So I was reading yesterday about the Green Giant Anti-Bullying Campaign and clapped out loud (COL).  Cause marketing is a wonderful thing so long as it doesn’t try too hard to come off as product promotion. In this case the “Raise a Giant” idea is intended to inform parents they need to educate their kids about bullying and root it out.

I’m of the mind that “education” can solve many societal ills if done correctly, but it can also be a useful marketing device.  Sy Sims famously said “And educated consumer is our best customer.”  Finding the things about which to educate consumers that predisposes them to your product is the key to successful marketing.  But teaching alone is not enough. Back to the anti-bullying example, it’s not enough to teach kids bullying is bad.  We need to give them the tools to do something about it.  Too much advertising and marketing is all teach no tool.   And in retail, a tool is not a coupon or a purchase source.  

To prove the taste of a healthy snack, a super food like Smooch Snacks for instance you need a sampling program. If super foods are supposed to taste like kale, the tool has to be about taste. If all natural cookies are typically dry as cardboard and “moisture” is part of your brand plan a la Sweet Loren’s cookies, consumers need a tool to prove moisture.

You don’t have to do everything in one ad or one digital experience, but you do need to teach and tool as part of your long term plan.  The difference between teaching and learning is often the tool.  Peace it out!