NRA Boycott: Behold the Power

I am stunned by the swiftness of the reaction to the Parkland shootings. 

While I am incredibly saddened by the fact that 17 more people had to die for people to say enough is enough; I am encouraged by the speed with which a list of corporate sponsors of the NRA was circulated.  And the response that followed. 

Companies that immediately distanced themselves included MetLife, Symantec, TrueCar and the First National Bank of Omaha.  (Hsu, 2018)  Also Delta, United, Enterprise, Hertz, Avis/Budget, Wyndam and Best Western. ( Zorn, 2018)

Among those that haven't yet, attention is focused on Fed Ex who offers the group a discount.  You can follow #boycottnra on Twitter for the latest updates.

1 in 4 boycotts work. And, as Eric Zorn points out, this one already has.

Here are links to previous blogs about the power of boycotts.

http://pjlehrer.blogspot.com/2017/08/behold-power-of-boycott.html

http://pjlehrer.blogspot.com/2017/12/behold-power-of-boycott-part-2.html

Hsu, T. (2018, February 27) Big and Small, N.R.A. Boycott Efforts Come Together in Gun Debate. nytimes.com.  Retrieved February 27, 2018, from https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/27/business/nra-boycotts.html

Zorn, E. (2018, February 27) The NRA boycott's are already working, and here's why.  chicagotribune.com.  Retrieved February 27, 2018, from

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/zorn/ct-perspec-zorn-nra-boycott-fedex-apple-amazon-0228-20180227-story.html

If you want to persuade people you need to connect with them first.

I was cleaning out my bookshelves the other day and came across my copy of "How to Win Friends and Influence People."  Written by Dale Carnegie in 1936, it is the true definition of a classic.  The ideas it shares are still true today, only now they are backed up by research.

In previous blogs I discussed how the primacy effect coupled with repetition can lead people to believe that fake news is true.  And that one way to combat the misperception is to create fear that the belief is harmful. (Lehrer, 2018)

But before you can do that, you first have to connect.  Because someone can't relate to you emotionally if they don't like you. 

Myers-Briggs tells us that ~60% of people care more about relationships than tasks.  And since even moderate "T's" care about relationships to some extent, it is safe to assume that "liking" is important to most people these days. (MBTI)

So what makes us like someone?  Robert Cialdini says: We like people who are similar to us, who pay us compliments, and who cooperate with us.  (Cialdini, 2012) 

That's where Dale Carnegie's advice kicks in.  It all starts with showing an interest in the other person and asking questions.  Once you do, you can find common ground and begin establishing a rapport.

One tip from me - hard core task people tend not to care about similarities or flattery, but they do care a great deal about cooperation since it will help them to achieve their goals.  So the next time you are trying to persuade, connect first, possibly by cooperating on a task and then see how you do. 

Good luck!

Carnegie, D.  (1936) How to Win Friends and Influence People. Retrieved February 22, 2018, from

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/p/how-to-win-friends-and-influence-people-dale-carnegie/1100370318/2689493151239?st=PLA&sid=BNB_DRS_New+Marketplace+Shopping+Textbooks_00000000&2sid=Google_&sourceId=PLGoP164984&gclid=Cj0KCQiAzrTUBRCnARIsAL0mqcwjVA77Xd7Ox0flsjG46wPVPvUtpKqs56PztC-rHsGKqtOwM7E1aDkaAtgEEALw_wcB

Lehrer, P. (2018) Prof. Lehrer's Blog.  Retrieved February 22, 2018, from

http://pjlehrer.blogspot.com/2018/01/if-you-tell-lie-often-enough-people.html

http://pjlehrer.blogspot.com/2018/01/if-you-want-people-to-believe-you-you.html

http://pjlehrer.blogspot.com/2018/01/how-do-you-change-perception-fear.html

The Myers & Briggs Foundation. (2001) How frequent is my type?  Retrieved February 21, from

http://www.myersbriggs.org/my-mbti-personality-type/my-mbti-results/how-frequent-is-my-type.htm?bhcp=1

Cialdini, R. (2012, November 26) The Science of Persuasion.  youtube.com.  retrieved February 22, 2018, from  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFdCzN7RYbw

If you want to be happier buy yourself some time.

While many people believe that money buys happiness.  Research shows us that this is not entirely true.  It is actually the lack of money that buys unhappiness.  And, once you reach $75K a year in household income, additional income doesn't impact happiness as much as it does below that threshold.

What does increase happiness is buying time.  The ability to spend time on the things that you enjoy is priceless.  So it makes sense that buying time by outsourcing tasks, hiring help, and splurging on the occasional taxi makes people happier. (Blackman, 2014)

I learned a long time ago that I am better off paying someone to put together my Ikea purchases than doing it myself.  It's all a matter of considering how much time a task will take and then deciding how much your time is worth. 

But reallocation of time is not money dependant.  Sometimes it's just a matter of tuning in to where your time is going and making adjustments. 

For instance, when I want to buy something these days, I get lost for hours on the internet.  FOMO and my personal need for thoroughness cause me to waste far too much time looking at endless options.  Moreover, the more options you have, the more difficult the decision.  So it becomes an incredible time suck.

My solution is to put a time limit on my searches.  Say, an hour to look at rugs.  That seems like a reasonable amount of time to devote to the task.  And, it buys me time to do something I enjoy more.

Why not give it a shot?  It might work for you too.

Blackman, A. (2014, November 11) Can Money Buy You Happiness? wsj.com.  Retrieved February 14, 2018, from  https://www.wsj.com/articles/can-money-buy-happiness-heres-what-science-has-to-say-1415569538

Tide Wins The Super Bowl - who would have predicted that?

It was such a brilliant premise - every Super Bowl ad is a Tide ad, because everyone in them is wearing clean clothes.  Of course they are! 

It was a clear message, cleverly executed.  But it got even better as they returned to it several times, throughout the game featuring favorites such as Mustafa from Old Spice.  (Come to think of it his pants were very white.) And Sexy Mr. Clean - also very white.  And of course both brands are owned by Proctor & Gamble, as is Tide, so they got in a few extra plugs along the way. 

But mostly they left me feeling that if I want my whites to be whiter, Tide is the ticket.  Awesome communication.  And, it definitely broke through.  It was awarded a Super Clio - for best of game, and was number one on AdWeek's list of best spots. (Nudd, 2018) Everyone else's too.

According to Talkwalker, Tide was the number one brand mentioned on the Internet during the game garnering 163,800 mentions.  And only 11,000 of those concerned the Tide Pod Challenge.  Hmm. (Johnson, 2018)

That is of course the elephant in the room.  And there was much speculation that Tide's decision to go all in on the Super Bowl was an attempt to counter the negative dialog stirred by this dangerous fad.  But I suspect that it was also about trying to halt the long term decline in sales for their premium brands. 

Hats off to Saatchi NY.  I'll be curious to see if it works.

Nudd, T. (2018, February 6) Tide Wins the Super Clio for Best Ad Campaign of the Super Bowl.  adweek.com.  Retrieved February 7, 2018, from

http://www.adweek.com/creativity/tide-wins-the-super-clio-for-best-ad-campaign-of-the-super-bowl/

Johnson, L. (2018, February 5) Tide's Spotless Super Bowl Campaign, as Seen From Inside the Brand's War Room.  adweek.com.  Retrieved February 7, 2018, from.

http://www.adweek.com/digital/tides-spotless-super-bowl-campaign-as-seen-from-inside-the-brands-war-room/