🧠 I Studied Government Propaganda So You Don't Have To

Hey there, 

Welcome back to the 34th edition of Brandish, 

Your guide to crafting an iconic brand. 

If you haven’t already guessed it by the title, 

Today we’re going all in on everyone’s “favorite” subject:

Government Propaganda 

(And why you need to understand the psychology behind it)

I did way more reading on this than I should have, 

So get your notebook ready,

Grab your Brez, 

And let’s dive in. 

I Want YOU To Buy My Product 

Propaganda and Advertising aren’t all that different.

Propaganda is used to politically sway a group towards a belief, action, common goal, etc. 

And Advertising is used to sway consumers into taking action toward a product or brand.

The #1 differentiator between the two is, 

You guessed it - Politics baby.  

The common goal between these to simply to sway public opinion and behavior. 

If done right - both leverage very powerful emotional and psychological triggers to achieve this goal. 

But - some of the most popular tactics in propaganda can come off strong,

And a few are pretty unethical.

Tactics of Propaganda in Advertising

There are several popular tactics used in propaganda, but these 4 rank the highest by far: 

Fear:

Using things like loss of life, social status, showcasing potential dangers, etc. are all examples of how fear is used in advertising. This taps into our most basic survival instincts and is a very effective motivator. 

Card Stacking: 

Card Stacking uses the selective presentation of facts to hide the full picture - keeping the audience in the dark about the negatives to make them believe very strongly about the positives. 

Bandwagon:

This tactic relies on feelings of FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) to tap into our natural desire to belong. As much as some may disagree, no one wants to be the outsider - and this plays directly into it. 

Stereotyping: 

Whether it’s stereotyping groups in a positive or negative light, this is another tactic that taps deeply into our natural psychological instincts. While “positive” stereotypes exist, this tactic is generally harmful to one or more demographics. 

Ethical Issues

Listen, most of these tactics (especially the ones above) are viewed as largely unethical in today’s marketing. 

These tactics exist in propaganda for the sole purpose of swaying the general public to believe strongly about one opinion, 

While developing a general distaste for the opposite. 

There’s a fine line between persuasion and manipulation, 

And as a marketer and brand expert, 

It is YOUR responsibility to learn and understand the practices of both ethical and unethical psychology tactics, 

So that you can knowingly craft your brand and marketing in a way that uses persuasion - but respects your audiences’ intelligence and free will. 

There’s a fine line between ethical and unethical marketing, and it’s crucial to walk it correctly. 

An Example of Effective, Ethical Propaganda Marketing

We’ve talked about the bad,

But I can’t leave you today without breaking down an excellent example of an ethical use of propaganda in marketing: 

Coca-Cola’s ‘Share a Coke’ Campaign: 

In 2011, Coca-Cola launched this campaign, 

And it quickly became recognized as one of THE most successful and effective marketing campaigns in recent hsitory. 

Think about it, 

If you don’t live under a rock then at one point this was EVERYWHERE. 

It took over commercials, billboards, and while it was still in its infancy - social media. 

This campaign tapped into a lot of the strategies that propaganda uses, 

But in a way that promoted inclusivity,

Community, 

And positive emotional connection. 

Coke has always been a brand that stands behind social connection and friendship, 

But this campaign singlehandedly solidified its mark in the realm of effective, ethical advertising. 

We may have focused a lot on the negatives around persuasive psychology today, 

But take a page out of Coca-Cola’s book - Positive persuasion and ethical marketing drives the same results.

Wrapping Up

And that’s a wrap on today’s newsletter! 

I hope you learned something new about the ethics of persuasive marketing, 

And if you didn’t already, 

I hope you realize the power you have as a marketer. 

You’re an expert in psychology, brand strategy and know exactly how to sway a mass audience in your favor - so do it the right way. 

Unethical marketing never benefits anyone. 

Until next time, 

Ankit