Persuade And Promote

A couple of weeks ago, I was listening to a podcast with Advertising and Creativity legend, John Hegarty

(I recommend his books if you haven’t read them)

He talked about how brands need to persuade AND promote

But we’ve lost the art of persuasion

Modern marketing focuses too heavily on promotion, without persuasive storytelling

It’s like he’s holding a mirror up to content in the fitness industry

We’re obsessed with promoting what we do, who we are, why we’re great

When you think about all the Instagram hacks, tactics and tricks?

They’re all promotion

It’s ‘my video is shiny, therefore I must be good - so check me out’

But there’s nothing persuasive in there

There’s nothing persuading the audience that what is underneath is any good

There’s nothing telling them that they are understood

Nothing making them think ‘This person gets it more than anyone else I’ve ever spoken to’

Persuasion requires stories, ideas and creativity

Best of luck standing out by only focusing on 50% of the equation