Clever Geek Handbook
2 March 2026

Cashvertising

Recommendation

Selling is a basic human interaction. Yet, most professionals in advertising and related fields understand very little about what actually drives people to buy. In this short, punchy book, Drew Eric Whitman lifts the shroud of mystery surrounding consumer behavior by explaining some fundamental psychological principles. His well-researched pointers will help you create ads that appeal to customers’ deepest desires and impulses. Although Whitman’s advice is applicable to all modes of advertising, he focuses on print advertising; thus, some readers might wish for more insights on Web copy or broadcasting. Still, BooksInShort strongly recommends Whitman’s compelling delivery of crucial advertising advice.

Take-Aways

  • Many advertising professionals aim to be clever or creative, rather than focusing on their true purpose: to sell.
  • Good advertising appeals to people’s basic desires.
  • If people don’t believe what you say about your product, they won’t buy it. Testimonials and endorsements help build credibility.
  • Your ad’s message should stress how customers will benefit from your product or service. It must answer their implicit question, “What’s in it for me?”
  • Consumers will buy something if it promises them great returns in the future.
  • They will purchase products linked to spokespeople or groups with whom they want to identify.
  • Ads that appeal to people’s rationality have a longer-lasting effect on their purchasing patterns than those that influence them with pleasant images and associations.
  • Long advertising copy sells better than short copy.
  • Free samples or coupons are excellent ways to create demand for your product.
  • People are most attracted to the color blue. After that, their color preference follows this order: red, green, violet, orange and yellow.

Summary

What Consumers Want

Effective advertising motivates people to spend money on a product or service. Yet, most advertising professionals lose sight of that objective, aiming instead to be clever or cute, or to win creative awards. Awards may gratify your ego but they don’t boost sales. Why, then, does the ad industry continue to follow this mistaken path? Because advertisers simply don’t know any better.

“Advertising’s purpose is not to entertain, but to persuade consumers to part with billions of dollars every day in exchange for products and services.”

By using specific techniques, you can influence consumers’ actions. Selling involves persuasion, which requires the strategic use of psychology. This science is crucial to advertising because it explains “what people want, how they feel about what they want and why they act as they do.” It enables advertisers to make better decisions that improve customer satisfaction and increase sales.

“Vicarious pleasure is where persuasion begins, because the first use of any brand is inside the consumers’ minds.”

Daniel Starch, an early researcher of consumer psychology, found that self-interest is people’s primary motivation to buy. Their attraction to a product corresponds to what it can do for them and how it can improve their lives. All people have eight basic desires. Ads that appeal to these fundamental desires strike a primordial nerve and generate a predictable reaction in people:

  1. To survive and to have a pleasant life.
  2. To enjoy food and beverages.
  3. To be free from “fear, pain and danger.”
  4. To have “sexual companionship.”
  5. To live in a comfortable environment.
  6. To win and to keep pace with their neighbors.
  7. To care for and protect their loved ones.
  8. To gain social approval for their actions.
“The aim of all advertising is to create marginal differences in consumer attitudes and perceptions.”

Humans are complex and they have additional desires, called “secondary or learned wants.” For example, they desire to be informed and to have their curiosity satisfied. They like to be clean, efficient and dependable. They wish to enjoy conveniences and to cultivate their style and beauty. And, they want to realize profits and find bargains. These learned desires are not as powerful as the eight biologically rooted ones. Biological desires are so intense that once a person recognizes the desire, he or she must act to satisfy it.

Driving People to Buy

To advertise effectively, you must first understand how consumers think and feel. Then you can strategically use that knowledge to your advantage. Heed these “Foundational Principles of Consumer Psychology”:

