Less Tears, More Toughness
Targeting the right audience matters.
If you’ve ever sold a product or service, this isn’t news to you. But many businesses continue to market using tactics that don’t work for their audience.
Let’s look at an example. In 1986, the state of Texas had a problem: littering. The state was spending approximately $25 million per year in cleanup alone.
For over a decade, the state funded campaigns to discourage citizens from trashing highways. Nothing seemed to work.
In the early 1970s, they tried with the Keep America Beautiful campaign (more commonly known as “The Crying Indian”). The ad won awards and had a mass appeal but didn’t reduce littering.
When researcher Dan Syrek and his team started to attack the problem, they realized past campaigns hadn’t targeted the right audience. When looking at the data, the vast majority of the litterers were 18-35 year-old males with big pickup trucks.
The macho audience wasn’t going to respond to tears- they needed a challenge. They rounded up famous athletes from the state and hit their target with the Don't Mess with Texas campaign. This is now so universal it’s used by politicians and athletes alike.
More importantly, the campaign worked. Littering went down exponentially as did the Texas state budget for cleaning the highway.
What can you learn from this story?
Do your Homework- In the long run, you’ll save time, money, and energy doing market research. Survey your customers or run a poll on social media. You need to understand your core audience if you want to attract more people like them.
Craft the Message First- A great commercial or beautiful website doesn’t sell- the message does. Once you understand your audience, write for them. Find what emotionally resonates and repeat it often.
Positive Reinforcement is Powerful- “Don’t Mess with Texas” is a call for those young macho men to protect their homeland. Instead of shaming them for littering, it challenged them to be their best. In a world that loves to cancel, remember that positive reinforcement is longer lasting. Use your business and brand to remind people of their better angels. Lose the cynicism and you’ll start attracting the right people.
What’s your takeaway from this case study? Email me and let me know.