Cause Marketing—marketing strategies that promote a social cause rather than a product—can be powerful when 1) the cause is relevant for the brand and 2) when the cause has meaning for the brand’s customers. Doing this well is a long game, not a flash-in-the-pan campaign, that must reflect the values of the brand rather than social expediency. There have been several prosocial marketing campaigns, such as those by TOMS Shoes, Patagonia, Live Strong and Dove. Dove, which ironically sells beauty products, has taken a stand in the war against unattainable beauty standards. They have had several successful campaigns under the Real Beauty Master Campaign. First, they got everyone’s attention … [Read More...]
Continuing Fallout from the Cambridge Analytica Affair
If we look back on the use of social media analytics in Obama’s elections, we might well ask, how is what the Trump campaign tried to do with the research firm Cambridge Analytica any different? Is this about Cambridge Analytica's violation of Facebook policy or is this a bigger deal than that? Whatever the answer, the mud stuck to Facebook. In January 2013, I wrote about how President Obama effectively used social media in the 2008 and 2012 presidential campaigns, comparing his team’s social media savvy to Kennedy’s ability to use television. Where Kennedy had a lot of innate talents such as charisma and good hair that allowed him to project well across the lens onto the TV screens at … [Read More...]
Positive Psychology & Movies: Ferdinand the Bull Can Teach Your Kids About Their Strengths
The classic story of Ferdinand the Bull has been expanded into a new animated film due to be released by Fox in December. It’s family friendly and has a great message for all of us: Be true to yourself. But Ferdinand can be much more powerful. It can be used to help us understand ourselves a little better by identifying our strengths. The slogan, “being true to ourselves,” implies that we know who we are. Yet, how many of us—kids especially—have figured that out? Ferdinand the Bull, is cute, for sure, and the trailer suggests it will be a charming and entertaining movie, but I have always loved stealth opportunities to sneak in a “teaching moment” with my kids. Pop culture is a … [Read More...]
Humor Is Social Media’s Antidote for Fire and Fury News
Widespread and anxious reactions to statements like Trump’s fire and fury spread fast across the Twittersphere. We can’t blame Twitter alone for the far-reaching impact of this kind of news. Only about 25 percent of the population is on Twitter (Greenwood, Perrin, & Duggan, 2016). This type of news reverberates across all channels, not just social media the news source for a frightening 62 percent plus of the population (Gottfried & Shearer, 2016). The psychological impact of the fire and fury climate lays as much at the feet of traditional news channels as social media—they report the event AND the response to it on social media. Like the telephone game, it's not long before … [Read More...]