Marketing can save the world…
with a little help from Decision-Science & Soul Music
Martha and The Vandellas — Nowhere to Run
Oh boy. Are we in trouble. The pandemic might have changed the conversation, but global warming has not magically disappeared. It still is the main challenge of our generation. And our governments are not succeeding in moving us in the right direction.
This year’s energy consumption -and the emission of greenhouse gasses that comes with it- again, has been record breaking. That’s not exactly what you would expect after a year of reduced economical activity and the collapse of tourism and air travel. Still, we did consume more than ever before. Even with climate change reaching the point of no return. If we continue like this, soon, there will be nowhere to run.
The Supremes — In the Name of Love
We know that we are speeding towards the edge of the cliff. How come we can’t hit the brakes? After more than a decade of intense eco-activism we have to be honest with ourselves. It is clear that we are unable to give up our way of life. That way of life is consumerism. We consumer more, much more than what we need. One of the main causes of global warming is the fact that we constantly buy stuff that we do not need but that we do want. In the name of love — why is so difficult to stop doing this?
Marvin Gaye — What’s Going On
Decision science explains what’s going on. The human mind is genetically programmed to pursue and acquire the things that make us feel good. And buying stuff -right, makes us feel good. Also, our brain is not very good at trading short term benefits -that instant satisfaction of getting what you want- against the long term objectives of doing what you need. Who hasn’t felt the difficulty of eating or drinking a bit less in order to achieve that long term goal of loosing some weight. Ask any smoker about their struggle to trade the instant satisfaction of a cigarette against the long term benefit of healthier lungs. It is the same deep rooted psychological mechanism that keeps us from consuming less.
This simple but inconvenient truth is why most of the government’s eco-initiatives fail. Their idealistic approach of social engineering overlooks the fact that sub-conscious brain processes control our behaviour, our choices and (purchase) decisions.
Zapp — It doesn’t really matter
While governments have kind of lost another year, the global marketing and business community has been buzzing. From compostable Nespresso cups and recyclable Lipton Ice Tea bottles, to zero emission Volkswagens and L’Oréal’s bio-degradable packaging range — the eco dynamics have been overwhelming. For these heavy hitters, ecology is no longer a corporate frivolity, it’s now at the heart of their business model. And they are on fire.
Some people have their doubts about the sincerity of these initiatives. Some are asking if this is for real, or if it’s just another trick to make people buy more? This is understandable, but the debate is not there. It would be great if these initiatives are earnest and bona fide, but it doesn’t really matter. The more important question is, do these initiatives make a real eco impact -and there the answer is YES.
Lynn Collins — Think about it
What we are witnessing is something quite unique. Not the governments but the brands that people buy are becoming the vector of change. Could consumerism become the force of good that gets us out of this mess? Is this topsy-turvy and upside down? Probably so. But drastic times require drastic measures, and above all an open mind.
Think about it. Say that you currently sell one million bottles of softdrinks per day, and your eco programme replaces that mountain of ‘virgin’ plastic with recycled plastic. This operations lowers the pollution with 360 million! bottles per year. That’s the gain. For one softdrink brand in one tiny market as Belgium. Imagine the gain if all brands in all counties do it.
…But there’s a catch.
Ben E King — Supernatural Thing
Even these mighty organisations can not afford big mistakes.Time is running out and the cost of these ventures doesn’t allow much room for error. This is why have one chance to get it right. More than ever the job of the marketing community will be to change consumer behaviour, and we have to hit the bull’s eye with the first shot.
This is why we need to approach marketing and commerce as a science. An evidence based process to influence preferences and decisions. An economical discipline of which each step is aligned with the best and latest understanding of how the human psyche functions. There are now tools that can perfectly measure and quantify what goes on in -those all important- implicit regions of our brain. Soon there will be tools that can plant ideas directly in people’s sub-conscious mind. For some this might sound like a sort of marketing science-fiction. But it is not a supernatural thing, it is already happening. We just have to roll-it out on a much larger scale.
Sly and The Family Stone — Everyday People
It just does not make sense to expect that the change our planet needs will happen via a handful of big bold moves by the government. We have to focus on millions of small changes. It is not the climate conference of the United Nations that will turn the tide. The real battle is in the shopping chart of everyday people.
If we can’t consume less, we have to consume different. It will not be an easy one, but -like it or not- it will be a battle that we have to fight. The good news is that new and better ways to research, understand and influence the consumer’s psyche are now within reach. With a bit of the help from decisions science, the marketing community can make this happen.
Bill Withers — Lovely Day.
Just imagine that one day, you can tell your grandchildren that you were part of the group of marketeers who pulled it off. That brave bunch who brought the dark force of consumerism back into the light, and saved the world. The marketing generation that started to use consumption as a force of good. What a lovely day that would be.
