As PR professionals, we are always facing the next campaign to change the hearts and minds of our constituencies, and indeed, we are always looking for ways to be more effective in changing the behaviors of our target audiences.
Take, for example changing the eating behaviors of our children in light of childhood obesity. While the CDC reports that we have made progress as a society in slowing weight gain among our children, the campaign to make that happen has been waged on many fronts. Providing communities information about healthy eating and how to increase physical activity is important, but taking the next step and making it easier for families to have access to affordable healthy foods and opening safe playgrounds for children are all also necessary.
It seems pretty obvious that to change the behaviors, information and resources must be available. But surprisingly, there is another layer of behavior that the savvy PR professional can take advantage of. Recently, Shankar Vendantam reported on NPR’s The Salt Blog that there is a new behavioral factor that is economic in nature to tell us why kids might overeat — cash or debit. The kids using cash make better choices it seems. More fruits and veggies and fewer calories. Why? Psychologically the debit card seemingly puts the consequences of what you eat into the future along with the payment. So, logically, if the kids have to work harder to get the “bad” stuff, they might eat fewer calories.
This was brought home to me personally years ago when my son was in elementary school. When my husband and I noticed him gaining weight, we never suspected the debit system his school used for food purchasing purposes. When the quarterly bill came, we discovered his snack habit was clearly to blame for the weight and the size of the bill. Even as an adult, he remembers the incident and says his crime was not a crime in his 6-year-old mind because it wasn’t “money,” and, of course, sharing the snacks was making him wildly popular.
The lesson learned for our field is look deep into the science. You might find powerful tools that will make you more effective.
Lynn Brown, former IPR Trustee, is a corporate communications and entertainment consultant with more than 30 years of experience at Texas Instruments, Raytheon, Greyhound and Waste Management.
I thoroughly enjoyed this post, Lynn. You used a great story to explain the importance of first understanding why people behave the way they do before you can properly figure out how to change their behavior.
Ward White was so inspired by your storytelling he decided to write a post of his own! You can check out “Behavioral PR & ‘Girls Only’” in the IPR Research Conversations section.
Lynn, I love it. Storytelling is one of the most potent tools in effecting behavior-change and the most powerful form of human narrative. The business of PR is behavior, behavior, behavior. Your new, personal and memorable story adds to the profession’s treasure trove of behavior-changing stories.
Can the timing of this post, on the eve of the Super Bowl, be purely coincidental?
Not everyone knows it, but Lynn Brown is the Queen of Super Bowl Sunday. As CCO at Waste Management, Lynn was the very first Communications officer in the U.S. to agree to have her company’s president appear on “Undercover Boss” in that show’s inaugural program. That first segment aired to a huge audience immediately following Super Bowl XLIV between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Arizona Cardinals, which was decided in the final minute.
At the time, the risk was huge. No one knew for sure whether or not the show would turn out to be a hatchet job on CEOs. Lynn did her homework, persuaded WM prez Larry O’Donnell to take the risk — and the bet paid off big . On February 7, 2010, directly following the Super Bowl post-game round up, that first episode of the series was watched by 38.6-million viewers, the largest audience ever for a new show airing after the Super Bowl and the most watched premiere for a reality TV show (Seidman 2010, February 8).
Now, gentle readers, you know … “the rest of the story.” And to Lynn Brown, many happy returns on the anniversary of a career-defining, smart and brave decision.
Wonderfully insightful.