Making An Impact Through Marketing

What is marketing? A simple question that has countless interpretations depending on who you ask. For some, marketers can “sell you this pen”, are some form of guru, or are associated with a negative stereotype of being cunning and deceitful. Based on the person, these can all be true to some degree. But we here at Marketing-ish have a different perspective on what marketing is and how it can be used in the world. 

Over the past 6 months, the Marketing-ish team has been working tirelessly to present you commentary on some of the most unique and intriguing stories in the world of business. We’ve told stories about the power marketing has in all aspects of our lives from social media, politics, the environment, beauty standards, the list goes on. While yes, a big part of marketing is making people move to buy goods, there is so much more practitioners have to offer.

Marketing can be much more powerful than just making people move to buy and sell products. In my opinion, marketing has the power to change lives, disrupt norms, and is an essential tool to create a better world for all.

Why does this matter? 

““I ain’t gonna be just a face in the crowd, you’re gonna hear my voice when I shout it out loud.””

 One of my personal favorite songs that I always come back to for inspiration is the classic 2000’s bop by Bon Jovi called “It’s My Life”. While I’m not usually the biggest fan of the Pop Rock genre, there is something about this song that keeps me smashing that repeat button year after year. There are themes in the song that speak to me and I’m likely not alone in that sentiment. Life is not permanent, it’s now or never. We only get one chance to pursue our dreams, so we have to take the risks today to live the life we desire. The song’s defiant nature encourages listeners to say “enough is enough,” and take control of their life, their way. It’s a song that acts as a call to action for people to get off their couch and pursue greatness. These are ideas that we can all get behind (especially after a year that took so much from us).

In a sense, “It’s My Life” has done to me what every marketing campaign aspires to do to their consumers. The artist understood his audience, but more importantly he understood what they stand for and created something that appeals to people’s souls. Because of this, I not only moved in Bon Jovi’s desired manner of playing this song hundreds of times over the years, but I feel like I was also given something in return. Something that inspired me to be better, do better, and take control of my life. 

This is powerful. This is what marketing is all about.

Let’s take a look at some campaigns that did more than make a company a few bucks.

Change the norms

Labeled as one of the most influential marketing campaigns of the 2010’s, the project  “#LikeAGirl” by Always, did so much more than sell feminine-hygiene products. While one can be the cynic and say this was a cheap attempt to play with people’s emotions to turn in a profit, if you look closer, the impact of this campaign was much, much deeper. 

Always, Procter & Gamble, and Leo Burnett faced the challenge of changing social norms so young girls can keep their confidence throughout puberty. Always discovered that they were losing relevance with the 16-to 24 year-old age group. They found a correlation between a drop-in-confidence amongst women these ages and willingness to buy Always products. Girls self-esteem drops twice as much as boys during puberty and Always believed that if they could reduce that drop by even a little bit, it would allow young girls to start the journey into womanhood from a better place.

The brand took it upon themselves to not only increase their brand recognition amongst this network but to tackle negative gender stereotypes that impacted girls as they become young women. Through powerful advertising they chose to fight to change the expression ‘like a girl’ from previous interpretations of regression, to mean something positive. They created campaigns that aimed to associate the phrase ‘like a girl’ with confidence, pride, and self belief. That doing something ‘like a girl’ meant doing the best way you can rather than previous connotations.

The campaign was a huge success and went viral across the world and received unprecedented media coverage while increasing engagement with Always on all platforms. However, it did so much more than increase the company's publicity. It had such a profound impact on tackling gender norms and challenging stereotypes. They were able to begin to change how people associated the meaning of ‘like a girl’ to be a message of female empowerment. Prior to the campaign, 19% believed the phrase ‘Like a Girl’ had a positive meaning, but after #LikeAGirl, 76% said they no longer thought of the phrase negatively. The positive impact the marketing had even led to the United Nations acknowledging the power of the #LikeAGirl movement and they received an award for global impact.

Marketing is powerful. It has the ability to change the way we perceive the world for the better. Even small scale advertising that many of us may think is pointless actually has a significant impact even if we don’t notice it. 