  • “Mental movies” – People derive pleasure from satisfying their desires, but they also enjoy reading about or watching other people achieve that same satisfaction. By mentally projecting themselves into someone else’s life, people can vicariously experience being happy or rich, for example. This process of imagining heightens their impulse to act on their desires. Strategically use detailed, visual language in your ads, so consumers can envision themselves benefitting from your product or service before buying it.
  • “The fear factor” – Fear is another powerful motivator. When you alert people to a possible danger – whether it’s the dust mites crawling in their pillows or the bacteria thriving on their seemingly clean floors – they feel stress. To eliminate that stress, they will seek a solution. As long as your product or service provides one, you can ethically use fear as a sale incentive. For instance, you can advertise new brake pads to alleviate the fear of bad brakes causing an accident. Insurance reduces the fear of financial harm due to unpredictable events. Similarly, using terms such as “limited time offer” and “while supplies last” compels consumers to act on their fear of missing an opportunity.
  • “Ego morphing” – Influence consumers’ behavior by urging them to view your product as a facet of their identity. This technique is called ego morphing. Advertise your product using images and spokespeople with whom people will want to identify. Victoria’s Secret ads, well-known for their alluring models, use this strategy well. A woman who buys the company’s lingerie is acting on her ego-based reaction that she fits, or wants to fit, that product image. This psychological response explains why ads for luxury items are so sparse on copy. The images do all the selling.
  • “Transfer” – Credibility is crucial in advertising. If people don’t believe what you say about your product, they won’t buy it. By using transfer, a method that draws on the authority of the trusted people and institutions that promote your product, you can bolster consumer confidence in it. For example, celebrity testimonials can win customers and accelerate the sales process; they provide “credibility by osmosis.”
  • “The bandwagon effect” – People crave a sense of belonging. They are drawn to groups that share their values and ideas, or that offer them a certain status. Marketers can sell their products or services by linking them to groups consumers associate with or want to join. For example, Jif peanut butter promoted the highly successful ad, “Choosy moms choose Jif.” People who bought Jif in response to this ad were not doing so because of the product’s own merits, but because they sought membership in the group of careful, selective parents.
  • “The means-end chain” – People will buy something if it promises them future returns. For example, real-estate agents will buy expensive cars to send a message to potential clients that they are highly successful. More clients will list their houses with the agents, who will thus earn more money – the ultimate benefit at the end of the chain. This strategy is particularly relevant for advertising luxury goods and services.
  • “Persuasion step by step” – Selling to someone who has never heard about your product or service is a major challenge. Consumers learn about a product in stages. They move from ignorance to familiarity to willingness to buy. In the final phase, they become loyal customers. Those who understand this process create ads that cater to consumers at every stage of familiarity with the product. Or, they develop a sequence of ads that helps people progress through the various stages of familiarity.
  • “Belief re-ranking” – Changing people’s beliefs is difficult. The alternative is to reshuffle the importance of their various beliefs, either by strengthening ideas that make them want to buy your product, or by weakening those that undermine that impulse. Reinforce beliefs by providing factual data or successful case studies. If your aim is to discredit a belief, don’t overtly attack it, but offer additional evidence that subtly suggests an alternative view. Be careful not to cause negative consumer reactions.
  • “The Elaboration Likelihood Model” – According to this model, there are two ways to influence buyers’ attitudes. Ads that target people’s “central route processing” appeal directly to their reason and logic, whereas those that aim at their “peripheral route processing” persuade them to buy using pleasant images and other “cues.” Generally, people use central route processing when considering big purchases, such as a home, and peripheral route processing for small purchases, such as a grocery item. Over time, beliefs that consumers form through rational analysis are much more likely to stick.
  • “Weapons of influence” – Robert Cialdini, a social psychologist, spent three years researching for his book, Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion. In it, he identifies several powerful ways to persuade people. You can trigger their reflex to conform to peer groups, or their impulse to reciprocate favors and gifts (such as free samples). Or, you can sway them with your likability/attractiveness, authority or dependability. You can also drive them to act by making something, or someone, seem scarce.
  • “Evidence” – Buyers want to know they will get value out of your product. When considering a purchase, they implicitly ask, “What’s in it for me?” Providing evidence – facts, research, testimonials and so on – is the best way to convince them of your product’s worth. Use evidence to strengthen people’s positive opinions of your product, or to enhance its credibility. Often, when an ad includes many figures, testimonials and charts, consumers conclude it is valid.

How You Say It Matters

Once you have chosen your strategy, you’re ready to develop your message. In print ads, aim for simplicity. Keep sentences brief and paragraphs short. Ideally, 70% to 80% of your advertising copy should consist of one-syllable words. Advertising maven David Ogilvy recommends a lead paragraph no longer than 11 words. Your message should stress how your product benefits consumers. Express the biggest benefit in a succinct, powerful headline of no more than five or six words, because people cannot recall more than this number at a glance. Use figures and statistics strategically: Effective ad copy contains no more than five to nine numbers.

“Contrary to popular belief, men are most attracted to pictures of other men, and women to pictures of women.”

Advertising experts know that long copy has more impact than short copy, provided that you write it well. Consider this: If you spent an hour with a good salesperson, you would probably buy more than if you spent 10 minutes with a bad one. The more time that a prospect invests in reading your ad, the higher the odds are that he or she will buy something. An effective ad informs, motivates and persuades consumers, driving them to make a purchase. It satisfies people who just want the basic facts about a product, as well as those who need convincing. Adopt a newspaper-style tone and look. Readers regard this style more seriously than that of a traditional advertisement.

“Your goal is not to create new fears, but to tap into existing fears, either those on the forefront of consumers’ minds, or those that require a little digging to uncover.”

