Reframe. Rephrase. Rejoice!
One of the most boring campaigns to conceive and probably one of the most difficult to hold viewer’s attention is the topic ‘road safety’. Viewer thinks, at best, that they know everything about it or, at worst, think nothing can be done about it.
One day, many years ago in the BBC canteen, a few journalists were discussing this and it fell upon Nick Ross to create a documentary on road safety that was both interesting and action-inducing. Though it felt like a punishment meted out to him, Nick decided to do something about it. What he did is an abject lesson on how a marketer needs to explore ways to puncture consumer complacencies. There are times when marketers need to create symbols of re-evaluation that will prompt customers to sit up and rethink of some of their assumptions about a certain product category. Especially when the category is as boring as road safety or as personal as impotence!
There were around 6,000 deaths on British roads every year. Both the British authorities and the general public had come to accept it as a part of life, a price they had to pay to drive on those very roads. Nick found that there were solutions lying around just waiting to be picked up. But because the topic in itself was boring, no one bothered to talk about it far less give it a patient hearing. Here’s what he did.
First, Nick decided he would reframe the whole concept of what was happening. He decided he needed to present an abstract number, i.e., 6,000 – in an entirely different context so that it gets attention and elicits an emotional response. He framed the deaths an ‘epidemic’. He said it was a threat to the entire safety of Great Britain and it was time the country faced up and fought. He titled his documentary ‘The Biggest Epidemic Of Our Times’. The stage was set.
Second, he realized he had to find an idea that would bring the 6,000 deaths to life in an entirely fresh way. In a manner that would make it unacceptable to the people. He began his documentary with an arresting set of visuals. He took a typical British town called Wallingford whose population was 6,000 and showed the entire town lying dead. The voice over was equally dramatic: Every year in Britain, a town the size of Wallingford dies on the roads. The drama was arresting.
Third, Nick knew he had the attention of the people. He now had to change the language of the authorities who could do something about it. The documentary urged the authorities to revise their targets. Targets? Instead of 6,000, the documentary said they should aim to kill only 4,000 people a year. Put simply, Nick was sarcastically implying that the authorities were killing people while they should be saving lives. The viewers were moved.
The people were agitated and demanded action. The authorities were forced by citizen’s voice and collective activism. Things began to change. Heads started to roll. Action was unleashed. Highway engineers explained how roads could be realigned. Academics showed how vehicles could be modified to avert a collision or absorb the energy of a crash. Technicians demonstrated how seat belts and helmets could save lives. All the changes were put in place.
There are just 3,500 deaths on British roads today. Their roads are among the safest in the world.
All coz an issue was reframed. The problem was brought to life. And the language was changed to induce action.
Imagine how many product categories in marketing, or for that matter problems in life, can be changed if only we reframed it well. And phrased it better.
Need proof?
When Pfizer was planning to launch Viagra, they faced a similar problem. The pill was supposed to cure impotence. But it was a harsh word. A problem no male wanted to admit in public.
Pfizer couldn’t say, ‘Come buy Viagra and come’ or something similar. They knew they had to reframe the problem. Find a softer phrase to cue impotence. They found one: Erectile Dysfunction. Or ED for short.
The company didn’t say impotence in their communication. They talked about ED. They even showed 30+ guys talking about and buying Viagra. Bob Dole, the republican party nominee in the 1996 American Presidential election was made the brand’s ambassador. What happened?
Things started to grow!
Even the brand too. Viagra has made tens of billions of dollars since its launch in 1998. All coz Pfizer reframed the problem. And found a phrase that pays!