I am not Canadian. Not American. I am Italian. I. And I promise that it is the last time that the word “I” is written here. The power of one is nothing against the power of one plus one plus millions of one. And this is what the Kony 2012 campaign would like to achieve. A we-awareness.
Since the first 30-minutes documentary was launched on YouTube, the Kony 2012 campaign has reached millions of ears, eyes and hearts. A huge deal. However, this post doesn’t deal with what the campaign tells. The purpose here is to understand ‘why’ and ‘how’. Why have we been attracted in the movement? How are they were able to influence us?
The product is “Make Kony famous”. And “Act together”. It’s something strange because being part of a group influences our purchases, but here being part of a group is the good they wanna sell. And we are the customers who buy their product, their kit, who become their sellers. The issue is that most of us didn’t know anything about Kony. But (and this is a huge but!) we have needs. The interaction is a need and the chance to challenge ourselves in acting is another need. Self-actualization. And Kony 2012 seems to give us this chance.
It seems to give. A 30-minutes video?
It is the Internet and the marketing. Totally. This video is a sort of long commercial where things are told in a simple way, like a tale: a good purpose, an enemy (Kony), the helpers (20 celebrities and 12 politicians). And like kids we are fascinated. Our perception is overwhelmed. Then their promotion is great. They’ve worked on colors, pictures, logos, kits. And on their events where we are the main characters. Customers who act.
The campaign give us that chance to satisfy our needs of not being a ‘single’, but a ‘We’. Yes, it is a campaign. But surprise! It had a phenomenal impact in one day. They worked for years before, we became conscious in 30 minutes. From nothing. It is the marketers’ ability to go deep into potential customers’ need.
And if Kony 2012 is just a huge lie? We would be deceived customers. I would be sad.
Here the links:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4MnpzG5Sqc
http://www.kony2012.com/ [website]