On Tribalism, Alternative Facts, Fake News, Facebook and Marketing

I’ve been mulling over this post for nearly three months now (you do the math) but I’ve been consciously trying to distance myself from a visceral reaction to what’s gone down while giving me time to see how people -- and advertisers -- reacted.

First let’s get the backstory out of the way: the 2016 election spotlighted a behavioral and social dynamic that was baked in many years before the campaigns started. People tend to group themselves with like-minded people who look, act, think and share the same interests they do. Social media -- and Facebook in particular -- amplifies this by design. You’re shown things in your feed from people who are your friends or relatives (and who presumably have a shared affinity) and on topics that you’re interested in. They don’t call it Like for nothing. So, the companies’ protestations to the contrary, social media is not a place where you discover anything new, it’s to give you more of whatever is familiar.

Then it's not at all surprising that the social media revolution merely reinforced our tendency to group ourselves into tribes, and our outlook and values are driven by that tribe. In that kind of environment, any claim, however outlandish it may appear to those outside of the tribe, carries the weight of truth -- like if you leave the rainforest you’ll be swallowed up by a fire-breathing volcano god. In the end, this is what gives fake news such credibility.

A long, long time ago (the early 1990s) in a country that now seems so very far away, I conducted sales training classes for financial services. These were the kinder, gentler, times of read my lips, thousand points of light, SCUD missiles and alleged pubic hair on coke cans (perhaps a quainter version of today’s discourse). What I taught was that each individual’s or group’s experiences, values, perspectives, feelings and goals can be put into a circle. And where the circles of different groups intersect is where communication occurs, in other words, in the universal. That intersection is where you communicate as a marketer or a sales person.

It may seem that in today’s polarized environment that intersection no longer exists, but it always does. There are things we all share -- like a desire to be happy, secure, fulfilled and maybe not get swallowed up by a volcano tomorrow. You would think that marketers or advertisers would be aiming for that intersection, but so far that hasn’t been the case.

Advertising instead has tried to a) delve into escapism (see the plethora of “most magical time of the year” holiday ads) appeal to one segment or another or in the case of the current Cadillac campaign, try to preach to people on how we need to come on people, smile on your brother, everybody get together and love one another and by a Cadillac.

My advice, in brand or marketing communications, is try and find that spot inside the intersecting circles that strikes a nerve with everyone. Ironically, Trump himself did a better job at articulating this in his State of the Union address, whether action will back the words or not.

Someone in the White House was paying attention.