Impact Lives

Have you ever logged into Instagram and clicked on someone’s story and saw they have shared a post relating to a social, political, environmental cause? Ever wonder “Why did they share that? Does it really make a difference?”

While the act of sharing a post on social media may seem insignificant, these campaigns can be very impactful to countless individuals across the world.

While yes, the act of simply sharing something on your social media feed is not going to resolve the issue on its own (we’re probably not going to share one post and suddenly end world hunger). I’m sure there are a number of people out there who simply share because of “slactivism” the idea where people share a social campaign for their own profiles likes, comments, and clicks. 

These posts, shares, comments are not all in vain. In fact, they can have a positive impact on your world around us. How you may ask? Let’s examine what might be one of the most brilliant marketing campaigns we have ever seen.

The Ice Bucket Challenge.

What was such a simple and kind of silly idea quickly became a worldwide sensation. In case you need a refresher, the Ice Bucket Challenge involved someone taking a video of themselves getting drenched by a bucket of cold ice water. These videos were posted onto social media pages challenging 3 of their friends to drop a bucket of ice water on their head or donate to the ALS Foundation. However, many people elected to do both when they participated in the challenge. 

The results were staggering. People from all over the globe, from every race, gender, and citizenship came together to dump a bucket of ice on their head and donate to the ALS foundation. The $115 million raised for the ALS foundation dramatically accelerated the fight against ALS and led researchers closer than ever to major breakthroughs while making the process of diagnosing, treating, and eventually curing the disease more possible than ever.

The most incredible part? This campaign wasn’t even started by the ALS Foundation. It was created by regular, ordinary people who wanted to make a difference in the world around them. Pete Frates was a former college baseball standout with ALS and his family and friends wanted to raise awareness for ALS through dumping cold water on your head and recording it. The idea of challenging 3 of your friends became the perfect formula to go viral and the campaign quickly took off.

How incredible is that? Regular, everyday people decided to use their voice and make a positive difference in the world.

This ability that marketing has to impact lives in a positive manner is absolutely phenomenal. However, we would be remiss to not heed a warning of the important responsibility we have as marketers.

With great power…

As marketers we have the power to influence how people move. This isn’t just a one-off idea; this is an extremely important responsibility that can impact the lives of millions depending on the platform.

What you say and how you say it shapes your life. Our words are a reflection of who we are, both as individuals and as an organization. This is both a tremendous opportunity to do good in the world, but also, can just as easily harm communities if we do not properly educate ourselves.

In recent years there has been a serious issue of spreading false information to manipulate the world. Whatever a person’s intention or cause they are fighting for, be it local issues, or political campaigns. It has become increasingly easier to spread false information and make people believe facts that are simply not true. 

This is dangerous and (unfortunately) can be just as effective as any other successful marketing campaign. This is why it is so important to think before you speak. To educate yourself on a particular issue before sharing it on social media. To understand where others are coming from before making assumptions.

Because we are all marketers. Whether we are selling a product, service, our own brand in an interview, or sharing a post on social media. These can all have an impact on the world around us be it big or small. Marketing is powerful, and what we put out into the world plays a big role in shaping the perspectives of those around us.

Be intentional with your voice 

So, I’d like to leave you all with this final thought. Marketing holds a unique place in our world. The practice has the ability to inform networks, shape our perspectives, and be the spark that sets a movement on fire. No matter what our profession is or where we are in the world, we are all marketers to a certain degree. Whether you are trying to make people move and buy into your products, promoting your own brand, or simply sharing a post on social media for a cause you support.

Marketing is everywhere, and we all have the power to take action and make a difference with campaigns that are near and dear to us. You don’t need millions of followers, work for a huge corporation, or a Master’s degree to make a difference.

You just need the right knowledge, the discipline, and the willpower to make it happen.

Because at the end of the day, like Bon Jovi said, this is our life, it’s now or never, and we’re not gonna live forever. And I don’t think there’s any better way to live than to educate yourself, stand up for what you believe in, and make the world a bit better through your gifts.