Writing good copy is like scripting a movie. Appeal to the five senses to evoke “a concentrated internal experience” that makes people want to buy your product. Tell its unique story using detailed imagery. For example, someone advertising a pizza might specify that the crust comes from the best Italian wheat flour, the cheese is fresh buffalo mozzarella and the virgin olive oil is imported. Use language and a writing style that makes your ad distinct.

“The features are the attributes. The benefits are what you get from those attributes.”

Memorable ads use photographs and illustrations. Advertisements that equally balance graphics and text have a longer-lasting impact on consumers than text-only ads. Ads that are mostly visual have an even greater effect. Photos – particularly of children, mothers and babies, groups of adults, animals or sports scenes – are the best graphics to use. Other good snapshots show people enjoying your product, and convey action, drama and human interaction.

“Loading your advertising with benefits is the key to all successful advertising.”

Color is another key element of ad design. Dozens of experiments have found that the most popular colors are blue, red, green, violet, orange and yellow (in this order). Men and women share these preferences, with one exception: Women like yellow over orange. Age also affects color preference. Babies are drawn to red. However, as people age, they become partial to blue. One explanation is that their eyes’ lenses become hazed, allowing in more blue light and less brighter color.

“The more ways you justify the purchase of your product, the more likely you’ll influence people to buy.”

People love to save money, so they respond well to coupons. One of the first to recognize the power of coupons was Asa Candler, a Philadelphia pharmacist who made Coca-Cola into one of the world’s largest brands. In 1894, Candler offered coupons for free samples of Coke, a tactic that helped the company achieve nationwide distribution by 1895. Today, 86% of Americans use coupons, primarily those who earn up to $100,000 annually.

“Don’t reinvent the lightbulb...just switch it on.”

“Grabbers,” little gimmicks that capture people’s attention, also help you advertise in a memorable way. For example, a real-estate agent who sells beachfront property might distribute a flyer with a small bag of sand attached. Or, a sweets shop might mail out candy wrappers that people can redeem for a free sample.

Going Online

The Web presents new twists to effective advertising. If you are e-mailing your advertisements, remember that many people prefer to receive mailings no more than once a week. Most marketing e-mails (about 68%) contain graphics, and animated advertisements attract more attention than static ones. However, ensure that the motion graphics are not obnoxious or irrelevant. Be aware that clever headlines may increase the click-though rate, but do not necessarily translate into higher sales. For best results, include the recipients’ names in the subject line and make sure what you’re offering is relevant to them.

About the Author

Drew Eric Whitman has taught the psychology behind the consumer response for more than 23 years. He has worked as a consultant for the American Legion, Amoco, Texaco and many other organizations.

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Cashvertising

Book Cashvertising

How to Use More Than 100 Secrets of Ad-Agency Psychology to Make Big Money Selling Anything to Anyone

Career Press,
 


2 March 2026

The Green Business Guide

Recommendation

The threats to the planet from greenhouse gas emissions and other forms of pollution and resource depletion are clear. The question is, what is your company doing about it? More and more, consumers look to businesses to take the lead in eco-friendly practices. If you’re ready to make your company greener – because it is the right thing to do and because it is good for your bottom line and customer approval – BooksInShort recommends Glenn Bachman’s detailed, hands-on, indispensable reference. He lays out the issues to consider, from packaging to water management to reusable waste to renewable energy. This is not light reading, but it thoroughly addresses the subject and will prepare you to implement your own eco-efficiency plans.

Take-Aways

  • Regulators and stockholders are demanding more corporate transparency on green issues.
  • Most U.S. consumers hold businesses accountable for sound environmental policies.
  • Green companies take responsibility for their products’ environmental impact at every stage of the product life cycle.
  • Define the scope of your eco-efficiency plan. Expect to fine-tune it continuously.
  • Good eco-design calls for reducing raw resource inputs, recycling parts and reusing easily disassembled materials at the end of a product’s life cycle.
  • Audit all business processes, from energy and water usage to transportation policies, for environmental consequences.
  • Look for the right-sized, energy-efficiency-rated equipment to get the job done.
  • Commonsense measures can bring great savings: Replace old bulbs with compact fluorescents, install programmable thermostats and weatherize your building.
  • Reduce diesel consumption. Consider shipping by rail.
  • Encourage customers to trust your green claims by using credible ratings systems that evaluate your products’ eco-friendliness.

Summary

Your Company’s Place in the Big Green Picture

Consumers, stockholders and regulators hold companies accountable for the environmental impact of their business practices. The planet can no longer afford rampant resource use, unrestricted emissions and excessive waste. As people deplete natural resources, the cost of energy, water and materials will rise, as will the costs of doing business. Organizations will have to adapt to the consequences of environmental change and its additional demands on capital. Now is the time to tackle this adverse situation, which actually holds opportunities for positive action and even profit.

