What Laundry Detergent Can Teach Us About Winning Audiences

A couple of years ago the makers of Gain laundry detergent, Proctor & Gamble (P&G), were looking for a way to better engage and win customers. They used web and social media tools to launch a “Sniff Contest.”

They invited current and new Gain customers to purchase a bottle of detergent, open the cap, and sniff the scent. Then, customers were to visit the company’s website or Facebook page and write a brief story or upload a video about their experience with that bottle of detergent.

When I first heard about this request, I found it hard to believe that anyone would take the time to do this…for laundry detergent?

As it turns out, the campaign was wildly successful, resulting in over 300,000 stories, videos, and fans. P&G dubbed these people the “Gainiacs” and continues to engage them in a variety of ways to increase product sales.

Everybody loves to hear a good story. A powerful story is a critical tool for engaging and winning audiences – current and potential ticket buyers, class participants, board members, artists, and donors. 

I’ve attended many workshops where presenters tell nonprofits to develop clear, persuasive, and compelling stories about their work. However, few offer specific steps for doing so. My goal for this post is to provide a few tips to help you begin your journey of collecting and telling stories about your value.

Just like P &G, you can and must collect and create different stories for different listeners. One story will not resonate the same with everyone you want to communicate with. For example, parents will be motivated by different stories than senior citizens; and corporate donors may be motivated by different stories than individual donors.

Willie Pietersen, former CEO of Tropicana, says in his book, Strategic Learning, “Winning in business means winning in value. And, you can’t cure a value problem with cost reductions.”

For me, this quote describes the current state many nonprofit arts organizations face. We’re so busy looking for ways to cut costs and programming, that we’ve stopped working to define and communicate value. The overwhelming response to shrinking revenues is cost cutting.

While this strategy works for a while and keeps organizations in the black, what happens when there are no more funds to cut? What if we could get more proficient at communicating the value of what we do by collecting and creating stories about the personally meaningful engagement of ticket buyers, class participants, board members, artists and donors?

Here is a basic framework to get you started:

Compelling and persuasive stories must:

• Be Specific, but Universal – Identify a challenge or person that is widely identifiable.
• Name a Protagonist – Use a proper name when you can. Provide as many details about this person as possible.
• Provide Context – Describe the circumstances or facts that surround a particular event, situation, or challenge.
• Identify a Challenge – What is the situation to be overcome? In what ways did your organization help?
• Describe the Action – Describe what action took place. How did the protagonist interact with your organization in valuable ways?
• Share the Results – What happened? How was the protagonist’s life changed by your organization? What do you want the listener to do?
• Document – Use photos, video and comments to demonstrate value for the protagonist. Share widely in print and electronic communication materials.

I’m convinced that if over 300,000 people will share stories about laundry detergent, your audiences will gladly tell stories about their experience with your arts programming.

You just need to make it easy for them to tell you.

Socially Transmitting Taste

For the past two years, I’ve had the pleasure of working with the Jazz Arts Group in Columbus, Ohio on a national study of the behaviors and attitudes of current and potential jazz ticket buyers. Jazz is original American music, yet it often lacks market share, and sometimes respect, among music purists and audiences. It strikes me that there are similarities between the place of jazz in the performing arts ecology, and the role of the arts in education.

We began the study with a hypothesis that people purchase tickets to see art forms they already know and love. Therefore, we were curious about the ways people learn about and experience new music. To our surprise, the data reveals that people are willing to listen to music outside their comfort zones or stated preferences, with a few conditions – 1) if they are invited by someone they know and trust; 2) if they can attend with someone who is knowledgeable about the music and will serve as a guide; and 3) if they can sample the new music before spending money on a ticket. The research shows very clearly that musical taste is socially transmitted.

It strikes me that this idea of “socially transmitting musical taste” can also be true in arts education. In what ways can we better engage people and “socially transmit” the importance of arts education? How can we get school leaders, teachers and parents out of their comfort zones of only supporting “the basics?” We must continually serve as trusted guides to arts education.

Last spring, I observed a teaching artist working with a science teacher on an arts-infused lesson. The artist was only scheduled to work with students in the afternoon. After observing the teaching artist the first morning, the science teacher saw the value of using the arts to teach the science lesson. She ventured outside her comfort zone to teach the art lesson by herself in the morning, without the teaching artist. The teaching artist served as the guide in helping the teacher get out of her comfort zone, building context and courage.

In what ways will you serve as a “guide” for the arts and arts education?

Communicating Value or Cutting Costs?

One of my favorite quotes is by Willie Pieterson, former CEO of Tropicana. Willie says, "You can't cure a value problem through cost reductions." Amen! This cost cutting scenario is rampant among arts and cultural organizations and educational institutions - especially public education. In most cases, we've cut expenses so deeply, there really is no where else to cut. I constantly wonder why arts and cultural organizations and public school districts don't do more to engage people - all the time, not just when we want them to buy a ticket or pass a levy to raise their property taxes. The most common excuses I hear for not engaging the community is lack of time and money. I believe that consistent, authentic dialogue will result in fans who will engage with your organization, tell their friends about the great work you do, and support you with their money. Are you identifying the value you provide that changes people's lives and ways to leverage it? Or, are you focused on finding the next line item to cut?

Visualize Success

I recently read an article in the Wall Street Journal about how professional sports players can visualize themselves out of a slump. According to the article, it doesn't matter what profession you're in, or your personal situation, there are key characteristics that point to a slump - loss of confidence, over-thinking every move, dwelling on past failures or working too much. Sound familiar?

Is your organization experiencing a slump? If so, perhaps you're blaming it on the economy, your board, donors who aren't giving, or the "audiences" who aren't buying tickets. Take a few minutes to examine your vision. Is it clear? Does it provide a compelling picture of where you want to be in 5, 10, or 20 years? What are your unique assets that result in value?

I suggest you spend some time focusing your vision to lift yourself out of that slump. Your community is depending on it.

It's About Them, Not You

Too often, we design ideas, partnerships and programs in a vacuum.  We create something new based on personal experiences, and what we think our constituents need.  When was the last time you asked your constituents what is or would be meaningful for them? How can you help them do their work better or create added value for their company or organization? I guarantee if you ask them, they’ll tell you. Find out what’s important to them personally and professionally, instead of telling them what’s important to you.  As Steven Covey would say, “Seek first to understand, then to be understood.”  in my experience, when I've learned about what's important to them, I can begin making connections in authentic ways.  I can be honest about what I can help them with, and what I can’t. Everyone has a story to tell if we let them.