Do good, feel good
- Tue, May 29 2007
- Filed under: Marketing essentials
That’s the motto of Network for Good, and yet another article suggests it’s more than a slogan. The Washington Post references a 2006 NIH (National Institutes of Health) experiment found that when people placed the interests of others before their own, including donating money, they activated an area of the brain usually stimulated by food or sex. You may have read about the experiment before. The article says additional studies at NIH are finding the brain appears to be hard-wired for morality, and empathy is something found even in rats - though not in psychopaths.
I’m flagging this research because it reminds me again the importance of communicating to the emotional circuits of our audience’s brain, not just cognitive side. Do your brochures, home pages, PSAs, etc. trigger the emotional zone?
There’s been plenty of debate on this blog about emotion vs. cognition. I think you need to cover both bases, but the emotional is the most important content to put front and center, always. People are hard-wired to care, so don’t be afraid to connect with them. You must. (And I don’t agree we should ask donors to park their personal opinions at the door - it’s making our world view a prerequisite to action, which is futile and disrespectful.)
This is what I mean. (I saw this campaign on the fabulous blog, Houtlust, which I’ll be talking about a lot this week.)
Comments
As a quick note, I don’t think your interpretation of my post on The GiveWell Blog is fair (either in your comment there or your post here). I don’t say that personal values don’t matter (in fact the post explicitly says they do). I just think too many donors start their decision by eliminating all charities that don’t fit their personal values exactly, rather than trading off two things that are both important: personalization and impact.
Thanks Holden - I guess I’m still not clear on how personal interest and impact are mutually exclusive. I think personal priorities should be honored in giving. Where perhaps we do agree is that it’s always a good idea for donors to do their homework on whether their nonprofit is addressing their personal issue effectively. I’m glad you’re trying to make that easier to do.
I think you continue to not to read me generously/correctly. Again: I do not think that personal interest and impact are mutually exclusive and I’m not aware of having suggested this at any point.
Thanks Holden - I guess I’m still not clear on how personal interest and impact are mutually exclusive.