Why Are Influencers So Influential?
My previous article…
Discussed disputed founding Father of Public Relations, Edward Bernays, and the “Green Ball” he threw to increase cigarette sales for his client Lucky Strike. One little fact about Bernays, he was the nephew of controversial psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud, and his uncle’s work influenced his own. This article delves into underlying psychological tactics Bernays implemented to ensure the Green Ball’s success. In his Lucky Strike campaign, Bernays harnessed the power of crowd psychology, herd instincts, and influencers.
What is Crowd Psychology?
Most psychologists, including Freud, a major contributor to crowd psychology, view the crowd in a literal sense: a public group of people gathered, usually in protest. In crowds deindividuation occurs, meaning people lose their sense of self and inherit overarching motives; the herd instinct. Through deindividuation people distance themselves from their identity and adopt morals, values, and beliefs of crowds to fit in and survive. So, if a crowd changes morals, values, or in this case, colour preferences, then individuals in the crowd change in accordance.
In Bernays’ case we substitute the physical protesting “crowd” for the female population Lucky Strike targeted. The crowd theory holds. Individual women make up Lucky Strike’s target. They hold similar values to the social circle of women they associate with, taking fashion cues from those higher in social status, like celebrities.
Who Controls The Crowd?
Freud gets really…well, Freudian, stating crowds unlock the unconscious minds of members, leaving them open to influence from a charismatic leader. We are creatures of conformity perceptive to opinions of those we hold higher than ourselves, such as celebrities and political leaders. We do not follow the opinions of those below us, and we align our values with fellow crowd members, but those values are dictated from above. If you can influence leaders to support your cause, you automatically hold sway over the group they lead.
Isn’t This Some Kind of Psychological Trickery?
Crowd psychology links back to World War One propaganda used in psychological warfare, which aimed to influence a nations value systems, beliefs, emotions, motives, and reasoning. Bernays designed World War One propaganda and knew if media leaders were open to his propaganda the message would organically spread to the public. Post-war, Bernays realized propaganda’s psychological tactics could work for corporations interested in changing customer attitudes about their brand.
When Lucky Strike enlisted Bernays to solve their green packaging nightmare, he knew the remedy. Green must become a fashionable colour amongst American elite. Celebrities and influencers who control what is socially fashionable must hold a belief that green is a fine colour. The Green Ball displayed this new belief to a large media presence who reported it to the public. Like magic, green was in.
So All Company’s Have To Do Is Buy Influencers & Their Products Will Sell?
As I’ve learned recently, public relations refers to Bernays tactic as earned media. Bernays created a story worthy of media attention through the “Green Ball.” He invited high-profile celebrities worthy of media attention, and all proceeds from the ball went to charity, making it a feel good news-story. If Bernays invited a group of male construction workers to a ball for profit, decked out in green, the event would not be worthy of coverage and miss the female market.
Public Relations involves creating stories and narratives to change public perception of a company or brand. A strong newsworthy story will bring media attention, which spreads the narrative to the public, and changes their perception. A goal of public relations scientists (and why I brand myself as such) is to understand the mindset of a target market to create media that is newsworthy and specific. If you understand the public, scientifically, understanding their interests and influencers, you will know how to effectively communicate your brand’s narrative.
See You At The Next Stop…
