THE PR SHOP

DAVE BULLARD, CFEE THE PR SHOP

ONE CUSTOMER, TWO BRAINS: TAILOR YOUR MESSAGES FOR MAXIMUM RESULTS

Recently, the world lost a man who changed the way we market and promote. Chances are that you have never heard of Daniel Kahneman. He and a research partner found a way to prove once and for all that we humans are not rational thinkers and that the way we think can be used to influence us. The field he and a few others created, called behavioral economics, affects nearly every phase of our lives, from buying airline and concert tickets to the way we are encouraged to recycle. He won a Nobel Prize for his work.

You can put his life’s work to use for your festivals and events. I’ll be leading a seminar on this in detail at the upcoming IFEA Convention in Pittsburgh (you’re coming, aren’t you?), but here’s a taste just to get you thinking.

At the heart of his research is this insight: There are two systems at work in our brains. System 1 is fast, intuitive and not big on the details. It helps us avoid the speeding bus, which is good, but it usually depends on past experience when deciding quickly on a new thing, which can be a problem. System 2 is slower. It evaluates the details. When you discuss your event’s benefits (as opposed to its features), this heads straight into System 2. It’s good when sorting out knotty problems but it’s lazy and prefers to let System 1 do all the work.

So how can you use these two systems?

Your marketing and PR need to be simple to understand and appeal to emotions. Say you’re marketing a concert at your event. Of course, you’re going to have a picture of the performer in your social media post but make it the second photo. The one everyone sees first should be a shot from your files showing excited and happy people from a prior show. Think about the emotions people feel when experiencing your event and work them into your headline, the first line of your press release and social posts. Blend an emotional benefit into your annual theme. Make people feel. Save the details, such as ticket price, for the landing page.

People put a lot of weight on the first thing they see or hear. It’s called Anchoring Bias. If your pitch for memberships begins with “Was $199, Now $99,” you’ve framed this offer as a deal, and it should help with conversions. Use the Scarcity Effect to move tickets: “Tickets running low - buy now!” or “Only 100 tickets will be sold.” Social Proof – positive reviews from past event patrons – influences people to like and trust you more. Think Amazon’s “Customers Also Bought” feature. Urgency makes System 1 spring to life.

Create a decoy, such as a higher-priced membership package, to sell more of the membership packages that were formerly the top level, and which remain the most profitable. Here’s an example from Kahneman’s book:

A winemaker approached him with a problem. He had two wines on store shelves, one priced at $19 that he said was okay and another at $39 that was excellent. All the sales were going to the cheaper wine. Should he discount the more expensive wine? Spend a lot of money to remarket it? Raise the price of the cheaper bottle? Kahneman told him to create an even better wine at $59 and don’t expect to sell much of it. He did, and the $39 bottles flew off the shelf. The decoy worked. Airlines do this to you all the time with “seat upgrades.” McDonald’s new $5 menu is another example.

During the pandemic, did you notice the signs posted on public bathroom mirrors showing you how to wash your hands? This comes from behavioral economic research, too. If the sign urging handwashing is in the hallway or taped to the bathroom door, it’s less effective than posting that sign right over the sink. The closer the message is to the desired action, the more likely it is that people will take that action. The sign activates System 1, which wants action now.

Want to increase the recycling of drink cans and bottles at your event? Post the sign right over the recycling bins. I’ll bet you can think of ways to put this to use to reduce waste and trash at your events but also to help market your tickets and merchandise, too.

These are just a few examples of how marketers influence us – and how you can influence your event patrons – by using the way our brains work. Do you need your customers, members or sponsors to make a quick decision? Tailor the message to System 1. Do you need to change their minds? Craft your message to bypass the gatekeeper and go to sleepy System 2. Think not only about the person who receives your messages but also about how they process them to get the maximum benefit.

Dave Bullard, CFEE is owner of FanFirst Events and Influence, consulting on production, public relations and marketing for events and festivals. He served for 10 years as PR and Marketing Manager of the Great New York State Fair, directing a $1 million marketing budget for the 1.3 million-attendance festival. Dave is available anytime to IFEA members to kick around ideas and brainstorm solutions. He also moderates the IFEA PR & Marketing Affinity Group. He’s at debullard@gmail.com and 315-575-6320.