Persuading America

I thought that The Persuaders film was very interesting in a marketing aspect as it captures all the “mind games” that marketing plays on consumers. I especially liked the quote at the beginning, “Am I in a pinball machine?” because that is how many people feel in this growing world of advertising. I was in New York City just last summer and I was so overwhelmed by all the billboards, music, and lights in Times Square. However, one of the points they made in the film was that you cannot stop or the competition will eat you alive. If you even back down from the mega-marketing you will not survive against all the other businesses trying to create more and more gimmicks and new ideas for advertising.

Dr. Rapaille is an outrageous marketing guru who Fortune 500 companies flock to for his sharp three-stage method. These businesses will spend millions just to hear his thoughts and ideas and use his services year after year. His three-stage method involves a focus group psychic process. The three stages include:
1) The “Cortex”, 2) Emotion, 3) Primal Core.

The first stage, The “Cortex” starts with the rational aspect of the participant’s past experiences. In the film he asked participants to think of words that describe luxury. They quickly shout out words such as money, expensive, reliable, while Dr. Rapaille writes them down on a poster. He asks a few other easy questions which all of the participants answer bluntly. By this point, everyone is feeling confident with how well they could answer all of the his questions.

The participants come back into the room after a short break to start the second stage of the process, Emotion. This stage involves a more creative, storytelling portion targeted at the limbic brain. Dr. Rapaille asks participants to tell a story as if they were explaining it to a five year old from another planet. This is a little more difficult for the participants because they want to sound intelligent and knowledgeable but in order for a five year old to understand them, they must use basic words. I thought this stage was interesting because many of the Fortune 500 executives found it hard to not use an extensive vocabulary when describing a story.

After one more break, the participants convene back into the room only to find no chairs this time, only cushions and pillows. The third and final stage is the Primal Core, or as Dr. Rapaille calls it, The Reptilian Heart Button. Participants lie down on the cushions with dim light in the room so they can relax as they are asked to recall their earliest memories. He asks them to remember their very first experience with things such as coffee or cars. This stage is the most important for Dr. Rapaille as it “allows him to tap into what he calls the ‘lizard brain,’ a center of primal impulses, needs and memories that he calls ‘imprints.’” He explains that many people relay the word coffee back to the memories of their mother brewing coffee in the mornings. This last stage explains how “coffee” is the mental code or highway to “mother.” Overall, this final stage is so critical as it truly shows us, marketers, what consumers really want in products or services. When it comes to decision-making, we may offer excuses from the cortex, "I want a car with great safety features", but what really motivates us are the primitive emotions of the lizard brain "I want a car that makes me feel free and strong".

I love the idea that Song airlines is trying to create with their new airline. I think it is something no other airline has tapped into and is one that needs to be targeted- women! However, I also can see why they are struggling because women who are flying most of the time are doing so with their husbands and most husbands would rather fly with their loyalty miles or on another reputable airline. The target of women flying by themselves or with other women is just so few that it may be difficult to get Song airline up and going. While I do love their overall appearance and ideas, today’s economy may not be the best time for them to get going on such a new idea. Even their top competitor, JetBlue has been struggling lately as people are not flying as much as they used to and the ones who are, are using their loyalty miles or going for the overall cheapest fare. I would love to fly Song, it seems so enjoyable but after this film and researching them a little, it does not look like they will stay afloat much longer.