Be Emotional. It's Okay.

No you didn’t, Groupon.

No matter what action we are trying to get people to take—be it to buy a car or a juicer or to call a legislator or attend a lobby day—we have to know our audience and carefully consider our messaging.

For some good examples of what works and what doesn't, let’s look at two Super Bowl commercials everyone's talking about.

First off, Groupon’s attempt at satire / let’s-not-take-ourselves-quite-so-seriously spots did not go over well with the public. The whole "Tibet's in trouble, but let's get a Groupon for Tibetan food!" made even the largest, loudest American look down at his Budweiser and shake his head, “Not. Funny.”

Here’s the thing, Groupon. We really aren’t just a country full of over-eating, Brazilian-waxing, tourist-trap seeking dum-dums, and the majority of us are saying this to you and your ad agency: “Not. Funny.”  In fact, you really don't know us at all.

Authenticity

But I’ll tell you what we do like. This Imported from Detroit car commercial for Chrysler starring one of the city's most famous sons, rapper Eminem. This commercial tugs those heart strings of loyalty, hard work, perseverance, and hope. We see ourselves in here, or at least who we want to be. (The honest, hard-working part -- not necessarily the luxury car owner.)

So what do car commercials and carbon-heavy Groupon commercials have to do with the work you do as a sustainability change agent? A lot more than you may think.

Let People Feel Something

Moving beyond the green choir, expanding our supporters, broadening our base, reaching a critical mass, reaching outside the usual suspects—at Groundwire we hear these objectives from just about every group we work with.

And while there are many tactics that I’m sure you are working on to do the above, how much time are you spending on your messaging?

In marketing writing, we are taught 1) show features, 2) show benefits, and then 3) evoke emotion. And often, it’s "kick numbers 1 and 2 to the curb and just focus on #3". That’s what Chrysler is doing in this Super Bowl commercial. They aren’t showing you the features of this fancy car, or even really the benefits you’ll get if you drive it. They are going straight to the #3, evoking emotion -- i.e., you believe in honesty, hard work, where we come from, the underdog, etc. etc. This ain’t no New York City, Windy City, Sin City, and it sure as hell isn’t the Emerald City. This is the Motor City. Heck yeah.

So have you played around with evoking emotion in your own messaging?

For example:

Copy: Help us stop dirty coal burning in your state. Call your legislature and ask them to make this a priority!

Why this might not resonate: How is it dirty, exactly? How do we stop it? What does that mean for me, my family, my cat, my home? What am I going to have to give up? How can one person stop Dirty Coal?

How you can get people to feel something:

• People like to hear inspirational stories and they like to hear about hard working people. In short, your story needs a hero. Who is building the new America? How are they doing it? What are the actual jobs that could come out of it?

• People are kind. So when you tell them actual stories from the communities who are paying the heaviest price for our cheap energy, it hits home. (For example, a recent email action alert from Washington state's Environmental Priorities Coalition included a story about a local woman living near a Superfund site: "I grew up in the South Park neighborhood of Seattle, right near the Duwamish River. The waters of the Duwamish are rife with dioxins, arsenic, sewage, and PCBs. As kids we played all over the neighborhood and were exposed to toxins without realizing it. But I’ve seen the impacts in my family and our neighbors. My son and I both suffer from asthma. Family friends have died of cancer – a type caused by exposure to dioxins."

• People like a challenge: We put people on the moon, right? Surely we can figure out new ways of heating our homes and cooking our food and drying our clothes and powering our work that is safe and plentiful. And what kind of jobs could this bring?

• People like to know they can make a difference: Dirty coal is a huge, abstract topic. Throw in some stats to help tell your story, e.g. "Coal-burning energy is 30% of our global warming pollution." And then people like a concrete goal, "Here are five things you can do right now to help bring that percentage down."

• People like it when you talk reasonable to them: Yes, this is the way we have always done it and yes we built a great country. But now it's time for a new way that's better for the workers, better for our health, better for the planet. Don't shame them and don't make them feel defensive. Many people in this country -- many people -- have a long and deep family tradition in a livelihood that's wrecking the planet so you gotta work your way in there carefully.

Think about what you like to read, what inspires you, what makes you take action. If you want to appeal to more people, well, are you writing something that does?

Storytelling

This is starting to smell a little bit like a piece on Storytelling! Because it is. Storytelling -- so easy to throw out that buzz word, yet so hard to do, right?

I don't know a communications person who doesn't want to get better at it. And not just for case studies and fundraising, but for incorporating into action alerts and blog posts and website content.

To help you think about storytelling and the work you do, start with this great piece by Marshall Ganz (one of the people who helped shaped President Obama's winning story): Why Stories Matter: The art and craft of social change.

Andy Goodman of The Goodman Center has an online workshop coming up in April on the best practices of Storytelling.

Seth Godin's Ode: How to tell a great story is an oldie but a goodie.

My Groundwire colleague Sam Knox wrote a great post about storytelling last year.

A Storytelling Manifesto for Change-Makers and Innovators is an interesting read that can help you think about your work in a new way. Download a free copy here.

Are you in charge of your organization's storytelling? Let us know what's working for you.