By Pamela Rutledge and Bonnie Buckner In part 1 "Levi's: Go Forth and Exploit," we wrote about our problems with the Levi’s Go Forth Campaign, such as romanticizing and trivializing the Great Depression and exploiting the efforts of the town of Braddock, PA to fit their Steinbeckian narrative. Here, we will focus on the opportunities for what we call Karma Capital--economic profit combined with positive social impact--that got away. Brands and corporations have significant impact on individuals and culture. The Levi’s campaign shows a considerable deafness to the current social and technological environment and the shifting psychologies and cultural sensibilities of their market. In a globally networked world, every message from a company and organization will ripple through the system. They could have created some serious Karma Capital by aligning social goals with their bottom line. Levi’s missed an opportunities on two levels. Instead of a contrived narrative, they … [Read more...]
Levis: The Karma Capital That Got Away, Part 2
The Role of Media in International Conflict
I am very interested in the impact of media on how we view the world, and particularly in messaging that is framed in fearful and tribal contexts by various sources from politicians, religious leaders, and proponents of social causes to media outlets vying for audience attention. Biologically speaking, maintaining a heightened sense of fear is a stressor that can permanently alter our neurological wiring, even after the threat abates. A heightened sense of fear colors the way we see the whole world, influencing our perceptions and, consequently, our judgments, decisions, and behaviors. These are the ideas that I am measuring in my current research that will form the basis for a dissertation on Media Impact on the Core Beliefs that Predict Conflict. I hope to identify differences among information sources in their influence on core beliefs. I am using US and China as exemplars of this phenomenon and will gather data again, post-Olympics. The link to my questionnaire is here: … [Read more...]
