Grave and Important Warning:
“The possibilities for good and evil here
are immense.”
Ethics and Morality
In prior sections, I said we’d look at this section together and see how Kate Smith successfully sold product to a group of people who didn’t want to hear her message.
For those of you trained in classic marketing through university courses or textbooks, this means Kate Smith surgically removed the Interest part of the AIDA formula (attention, interest, desire, action) and inserted Guilt.
Let’s begin with some background of the times. In the world of the 1940s, women mostly stayed home (and were Kate Smith’s daytime audience).
In the Themes and their Power post (Mass Persuasion: part 5), you learned the overall theme was: “Your purchase is a sacred act.” And you learned that the people behind Kate Smith decided to segment the market, tossing away the “bonds are a sound investment” appeal. Why? Kate Smith’s followers from her radio programs were women. Using the emotional theme, the scriptwriters were able to more powerfully prey upon and manipulate these women’s emotions.
In that same world of the 1940s, men came home in the early evening after work (and joined in listening as her evening audience along with the women). And in that World War II world, men did most of the decision-making on financial matters, such as buying bonds. It’s pretty much like the black-and-white movies you’ve seen.
How then could Kate Smith and her scriptwriters squeeze money out of the “calmer, rational-thinking” men in her audience, while still holding the high sacred ground as her strategy and still deploying building guilt and shame as a sales tactic from her arsenal that could only be released through a purchase?
Before we see the exact structure that resulted in 42% of her buyers being those people who had absolutely no intention of buying, so you can coldly structure the mass persuasion to win over a market that otherwise wouldn’t warm up to your appeal …
… we’ll warmly look at the moral aspect. Because we all have to face ourselves in the mirror, and we all want to like what we see:
Moral Aspect: Facing yourself in the mirror
The phrase itself says it all: you aren’t going to like yourself if you conduct your Mass Persuasion unethically. And it can come back and bite you harder than an abused, starved Doberman.
Mass Persuasion is like a weapon, like a loaded gun. A gun itself is not evil. You need to use it for good and commit no harm.
In the pursuit of profits, many have blurred their values and committted harm. Many more will in the future. Why?
Values are rooted in feelings and are linked with action.
Appeals to feelings within the context of relevant information are different from appeals to feelings which blur and obscure this information. That’s propaganda.
Mass Persuasion is not manipulative when it gives your audience access to the pertinent facts; it is manipulative when it’s used to appeal to their feelings while excluding information they need.
Some people try to protect themselves from responsibility by hiding behind the coldness of these powerful techniques:
This “value-free” mass persuader will say scientifically: If I use certain techniques (on a group of people), then there will be a certain result (such as a certain percentage of sales). However, this is abandoning moral responsibility.
You need to add, “Whatever I do, I will demonstrate values, such as respecting the dignity of individuals or making sure my product is appropriate for them.”
Mass Persuasion master tip:
Do No Harm
Please read this very closely. It is the Key of Golden Keys:
Mass Persuasion is like a weapon, like a loaded gun.
If you line up a number of techniques in sequence (audience, product, sequenced language), then fire it, results will happen.
You can treat people poorly (through various forms of abuse) and get the sale. You can target people who don’t need the product whatsoever (name your situation) and get the sale. You can find people who are not prepared for the product (e.g., highly toxic agricultural products sold to illiterate poor people without protective wear or training in its use) and get the sale. You can find people who are morally inappropriate for the product (children for adults-only magazines) and get the sale.
But each of these misdeeds will return to you, multiplied and overflowing.
Therefore, you must make and keep a promise to yourself before pointing the Mass Persuasion weapon at any audience:
“In all I do, I will respect the dignity of individuals, make sure my product is appropriate for them, and, above all else, I will do no harm. I will follow a standard that’s higher than the law: I will do the right thing.”
This warning is not a marketing ploy. You need to be aware that Mass Persuasion is powerful — just as I have claimed from Day One.
Nearly half of Kate Smith’s buyers had no intention of buying. But they bought, because she used Mass Persuasion on them.
Next week, I will show you exactly how Kate Smith powerfully got her diners to open up their menus and order again. You will read her exact words, you will see the exact sequence, you will see exactly how she tapped into their emotions.
You will quickly see that, in the hands of a morally reprehensible person, it is manipulation on a grand scale.
Mass Persuasion is like a weapon, like a loaded gun. A gun itself is not evil. You need to use it for good and commit no harm.
Keep this warning above in the forefont of your mind . . . while keeping a careful lookout for the next post covering Mass Persuasion.
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