Bloghound

Hopefulness and individual stories of transformation and progress. Those are the ingredients for successful marketing, particularly for non-profits and humanitarian organizations, writes New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof  in the Outside magazine article  “How to Save the World and Influence People.”

The lessons,  derived from numerous social psychology studies as well as Kristof’s personal experiences in writing about global atrocities, are certainly compelling for NGOs. I  think these ingredients are also relevant and often overlooked for for-profit organizations.  Here’s what triggers action:

• Hopefulness, aspirations, possibilities: we respond to stories of hope  and transformation, not stories and statistics of desperation.  Making people feel guilty or overwhelming them with statistics of despair rarely moves people to action — or donating money. Showing them what’s possible does. Look to profile heroes, not victims in marketing efforts. “All the psychological research shows that we are moved not by statistics but by fresh, wet tears, with a bit of hope glistening below,” says Kristof.

• Individuals, not groups: people  want to help  individuals not causes.  We respond to stories about a person, not a group. “As we all know,” writes Kristof, “one death is a tragedy, a million deaths is a statistic.”   Kristof shares the example of how early movements against apartheid focused in freeing political prisoners without much success. But when the organizers refocused on one individual — Free Mandela! –  it resonated far more widely. There was a face on the movement. Paul Slovic, psychology professor at University of Oregon, has found that our empathy wanes when the number of individuals profiled reaches just two.

• Success makes people feel good: Knowing that our money is working makes us  feel good about giving. (And we do good things, say the social scientists, because it makes us feel good.)  To keep people engaged, show progress and share stories of triumph. (Making people feel good that their donations are working.) Research also shows that people want to save a high proportion of people, not just a large number of lives. One experiment found that people were far more willing to pay for a water treatment facility to save 4,500 lives in a refugee camp with 11,000 people than they were to save lives of 4,500 people with a camp of  250,000 people. Go figure.

For marketers, the lesson is clear: find stories about individuals overcoming adversity and succeeding in ways they never thought possible — and make sure your donors  feel fortunate to be a part in that person’s success. This, says Kristof and Professor Slovic, are the often overlooked ingredients to  to non-profit marketing success.

While the tragedy in Haiti today requires no marketing to nudge people to help. Six months or a year from now, aids organizations will have to work harder to raise money. Let us hope stories of individuals who rose from the rubble to build a new Haiti are plentiful.

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