By The Lionesses of Africa Operations Dept
Easter is for many across the world a time of hope and new beginnings, but what if the world is in a dark place at the time? There have been times when something small but positive has ballooned into something huge and the globe has grabbed this light and given itself a new energy. Sometimes it can even be something daft, but the smiles and humour generated can do wonders for our mental well-being, that over the previous years had been sorely tested. We are herding animals, we are drawn to each other, we gain energy from each other and together (as we all know) we are stronger. How can this be harnessed for our businesses?
The year was 1971, the world had just gone through or watched horrified, a war from which there were no real winners (Vietnam). There were riots, there was even a movement against commercialism, in the previous decade a President had been assassinated (JFK), Dr. King had been assassinated in1968 and there was a serious movement against all of this horror and waste of life, waste of promise, waste of even the future. Hope and a belief of a new beginning was required to move forward.
In the middle of this, the Cola wars were heating up. Pepsi had started to take the youth market, a major coup for Pepsi. According to Brian Wally in the Smithsonian Magazine (here): “Pepsi [was able to] tap into these countercultural images and themes—music, trippy graphics, "peace and love," and beautiful people with flowers in their hair.”
Coke needed to tap into this youth market which was searching for all of these things, whilst in a “… world that's pretty dark.”
There then came one of the most interesting stories in advertising history. The man in charge of Coke’s ad campaign, Bill Backer, was stuck on a flight to London that had to land in Ireland due to heavy fog. Anger amongst the passengers dissipated in the airport cafe as they laughed and told stories over bottles of (you guessed it) Coke. In this moment, he saw Coke not as just a drink, but a way of bringing together communities, peoples of the world, to share stories and become one in search of a common truth, light and way forward.
On arrival in London he told his music director, Billy Davis, the story and how he believed that he would like to buy the world a coke because of the harmony this brings to the world. The music director was not impressed - “I’d buy everyone a home first and share with them in peace and love.”
…and so one of the most iconic ad campaigns was formed.
The music went viral, everyone was singing it, Radio Stations were inundated with requests for it (yes, an advert!), the image of hope and future within was grasped by all. Coke got a decade’s worth of free advertising each day leading them to donate a huge sum of money to UNISEF and…they had their global (and youth) audience (seen here).
Brian adds: “…advertising [became] more about larger themes about how it makes you feel..”
Why is this important - to move from your product to a more ethereal feeling as a way of selling your product? The answer lies in finding and then bringing your audience on your journey. If they simply buy a Coke, that is one deal, but if they buy into the feeling of hope and future, that is a continuous relationship.
In the brilliant Netflix series entitled “The Playbook - A Coach’s Rules For Life.” “Know your audience” is the number one rule from José Mourinho. This world famous Football/Soccer coach certainly knows how to get the best out of his audience and his team.
So why should ‘Know your audience’ be his number one rule? It is his strong belief that whatever you do, you must identify with your audience. If you identify with them, become part of them and they become part of you, it creates a ‘raison d’être’ that all can believe in, lifts up your team and allows them to reach for previously unknown levels knowing that what they are doing is for the ‘greater good’ of those around them. In Porto they say they ‘sweat your shirt’ through your passion as a supporter, later we look at South Carolina and there in the American Football Stadium the supporters say of the Upper East Stand "If it ain't swayin', we ain't playin’” - and sways it does! With that kind of support teams can do anything.
Initially for José this required him to not buy top players. In Portugal as a young manager, he had to build up the local youngsters who would appeal to the home crowd. He knew his crowd were hard working people who did not like fancy players arriving with smart cars, but to see effort, sweat and drive and through that, success - it was after all what they themselves had been doing all their lives. The home crowd grew and grew. His youngsters repaid him by winning the league twice and the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Cup.
Also in this Netflix series we see the incredible Dawn Staley, a seriously top Basketball player in her own right - 3 Olympic Golds, 2 World Cups, inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2012, she then turned her attention to coaching. Becoming the Head Coach of South Carolina (an American Football state), the first thing she did - the very first thing she pushed aggressively, was the crowd. She called it:
Create The Home Advantage.
Women’s Basketball was never the main event, empty halls greeted players everytime they took to the pitch - if they had 23 fans that was lucky. Come back later to watch the men’s game, you would be one of 18,000. Watch the American Football - remember the swaying Upper East Stand? You would be one of 85,000! Who wants to play in front of 23 people? In those conditions who wants to give their best. Indeed why would the best want to join her team if there was no atmosphere? So she rolled up her sleeves and got stuck in. Visiting the local communities, always at the local markets, going to the big games (American Football obviously) where she became well known…and her crowds started to grow. After games she would hang around talking to fans and having photos taken, slowly the tide turned, filling the stadium - 18,000 screaming fans!
“…we created a place where people feel truly special…when you make somebody feel special, they want to help you succeed.”
That is true of the Coke drinkers in 1971, that is true of the hard working gutsy workers who would follow José Mourinho to the ends of the earth, that is true of the Football loving South Carolina women’s Basketball supporters who took Dawn Staley into their hearts AND that is certainly true of our businesses. So how will you create a home team advantage?
In one of Melanie’s morning newsletters this week, she wrote:
“…develop your own product champions, those customers who love your products or services and are happy to share their positive endorsement in public through testimonials, interviews or social media posts. These product champions can also help you to generate new sales by acting as references and referrals when potential new customers need peace of mind and feedback from existing buyers. The chances are that your business has a number of potential product champions in the making, satisfied customers who love your products, services and brand, and would be happy to share their feedback. So start talking to them now and build your own product champion network who can do the talking for you.”
A small effort on your part ‘creates a place where people feel truly special’, much like these inspirational Lionesses:
With a support base who knows where that may lead.
2021, the world is just emerging (we hope and pray) from a war from which there were no real winners (Covid). In the past few years there have been riots, deaths, genocide, a movement against commercialism, a serious drive against injustice in all its forms and there was a movement against all of this horror and waste of life, waste of promise, waste of even the future (if we don’t save the Planet). Hope is certainly required to move forward.
From this dark place in 2020, six young adults in Angola found their audience and injected hope, fun and smiles across the globe with dance (16 million views) through a song by South African DJ and record producer Master KG and vocalist Nomcebo (369 million views), that became a challenge that so many have entered into - yes even our main picture this weekend, from Italy, where they certainly needed a smile after the horrors of 2020, and have now given the entire world a smile, hope and something to cheer about.
See here - Shades are optional, food is not!
Find your audience, know your audience, bring your audience close, then go with the flow and enjoy!
Stay safe.