when the only tool you have is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail. Bereft of other tools, the campaigners can't help but bash everything with a hammer, even when they know it's their own thumb that will take the hit.

It will be interesting to watch the rest of this campaign play out. And even more interesting to see how the market's demand for positive, uplifting messages effects the world at large. One thing is clear-no matter what you're selling, whether it's a breath mint, a weight loss plan or a foreign policy, you'd better find a positive way to state it's features and benefits.
 

 
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