During the Great Depression, Procter & Gamble ran a contest giving a new automobile to the winner of their “Why I Like Ivory Soap” contest. The rules required that entries be 50 words or less.
Hundreds of thousands of people, having spent hours thinking about why they liked Ivory Soap, convinced themselves, without any strong threats or coercion, that they really liked Ivory Soap.
Messages that are most memorable and persuasive, to us, are those we talk ourselves into. What we ‘hear ourselves saying’, or ‘see ourselves doing’, in the future causes our self-image to change.
Once a person has made a choice, taken a stand, or made a verbal commitment, they are more likely to do things to be consistent with that choice.
Procter & Gamble’s very first ad, in 1882, invited readers to share their experiences with other uses for the product.
Kleenex actually started as cold cream removal in 1924. When a customer survey revealed that many more people used it to blow their nose, 1930s slogan became ‘Don’t carry a cold in your pocket’.
These type of campaigns not only provided immeasurable free positive promotion for companies, but resulted in more product sold.
Involving residents in the community, in an activity, gives them the opportunity to respond positively without any pressure. Contributing input one feels a part of something, a relationship develops and their commitment increases. Later, when asked specifically to do something a large percentage of people will.
The Science of Persuasion Principles, based on decades of social psychology research, is used by Fortune 500 companies, retail stores, homeowners associations, community organizers, advertisers, social marketers, politicians and more.
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