“Workers are exposed to a lot of change initiatives...Don’t mislead people about the commitment of the organization to going green.”

Green organizations recognize the risk of climate change and environmental degradation, so they plan and adopt environmentally sound business practices. These companies know how much energy and how many resources they use; they calculate their carbon footprint. They recycle when possible and take responsibility for their products’ life cycles. Green enterprises provide leadership in their business sectors and serve as public examples of responsible stewardship. They try to reduce waste and recycle materials throughout their production cycles, thus saving money and controlling their environmental impact.

“It is important that the eco-design team extend their thinking beyond identifying ‘good’ and ‘bad’ impacts, and brainstorm benefits by creating new systems.”

Going green puts you ahead of the curve of inevitable regulation, just as government agencies, customers and stockholders are demanding more transparency about environmental issues. Eco-friendly policies will also motivate your employees and attract new talent, thus contributing to a stronger bottom line. Conversely, corporations that produce substantial greenhouse gas emissions and use harmful environmental practices expose themselves to future financial risk.

Planning the Green Transition

Address these elements in your enterprise’s green transition:

  • Define what being a green organization means and outline your intentions.
  • Decide who will participate in developing the plan. Identify the relevant stakeholders.
  • Set a time frame for planning and implementing changes.
  • Determine how you will measure your progress and what tools you will use.
  • Discuss how implementing a green program will affect your other initiatives.
  • Identify potential risks. For instance, do you use volatile raw materials?
  • Analyze the cost versus the benefits of an environmental program.
  • Make recommendations about what areas to upgrade, and what parts of the transition to pursue in each stage. Establish how you will proceed with scheduling, logistics and budgeting.
“Engaging stakeholders involves more than scheduling a conversation or delivering a report.”

Any enterprise-wide transition needs fully committed leadership. Corporate executives must express their commitment repeatedly in formal statements. They should also demonstrate it by designating an environmental oversight executive, providing adequate support and establishing periodic evaluations aligned with stated goals. From the planning stages forward, crucial stakeholders include owners, executives, employees, vendors and customers, as well as governmental, civic and environmental organizations.

“Workers look to leadership to walk the talk: If transportation energy efficiency is an enterprise policy, then there shouldn’t be any gas-guzzlers in the corporate vehicle fleet.”

Calculate your company’s environmental impact within the framework of your product’s life cycle, from the extraction of raw supplies through manufacturing to consumer use and disposal. Use this evaluation to write an environmental profile of your product.

Devise your eco-strategy based on measurable goals. Use “simple payback” calculations and standard business analyses, such as “internal rate of return,” to estimate the value of each ecological project. Re-evaluate your plans periodically. Determining the environmental impact of a business decision is not always straightforward. For example, using solid wood to build cabinets depletes forests, but making cabinets from veneer glued to particleboard creates air pollution.

“Many agencies will only conduct business with those vendors that demonstrate ecological responsibility.”

An “eco-designer” can help you weigh your options, find ways to minimize harm and create “outputs” you can recycle, either by returning material to nature or reusing it industrially. Usually, eliminating waste up front is easier than treating it as a byproduct. Look for the least toxic ways to accomplish your goals, especially in chemical processes. Utilize renewable resources. Minimize unusable byproducts and design for benign decomposition. Closely monitor your processes, keeping safety in mind.

Environmentally Sound Physical Plants

To evaluate your physical plant, ask a few questions. Is it near your source of raw materials? Can you distribute your products efficiently? Are you conveniently located if your staff needs to travel? Try to anticipate any future expansions. The U.S. Green Building Council has developed “Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design” (LEED) standards for planning spaces that use positive environmental practices, like installing energy-efficient climate control, selecting materials with lower environmental costs and using natural light, among others. In terms of materials, a green design might include ecologically sound substitutes for wood and drywall. For example, bamboo is a more renewable flooring material than hard wood. Buy carpeting made with recycled fiber or install easy-to-replace carpet tiles. Avoid floor adhesives, if possible.

“Material reuse and recycling success is partly a function of locating an organization that has need for the material. Materials and waste exchanges link suppliers of waste materials with entities that can use the product.”

Companies heat and cool their interior spaces to keep people comfortable, maintain healthy air quality and ensure that equipment functions well. Map your space and its occupancy levels. Note large equipment, and heating or cooling machines, all features of your heating, ventilating and air-conditioning (HVAC) system. Pay attention to the safe location of hazardous materials. Analyze the insulation throughout your facility. If you improve the efficiency of your climate control process, you’ll save money and reduce your environmental impact. Commonsense modifications include programmable thermostats, proper weatherization of your building and compact fluorescent lightbulbs. For greater efficiency, use “power management” computer systems and turn off unused computers. Share printers via networking. Look for Energy Star ratings on your equipment.

