Technology is a blessing and curse. I know that statement isn’t shocking, but it is the truth. When you look at the Neuro Human Branding® (http://neurohumanbrandingacademy.com) of it all, technology plays on two of our most fundamental mindsets (1) fear and (2) love. Here is what I mean.
- Technology used to be expensive, for the elite, and never for the masses. This type of technology plays on our innate human nature for love. Love of self.
- Technology is fast. From the first computer that took up an entire building to the computers we hold in our hands- technology is fast. We get the information, the entertainment, the connection instantly. And it is this instant connection that plays on our primal fears. Our fear that we may not be here in two seconds so - “give me.” “give me.” “give me.”
Having a cell phone use to make you feel special (love) until everyone had it. Instant notifications of anything that goes in the world plays into our fear that Armageddon is near. And it is for these two reasons - love and fear - that we love and hate technology.
This universal truth is nothing unique to you. It is part of our human biology and psychology. Because we can never forget in the end that it is our human nature that makes us more similar than different. What does this all mean when it comes to your brand, business, and bottom line? It shows that we have three choices when it comes to how we play our brand relationships. We can:
Play The Love. Our brains are naturally programmed for love. Yes, we come out of the womb hardwired for love. Love is pleasure. Love is having our needs met. Love is being accepted, wanted, and desired for just being us. When we can build these experiences into our brands- we use the innate human need of love to our Neuro Human Branding® advantage.
Play The Fear. Fear on many levels is the “easy sell.” Fear is pain. Fear is death. It truly is that simple. And it is that simplicity that makes fear the easy sell because no one wants pain and no one wants death.
In this month’s EmpiHER® (http://empiher.co) Magazine’s, Ali Craig founder of the Neuro Human Branding Academy says, “By playing in fear, we aren’t just tapping into the subconscious and social stories - we tap into the biology of our audience as well. We tap into their natural stress responders and create chemical cascades that last anywhere between hours and months. This is why so many brands play the fear and so many experts tell you to play the fear. And this is why many experts teach to us to “play the fear” when it comes to marketing and branding.
But here at the Neuro Human Branding® Academy, it is our belief that building a relationship off of fear creates a relationship dynamic that will end up having the brand resented in the end because your brand relationship is built on weakness, not empowerment.
Also by understanding the full physical ramifications of playing the fear can have on an audience, we feel like this type of behavior doesn’t create a mutually beneficial relationship. Here at the Neuro Human Branding® Academy we aren’t into the art of manipulation. We are here to create outstanding brand relationships.”
But yes, playing the fear creates a greater need to be fulfilled, but also potentially doing short and long term damage to a person who is already physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually taxed.
Play The Struggle ?Struggle makes us feel torn apart from the inside out. This state of dis-ease makes it a challenging Neuro Human Branding® perspective to play, but when done right can create the most connection with your audience. We all have felt the internal struggle. The logical pull to do one thing, yet the heart pulls to do another. Struggle is part of our brain’s evolution. By playing the struggle you are putting the psychology first, not the biology.
What makes this approach great is that your audience will feel like you completely get them and that they are not some weird odd ball. That there is community, acceptance, and yes love for who they are - just how they are. The downside to playing the struggle is that you have to be really on top of who your audience is, what they are going through, and what they want - not just need.
And technology does all of this to us. It plays the love, the fear, and the struggle. No other industry has been able to do all three with such fluidity. We can do very little to stop the impact technologies have on us. By understanding the game at hand, we cannot just be more informed consumers. We can also use their approaches to our Neuro Human Branding® advantages.
