Mind Meets Marketing
A middle-aged girl walks into her house, busy on her phone discussing
office-related work, and as she steps in she simultaneously asks her son about
his homework, sets the day’s groceries on the kitchen counter, proceeds to make
her husband a cup of tea while he watches the match and starts making food for
her family. An aged man, identified as her father, watches her in awe as she
juggles her life. She is a mother, a wife, a daughter and a working
professional all within those few minutes as he looks on.
He then pens down a letter apologizing to her. He says sorry for all the times she has had to multitask and be everything at once while no one lends her a hand. He says sorry for all those times he allowed her to play house in her childhood, not teaching her that playing house is not just restricted to her gender. He also says sorry for not allowing her to see an alternate reality where the onus of the family does not just rest on her shoulders alone.
He leaves behind the letter saying all of this and makes a vow that when he goes back home, he will share the load with his wife, if not anything else.
This is the premise of Ariel’s widely appreciated advertisement which was a part of their #ShareTheLoad campaign launched in 2016. It was hailed for the social message that it carried and the efforts it took to promote an idea where the ‘load’, as symbolized by a load of clothes being washed using Ariel, need not only be the woman’s responsibility in a household. Men should do laundry too.
This simple message went a long way to highlight a need to co-run a household. However, a clever eye can discern just how prudently human instincts and their conformity to social norms can be interpreted for a marketing cause that tells a bigger story. In this particular ad, men fall prey to narrow-mindedness, laziness, pride and ego-all of which have been bred and nurtured by the patriarchy. Moha (attachment) makes women carry out their ‘duties’ since it’s all they have been taught to do. Love makes her father realize the unfair nature of the situation and he takes a step to rectify it.
The ad appeals to our instincts that continue to let this happen and calls for a change. It calls us to take action, albeit in a small way. This is how, in my opinion, a small marketing effort can go a long way.
The example illustrated above is just one of many instances
where instincts that are buried deep within us are acknowledged via a short ad
film, usually the most visible part of marketing that has a direct impact on
our emotions. A product is introduced towards the end, after the problem that
that particular negative instinct causes, and a solution is presented by that
very product. From then on, it’s all a jolly affair.
This is a strategy that is not new to marketing at all. For a long time, marketers have utilized a keen insight into human behaviour in order to sell something. They understand what the human mind is prone to feel in a given situation and turn the story around where their products are what solve any issue. This makes viewers feel connected to an ad and relate it to their lives, thus, possibly prompting them to take the leap and make the purchase.
This is a strategy that is not new to marketing at all. For a long time, marketers have utilized a keen insight into human behaviour in order to sell something. They understand what the human mind is prone to feel in a given situation and turn the story around where their products are what solve any issue. This makes viewers feel connected to an ad and relate it to their lives, thus, possibly prompting them to take the leap and make the purchase.
Upon closer analysis, it can be discerned that it is
basically a way of understanding and appealing to the negative or positive
human instinct in the audience that wins the race for marketing experts. Our
emotions make us truly vulnerable, but for marketers it’s a wide open window of
opportunity where they swoop in and present us with a seemingly life-changing
idea. Much of modern-day marketing is like this.
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| Understanding the human mind goes a long way in marketing. |
A sizeable number of commercials show one languishing in one or more of the six negative human instincts. . In a Fair and Lovely ad, one usually finds women who are unhappy with how they look. They are envious of others that look better and hence, they feel better too. The jealousy towards other seemingly happy people is a great beginning point for the brand. By showing situations like this, a “me too” moment is triggered which makes the target audience feel as if it is their problem being projected.
Once the character in the ad gets a solution and is able to
reach a point of happiness, the audience, too, is inspired to use the same
course of action to further complete their association with the ad. These are
classic instances where a negative instinct, that is innate within us, is
transformed into a positive feeling. Since, we as humans, chase positive experiences
and the idea of perpetual happiness, we can’t help but be tempted to use these
products in the hope that it can solve our problems.
All of these ideas are purely based on understanding what
makes us human and how psychology can be utilized effectively in marketing. A
smart marketer will always acknowledge the human instincts within us that are
waiting to be addressed. While walking in a mall, I have often looked at huge
hoardings with offers plastered on them in big bold letters. “Flat 50% Off!”, “Buy
Two, Get Two Free”, “Upto 80% Off!”- these words talk to the deep seated
instincts of greed and miserliness (Lobha) within us.
It is usually only upon
entering these stores that I often end up noticing that there are terms and
conditions that actually make the offers quite pointless and not fair deals at
all. However, even then, many times we actually do end up making purchases in
these sales because we believe that we are getting a good deal. How can we say
no to that after all?
Even where positive instincts are concerned, many
commercials usually show how a product or a brand fosters love. A very famous
Wagh Bakri ad shows how it is the tea that reunites a couple that seems to
have fallen out of love. Cups of this tea bring back the spark in their
relationship and all is right in the world.
Surely, a lot of couples might have
related to this ad and in a quest to repair a broken marriage, might have also
been susceptible to the idea being sold- the idea that Wagh Bakri tea can bring
back the lost love; and since we always crave love and belonging (shoutout
to Maslow’s third level of needs!), there is nothing stopping us from making
the purchase and experimenting.
The point here is that if one can understand how the human
mind works and how our instincts are our motivating factors, there is very
little stopping them from becoming a good marketing professional. Understand
how the audience feels and what makes them weak, show them a better way out,
sell an idea of happiness, give them the necessary information and watch the
magic work. The process is as simple as that but it is the first stage that
makes all the difference.
The question is not about which instinct you can appeal to. It could be anything from lust, fear, greed to anger, hatred, and ego. It is about how you inspire them. The simplest way is to show a situation that a larger number can relate to and face almost on a regular basis. Once that can be cracked, marketing gets simple from there. Convert that instinct into love, righteousness or peace. Sell them the idea that life can get better if you use our product. Show that you get them. Show that you care.
The question is not about which instinct you can appeal to. It could be anything from lust, fear, greed to anger, hatred, and ego. It is about how you inspire them. The simplest way is to show a situation that a larger number can relate to and face almost on a regular basis. Once that can be cracked, marketing gets simple from there. Convert that instinct into love, righteousness or peace. Sell them the idea that life can get better if you use our product. Show that you get them. Show that you care.
Your work, then, is done.
Sources Used:
Good one :)
ReplyDeleteGood writing and good ideas, Disha.
ReplyDelete