Your Energy Management Plan

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) provides tools like interactive PowerProfiler software and the eGRID database, which you can use to evaluate the amount of greenhouse gases your electrical system emits. Investigate whether you could use renewable energy sources, like solar, biomass and wind power (the U.S.’s fastest-growing alternative energy source). Determine if it makes sense for your business to generate its own electricity. Photovoltaic (PV) cells mounted on a tracking device that follows the sun can convert sunlight to electricity. Solar generation is price competitive in some markets and its cost is likely to drop as its popularity increases.

“With energy costs being a significant expenditure for industry, energy consumption reduction is an important activity.”

When evaluating your energy consumption, establish the scope of your energy plan. Will you consider only the energy you use, or will you account for your suppliers’, distributors’ and products’ energy use? You can roll out a step-by-step plan based on your own usage first, and then expand it, if practical. To put your efforts in context, projections say that by 2030, U.S. energy use will increase 18% as global requirements increase 50%. U.S. production of domestic oil reached its peak in the 1970s. And, nuclear and coal power have significant downsides, including undesirable byproducts. The U.S. has plenty of coal, but high carbon emissions and public opposition to mining methods have contributed to the cancellation or delay of 60 coal-fired facilities in the U.S. since 2006.

“A 2008 study of manufacturers indicated that 65% of survey respondents intended to invest in energy efficiency improvements during the next year.”

Your operational energy demand will fluctuate predictably – more during peak periods and less on weekends, for instance. Identify your most energy-intensive procedures. You may find that calculating energy use per product per year is more useful than considering energy use per square foot. You can install control mechanisms to make many industrial processes more efficient, to minimize the loss of heat and to reuse excess heat. Find the right-sized equipment for the job and power down motors when the machinery is idle. Perform regular maintenance. Compare your data to industry averages. You may be eligible for loans and grants established to help companies finance eco-efficiency initiatives.

“Air quality in enclosed spaces can be compromised because of mold, bacteria, allergens and chemicals, such as radon, carbon monoxide and toxins routinely emitted from various products.”

Perhaps you can embark on a “sequential” set of renovations, taking steps first that provide a faster return on investment to help pay for future upgrades. Break your plan down into actionable increments. Design a monitoring system to compare actual benchmarks against projections.

Your Transportation Management Plan

Think about transportation in terms of distributing raw and finished materials, and then consider your employees’ commutes, business travel and whether customers travel to buy from you. Heavy trucks account for less than 2.2% of all vehicles, but use 18.2% of the petroleum on the road and emit greenhouse gases. Reduce the weight of your product as much as possible to compensate for poor truck performance. Try to buy more efficient trucks. And, see if you can use the train, since rail transportation is far more energy efficient and less polluting.

“It is crucial that worker and customer health is not compromised by exposure to potentially hazardous substances.”

Begin with an audit of your current transportation uses and needs. Set goals to cut miles traversed and reduce environmental damage. Can you give employees subsidies for using public transportation? Could you set up compressed schedules, like letting some people work three 12-hour days or four 10-hour days weekly, or offering “flextime” to stagger arrivals and departures? Encourage telecommuting and teleconferencing. Become more bicycle friendly. If you have a fleet of cars, look into using alternatively powered vehicles, such as electric hybrids.

“Green power programs allow consumers to purchase some portion of their electricity from renewable sources. Some utilities and independent retailers are selling electricity that is completely generated from renewable resources.”

The environmental impact of your packaging will vary based on the kinds and quantities of materials and how you dispose of them. Consider the sustainability and toxicity of the resources used in manufacturing your packaging, and the greenhouse gases or other pollutants emitted. The Sustainable Packaging Coalition offers guidelines for minimal-impact packaging.

Your Water, Air and Waste Management Plan

Water usage varies widely among enterprises. Water efficiency calls for conserving more of the water your business uses (minimizing spillage, for instance), reducing the volume used and recycling gray water. To minimize the water needed in your water heating system, install aerators, flow restrictors and other efficiency fixtures. Purchase appliances that use a minimum of water, lower the water temperature and use cold water instead of hot when possible. The American Solar Energy Society and Solar Energy Industries Association Web sites offer useful tools for evaluating solar water-heating systems.

“Frame ecological benefits in terms that resonate with the buyer’s core values, attitudes and beliefs.”

Replace older plumbing with more efficient fixtures. Install programmable heating and cooling controls. Watch for leaks. Recirculate water where possible. Use a “process map” to visualize the water flow your work requires. Outdoors, landscape using plants with the lowest water demand.

