Oct. 22, 2009 at 12:44pm

Think before you bash

Posted by Kacie McKinney in Strategic Communications
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Bank-bashing ads. Smart move?

Psychologist Maya Bourdeau’s How We Influence Series brings an interesting perspective. (If you’re in the Seattle area, King County Chapter of Credit Unions is hosting a webinar Oct. 27).

Reinforcing “the norm”
We use small cues to determine “normal” behavior.

We’ve all stayed in hotel rooms with the signs that say “Save our Planet – reuse your towel.” Some were put to the test.

People that viewed this sign were 26% more likely to reuse their towels:“The majority of guests at this hotel reuse their towels.”

People that viewed this sign were 33% more likely to reuse their towels:“The majority of guests who stayed in this room reused their towels.”

Seeing what’s “normal,” especially when it applies more directly to us, makes us more influenced to participate in an activity.

So what?
Bourdeau stresses that when ads discuss how awful it is to go to banks, people are reminded of the social norm that people go to banks. It doesn’t work to tell people that social norms are wrong. We are wired to follow them.

Bourdeau suggests: “When positioning credit unions against banks, never attack directly - that will rebound. Instead, you could ask potential members, ‘Do you believe the latest judgments made against Bank X for overcharging their customers?’”

Besides, what’s the difference anyway? The average person still doesn’t know what the difference is. CUs can tell people over and over again that their bank sucks, but they have to understand the alternative.

Credit unions need to focus energy on educating how they are different rather than how horrible the other guys are.

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