A Christmas Carol: A Masterclass in behaviour change
We’ve had to make a lot of changes this year. From “the science”, to social rules, to the fun and imaginative ways authorities can crush our spirit, 2020 has been a call to arms for marketeers to become “Chief Adaption Officers”.
In that spirit, what better way to close out the year than learning about adapting behaviours with one of my favourite adapt-ations? There’s so much marketers can learn from A Christmas Carol that I thought I’d write down a few and see how it goes — feel free to comment with your own underneath!
TV was dead, to begin with
When I was watching A Christmas Carol, I noticed how few TVs there were in people’s households. Most people entertained themselves with either singing, dancing, or parlour games — in other words: content. Content is King Wenceslas in Dickens’ London, and it should be for you if you want to win over an audience.
Build a Segment of One
The best way to ensure a change in behaviour is speak to your customer as they see themselves: individuals. It helps to build a pen portrait of them and challenge yourself to answer questions like; What newspaper do they read? Where did they get their top hat & cane from? Was it the death of their beloved sister that finally put out the only flame of happiness in their lives, condemning them to isolated misery? What attitudinal statements do they overindex on?
Think about your pre-launch influencer campaign
Pre-launches are a great way of generating hype, and influencers are a sure-fire way to do that. Jacob Marley was the perfect choice as he was able to announce the Ghosts’ campaign to his follower and get some free engagement for himself along the way. Win-win!
Always be driven by purpose
People only buy from you if they buy into you. Marley ‘starts with why’ the Ghosts are about to visit Scrooge (to help him change his ways), which quickly brings Scrooge on board. For our main character, and the modern consumer, it’s about moving away from statements like “Decrease the surplus population!” to “God bless us, everyone!”.
Show, don’t tell
Don’t think B2C, think P2H — Phantom to Human. When the Ghost of Christmas Past arrives, they don’t just tell the stories of Scrooge’s past Christmases, they make them feel real. Today’s consumers are part-time viewers & listeners, but they’re full-time storylivers, so it’s important that your communication fits in with their way of life.
Social Norms influence an audience
If your customer is a miser hellbent on viewing people in a ruthlessly transactional way, have you considered showing him not that? Instead of showing Scrooge his own Christmas, which might reinforce that negative behaviour, the Ghost of Christmas Present shows Scrooge what others do with their Christmases. This is a great way of demonstrating the behaviour change you want to see in people, preferably with a musical number to aid memorability.
Show effects
By the time the Ghost of Christmas Superforecaster is on the scene, the job is still only two-thirds done. But once they show Scrooge the effects of his behaviour on others through their eyes, Ebeneezer’s transformation from “total banker” to “Cheer-f Financial Officer” is complete! It’s always best to visualise effects in a creative way — and it doesn’t get more impactful than their own neglected gravestone.
Start the hard work, and they’ll finish it
Passion on it’s own, as Gary Vaynerchuck says, “is an unmatched fuel”, but by showing Scrooge practical ways to increase his Net Promoter Score, all that’s left for him to is to do it himself! And as is quickly evident, when Scrooge’s psychological need for relationships is satisfied, he quickly moves on by himself to fulfil esteem and self-actualisation. From Marley to Maslow in just one night!
And there we have it!
So, use this advice to make your behaviour change plans in 2021 better than your word, and to purposeful creativity (which did not die), be as good a friend, as good a master, and as good a marketer as your good city knows!