Evaluate air quality conditions by assessing heat-trapping gas emissions, heat radiation, production emissions and the overall quality of your building’s interior air. Monitor indoor air for cleaning solutions and allergens, as well as radon and other potentially harmful chemicals that equipment can generate. Good ventilation helps remove potentially harmful gasses and controls humidity. Regular maintenance promotes efficiency. Consult the EPA’s Indoor Air Quality Building Education and Assessment Model (I-BEAM) for more guidelines.

“Fear tactics, pessimism and guilt are not effective ingredients of a green marketing menu.”

Americans use 700 pounds of paper per person each year. The “average office employee uses 10,000 sheets of paper annually.” Minimize the use of paper products. Print on both sides. Edit on the computer. Identify what you can recycle. More than 50% of U.S. waste ends up in landfills. Look for opportunities to reuse and recycle. Can some other businesses utilize your waste? Can you sell byproducts? Since electronic equipment waste can be toxic, check with the Basel Action Network for ethical ways to dispose of electronics. “Deconstruct” structures rather than demolishing them, because deconstruction can preserve building components for reuse.

Some 93% of those who responded to a 2007 Cone Consumer Survey believe that businesses are responsible for being eco-friendly. Know your company’s environmental impact thoroughly so you can communicate the story about what your firm is accomplishing. Consider having a credible rating program certify your green efforts. Listen to your customers and stakeholders so you can respond specifically to their environmental concerns in your promotional materials.

About the Author

Glenn Bachman, a management consultant with 30 years of experience, is president of Raven Business Group in Massachusetts.

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The Green Business Guide

Book The Green Business Guide

A One Stop Resource for Businesses of All Shapes and Sizes to Implement Eco-Friendly Policies, Programs, and Practices

Career Press,
 


2 March 2026

Market Rebels

Recommendation

In the introduction to this book, author Hayagreeva Rao mentions that some sections have appeared in academic journals, but that he’s “rewritten [them] for the general reader rather than the specialist in organizational sociology.” May all such revisions be so smoothly executed! This fast-paced read features clear concepts and lively prose. Rao examines the role of social activists, especially engaged groups, in the fate of innovation. In doing so, he provides new perspectives on markets and documents that social engagement precedes shifts in the market. He educates readers about the techniques that such activists use, offering several radically different case studies, including the auto industry, microbrews and trends in French cooking. BooksInShort recommends Rao’s book to anyone involved in innovation or marketing, as well as to students of cultural change.

Take-Aways

  • Innovations don’t succeed based on technological superiority. They succeed when social activists adopt them.
  • Social activists create change by overturning existing beliefs.
  • They develop new identities by giving people shared experiences and new information.
  • The automobile succeeded because car clubs held races and reliability trials.
  • Temperance activists achieved prohibition by linking alcohol with slavery and lack of patriotism.
  • Microbreweries connect beer with local culture and independence.
  • Nouvelle cuisine rode French waves of rebellion and cast chefs as innovators.
  • People organize against chain stores by accenting the local economy.
  • Shareholder activism spread as individuals invested and corporate scandals multiplied.
  • Activists stalled the German biotechnology movement through emotional appeals linking biotech innovations to undesirable social precedents.

Summary

Activists and Innovation

When you think of the computer, you probably think of the technological breakthroughs involved in creating it. They were essential, but it was the social network of “the personal computing movement” that took the computer beyond the interest of the few and made it accessible to the many. The same is true of the automobile. It was mocked when it was first introduced, and many didn’t see the point. Then, auto clubs held competitions and rallies, sharing the results and conferring a new legitimacy on cars.

“But for the personal computing movement, there would be no Apple.”

Activists have also mobilized against technological innovation. The deaf community’s response to cochlear implants is a good example. The implants can enable many deaf children to hear – but protests by deaf community activists cast the invention as an attack on their group’s identity.

Finding the best strategy for changing group identity can be tough: Do you try first to change beliefs and hope behavior change will follow? Or do you try to change behavior and hope the changed behavior will lead to changed beliefs? Kurt Lewin and other theorists believe groups change in a “three-step process”:

  1. “Unfreezing” the status quo.
  2. Lifting collective practice to a “new level.”
  3. “Refreezing” shared practice on the higher plane to prevent regression.
“The challenge for activists is to arouse to action individuals who are usually busy, distracted, uninvolved or apparently powerless.”

