The Nightmare and The Dream: Negative versus Positive Communications

Mark From Marketing Says...

It's been a pretty loud three months in the media. Starting in late September, we've listened to a local/statewide/national political campaign, replaced by the annual holiday sell-a-thon. The weight-loss products and adult continuing education advertising seem almost quiet by comparison.

There are lessons to be learned from what you heard, however, particularly if you have a message to deliver to your customers. If you listened closely, you heard two broad categories of marketing communications: The Nightmare and The Dream.

During the fall political season, you heard The Nightmare. Essentially, the message from either side was "Vote for me/us, or he/she/they will win, and he/she/they will destroy everything you hold dear in our city/state/nation." Democrat or Republican, think back to the imagery this advertising conjured of the Other Side. Dollars to donuts, it's not a positive image you're seeing, is it?

Then came the holiday season advertising. No negative imagery there! Nothing but happy families in their new cars, happy couples buying engagement rings, happy children with their new cellular smart-phones, and  happy, young single people attending holiday parties. This, of course, is The Dream: everyone is happy because someone bought them something that made them that way.

 

In our particular toolbox, The Nightmare and The Dream are a professional communicator's two most-used tools. Think hammer and saw. The Nightmare is the hammer, because we want you to do something – or else. The Dream is the saw, because we want you do something – and think you're happier for doing it. Our goal in either case is to motivate you to do something.

So, which is more effective, The Nightmare or The Dream? Like the hammer and the saw, both are effective tools, but not necessarily for the same job. The Nightmare works well in political communications, since it's based in us-versus-them confrontation. The Dream lends itself better to presenting a reasoned sales proposition, because it appeals to the listener's desire to be happy with his or her decision to buy a product or service.

 

I thought about The Nightmare and The Dream recently when I heard Michigan had become the 24th right-to-work state in the union. Under the legislation, it will become illegal next April in Michigan to require financial support of a union as a condition of employment, except for police and firefighters. In practice, it will allow workers to opt-out of union membership or to pay agency fees to unions for representing them in contract negotiations.

My interest is not political, as this isn't a political blog. Rather, I wondered how the union leadership would communicate their value and relevance to a formerly captive audience of members and other workers. With the economy still in the doldrums, Tradition and Worker Solidarity may not mean as much to workers who will find they can keep what had formerly been their union dues or agency fees for themselves. Would they use The Nightmare or The Dream?

In the union side, I imagine the value proposition being:

• We're on your side: we care about you. The owners don't. We've been fighting for workers since the 1930s. We're there when you need help. Where were they?
• You still need us: unfair labor practices and workplace discrimination haven't ended.
• Long-term: you won't do as well financially without us to negotiate for better pay and benefits with the owners on your behalf.
• It's more than the money: our training helped get you your job, and we'll help keep your training up-to-date.

Meanwhile, the right-to-work value proposition might be:

• You keep more of what you make: You get to keep potentially hundreds of dollars in saved union dues or union agency fees each year for myself.
• Personal choice: You don't have to give the union any money. You don't think they do that much for you in the first place, and besides, you don't like the politicians and causes they give your union dues/agency fees to.
• You have enough bosses already: Not only do you have a Foreman and manager to answer to, you also have to answer to a union shop steward. Do you really want a shop steward telling you how to vote?
• More opportunity: Lower union costs mean more jobs in Michigan. More jobs mean more choices in places where you can find work, and maybe you can make more money elsewhere.

Notice there are elements of both The Nightmare and The Dream in both value propositions. The Nightmare's "hammer" is softened a little with a reminder of the benefits of union membership, while The Dream's "saw" is tempered with the implication of fewer jobs under continued union domination. These elements would strengthen either propositions.

 I prefer to sell the dream, not the nightmare. A negative message can be powerful, it's true, particularly as a motivator. But I would rather point out the benefits of a proposition, and to convince you that you'll be happier by making the choice I want you to make. That way, when you make the purchase, you won't think you "had" to buy the product or service.

 Instead, you made the purchase because you wanted to. You're happy you did. And you may be happy enough to buy something else from me in the future.

 

Mark Paulson is a marketing communications advisor and strategist with extensive experience in for-profit, charity and professional membership association settings. No matter the channel or setting, he is an eloquent communicator who can tell your organization's or product's story to your customers or specific audience groups.

 

Copyright ^©Mark E. Paulson 2013