The “hot cause” and “cool mobilization” metaphors resolve the dilemma and help activists negotiate the challenges of the three-step process. “Hot causes” – such as the cochlear implant’s threat to the deaf community – stir people up and energize them to act. They instill passionate feelings, such as “pride or anger,” and the heat unfreezes the group identity. Then, by modeling “new behaviors” and giving people “new experiences,” cool mobilizations change the group and refreeze behavior at a new level. Hot causes and cool mobilizations create “communities of feeling” that enable groups to forge a new collective identity. Group members don’t just think about change; they experience it and learn new information. Successful movements alternate between hot and cool tools.

The Locomobile

In the 1990s, American auto makers tried to introduce electric cars. They had governmental support, at least in some areas: California “virtually ordered” the industry to produce electric cars. However, the electric car was a failure. Consumers resisted adopting it. The auto makers had forgotten the lessons they should have learned from the success of the gasoline-powered car at the turn of the 20th century. Initially, the car represented a radical change in transportation. It was so new that people used many different terms to refer to the invention, which represented their clashing understandings. They called it a “locomobile,” “electric buggy,” “horseless carriage” and “quadricycle.” One inventor expressed his skepticism about gas- and steam-powered cars, saying, “You can’t get people to sit on an explosion.” Some people who opposed the new vehicles even resorted to violence and shot out drivers’ tires. Municipalities imposed legal restrictions on cars.

“Market rebels enable and constrain radical business innovation in markets and, therefore, represent a potential opportunity and threat for organizations.”

Irrespective of these actions, the auto industry flourished – but not due to its own efforts. Instead, driving enthusiasts formed car clubs. They sponsored races, to show that gas-powered cars were faster than alternatives such as steam. They held reliability contests, which helped dispel worries that the machines were unsafe or defective. Distinguishing cars from horse-drawn carriages became a hot cause; the races and contests were cool mobilizations. Together, they established new cultural standards, conceptual categories and vocabularies. Only then could Henry Ford begin producing cars on the assembly line. The activists came first; the market followed.

The History of Beer in America

The beer industry followed a different path, with several stages of community involvement and market variations. In the 19th century, many Germans immigrated to the U.S. Beer drinking was part of their culture, and, by the 1880s, they had founded more than 4,000 breweries. They faced opposition from the temperance movement. As early as 1846, one activist persuaded more than 40,000 people in Maine to sign a petition against drinking, and new laws made founding breweries difficult. The movement lost steam during the Civil War, but revived afterward. It framed drinking as a loss of independence and drunkenness as akin to slavery. When World War I broke out, drinking beer became associated with German culture, and people smeared it as anti-American. The result was national Prohibition, passed in 1920. Many breweries went out of business; only those that began to produce nonalcoholic beverages survived.

“The renaissance of microbrewing was fueled by a social movement populated by beer lovers and enthusiasts – evange-ale-ists.”

After the U.S. repealed Prohibition in 1933, breweries flourished again. Over time, a few brewers cornered more and more of the market until, by 1980, the top five brewers held 75% of the market. However, a countermovement was already underway by that time. President Jimmy Carter legalized home brewing in 1979. Beer enthusiasts formed clubs, educated one another and shared information about how to make beer that tasted better than the mass produced product. By 1982, the first brew pub marked the emergence of microbrewing.

“As a motor of collective action, social movements differ from fads and fashions in that they are organized efforts to reorganize a social field and result in enduring social change.”

Microbrewers pitched their production as a “revolt” against “Big Beer,” challenging not only its taste but also its advertising claims, rhetoric and even business model. Their success led Big Beer to create pseudo microbrew beers using “contract brewing.” This movement intentionally blurred market categories with limited production runs and unique tastes, but in the same large production facilities it had always used. The home and microbrew movements should not have succeeded; Big Beer had already cornered the market, and it had economies of scale on its side. However, through creating alternative identities and “artisanal organizations,” the microbrewers made space in the market for their products.

Nouvelle Cuisine

Before the French Revolution in 1789, France’s nobility engaged in public displays of fine dining and success. Cooks were essentially functionaries in wealthy households. After the revolution, however, dining became “more egalitarian,” and chefs became part of the market economy. As the field opened, chefs and writers systematized their discipline. Auguste Escoffier was the final voice of this movement. In 1897, he instituted a radical innovation: he printed menus that specified the order in which the restaurant would serve each element of the meal. This imposed a system of cooking and presentation that was a fundamental change from the prior practice of placing all the food on the table at once and allowing patrons to choose among the dishes. This new system was so influential that it lasted more than 70 years.

“Social movements arise when there is a political opportunity, available mobilization structures and frames that articulate grievances and proffer solutions.”

Then, during 1960s, waves of change moved through France, culminating in the student and worker revolts of May 1968. In accordance with the tenor of the times, a group of young French chefs made “freedom from Escoffier” into a hot cause. Their strategy illuminates the way innovation spreads through creative industries, which differ from others. In the arts, the level of technology does not determine productivity; rather that depends on the skill of the artist. What’s more, the arts have “networks of cooperative production,” in which artists and producers work together to maintain conventions and determine which modes of production are appropriate.

“New technologies can only thrive when they possess legitimacy – when they are unquestioned by consumers, financiers, employees and governmental authorities.”

The French chefs’ cool mobilization was to use “fresh, exotic ingredients” and to position themselves as artists and innovators rather than as “technicians” who simply followed predetermined patterns. Like the student rebels, the chefs who developed “nouvelle cuisine” were seeking freedom and autonomy. Whereas classic cuisine had codified cooking, nouvelle cuisine broke the rules and borrowed ingredients from other cultures. Chefs built new knowledge in their field. Many of the chefs who led the movement were already established, an example of how the mainstream copies would-be rebels.

Activist Shareholders

“Shareholder activism” dates back to the late 1940s. Between then and the 1980s, occasional nuisance cases seized public attention. However, in the 1990s the practice gathered steam, as more individuals invested in the market and corporate takeovers and abuses roused them to take action. Activists’ most common cool mobilizations are antimanagement resolutions. Although they usually don’t get much support and rarely change organizational policy, they serve as “symbolic protests.” “Vote-no campaigns,” which mobilize shareholders not to vote for any of the candidates on the board’s slate, demonstrate a lack of faith in the corporate officers and reframe the disputed issues. Corporations often have to appoint officers to deal with these kinds of protests. As the activists gain a place in the conversation, they are able to reshape how the corporations use their power.

The Case of Wal-Mart

Communities began clashing with chain stores in the U.S. as early as the 1920s. Opponents took out ads and aired their grievances against the stores on the radio. They built on these rhetorical attacks by trying to pass state laws to restrict chain-store expansion, arguing against the sameness of the chains and endorsing investment in local uniqueness. When groups of local stores tried to organize, they faced challenges. Getting small store owners even to contact one another, much less work together, was difficult – a problem the chains didn’t face.

“Much of the impact of social movements on social change comes via their impact on organizational policy and practice.”

The attacks had mixed success. Some laws were passed, but the courts struck many down for inconsistency. The economic impact of the chains was also mixed. Small stores limited worker advancement. In the 1930s, the chains proved their value by helping farmers who faced crises due to overproduction.

“Causes that lack heat fly below the radar – they do not arouse intense emotions or mobilize public opinion.”

Consolidation again defined the American retail marketplace during the 1990s. Opponents saw it as threatening local cultures and the small businesses that served them. Wal-Mart provides a fine example both of the expansion of chain stores and the resistance they faced. In 1993, Greenfield, Massachusetts, approved Wal-Mart’s proposal to rezone land in preparation for building a large store. When residents learned of this, they formed several groups who opposed the move. While their rhetoric emphasized “small-town quality of life,” they also shrewdly used Wal-Mart’s own research against it to demonstrate that the store would damage the local economy.

Biotech in Germany

Germany was an early entrant in the biotechnology field. It had a national “biotechnology development plan” in place as early as 1972. In 1981, it expanded the plan and built three new institutes that focused on genetic engineering. However, 10 years later, many German pharmaceutical plants lay idle. Companies delayed building new facilities. Even though German investment was continuing to pour into biotechnology, 75% of it was going to foreign companies, especially in the U.S.

“A key element in packaging hot causes is exploiting unexpected events and issues that crystallize grievances.”

The German antibiotechnology movement was not a unified movement with a sharply defined focus. Instead, it consisted of about 60 allied groups, each opposed to different aspects of biotechnology. The coalition succeeded because of the way it “interacted with the internal processes of the pharmaceutical firms.” First, it made a hot cause of the risks of biotechnology, linking the innovations to Nazi crimes against humanity and warning that scientists might produce “Frankensteins” through their experiments. Religious leaders expressed concern over the prenatal genetic screening that the European Human Genome Project, supported by the German government, offered. They argued screening would lead to more abortions.

“The challenge for managers is to stop thinking like bureaucrats and to start thinking like insurgents.”

Public protests then functioned as cool mobilizations to create new identities. Activists took advantage of corporate regulations that allowed stockholders to speak at company meetings by buying single shares in biotech companies, then voicing their concerns at meetings. They protested at large facilities where they were likely to get media attention. They also took indirect routes to get their message heard, such as spreading antibiotechnology messages in public schools. They used emotional pleas to move their audiences. Eventually, because of the antibiotech climate, corporate decision makers switched to work in other fields or moved their production facilities overseas.

About the Author

Hayagreeva Rao teaches in Stanford’s Graduate School of Business.

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Market Rebels

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How Activists Make or Break Radical Innovations

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