by Chris Denson
Let’s face it; smokers aren’t going anywhere. Yes, we complain when they get too to close our personal space. Yes, we uninvitingly warn them of the harmful and dangerous side effects. We even force them to eat and drink outdoors – rain, sleet, or snow – like a familiar stray dog; giving them a place of refuge, but not a place of comfort. We joke with our non-smoking friends about their bad breath, and their nicotine scented apparel and skin. We do all this and more, yet in the end smokers stand tall, and united – and offer us a great lesson on the powers of community and choice. Here are a few reasons we should thank them for smoking.
1.) Give Us Your Huddled Masses. Chicago, Illinois. Dead of winter. Exterior office building. Lunch break. Five smokers stand perfectly arranged in a geometric formation that keeps the cold out, and the carcinogens in. Although the warmth only lasts for 5-7 puffs, it’s a much needed and well-deserved piece of heaven for this group. Before the day is done, this will have been their routine several times. What have they done? They’ve built community. They’ve found a group with common interests. They’ve developed a routine within their community. As the seasons come and go, they will have built a very strong bond. They will have learned so much about each other; from family issues, to career development, senses of humor, likes, dislikes, even their weekly rotation of work clothes. All brought together by a few frowned upon fiery sticks of nicotine. As brands and marketers, we need to find that same common ground on which to build an unbreakable community bond with our end consumers. We all have at the core, a centerpiece principal that people will come to know and trust, either by habit, utility, or genuine admiration. They want a lot of it, and we need to give a little bit at a time, with brief yet powerful communal engagements. The more we engage our audiences interests and embrace them as they are, the more they will give their time, energy and interest back to us.
2.) Freedom Of Choice. Scorn them as we might, they just won’t quit. My mom has smoked since as long as I can remember. As a kid, I tried shaming her into quitting. As I got older, I tried using scientific fact. She survived a bout with breast cancer, and was back on the sticks no sooner than she was free from the hospital Jell-o. When I became a parent, I used the baby as a bargaining chip. All for nil. She’s grown and she was a grown up when I met her. If there’s one thing audiences have now more than ever, it’s the power of choice. They choose how they watch TV, how they view programming on the internet, who their real life friends are, who their cyber friends are, if they watch commercials (and which ones they watch), whether they get their news at the stand or on their mobile phone, and yes, whether they want a cigarette or not. They hold the cards, and they hold them ever so tightly. Too often, we as marketers try to dangle carrots to lead them in the direction we want. In today’s marketplace, we have to play their game. Go where they are, offer them the types of experiences they like, become their fans and cheer on their successes – all with our own messaging gently added for flare. Too much, and they know they’re being sold something. Too little, and we miss the boat entirely. The right balance, then we find ourselves at the forefront of their decision-making process everytime.
3.) Strike A Match, Strike A Conversation. Smoking is probably the one social arena in which everybody’s a buddy. People who have never even met one another are often willing to offer a helping hand. Need a cigarette? Bum one off a stranger. Need a light? Somebody’s got a flame in your face before you’ve finished checking your pockets. Need a place for your ashes? Someone’s got his/her hands cupped. The next thing you know, there’s a conversation taking place and these people are off to the new-buddy races. That initial recognition of “Hey, you’re just like me!” is the impulse reaction that we as brands and media creators are constantly striving for. The spark that lights the flame and burns feverishly throughout our consumer base. We need to showcase unique points of discovery that instantaneously engage newcomers and long-term constituents alike. Strike the match… strike the conversation… gain a new friend.
4.) Go Ahead, Blow Smoke In My Face. Nothing bothers non-smokers more than to “suffer” through a smoker’s enjoyment. Often times, this is when the non-smoker is forced to think about his/her inner well-being. “Will I develop health problems?” “Will I smell like smoke?” “Can I help get more laws passed?” “Where else could/should I be right now?” “Is this guy really that much of a jerk, or am I just being sensitive?” Hopefully, if the smoker really isn’t being a jerk, he might be considering his own internal questions at that moment as well. Ironically, this is the exact type of introspective realignment we as consumers and marketers go through on a daily basis. Each encounter with fans and non fans alike should involve a continual process of checks and balances. Is this the best approach? What could we be doing more of? Is this really what I need? What could we be doing less of? How does our audience perceive us? How do we perceive our audience? Are we harming ourselves or our relationships in our approaches? The more we ask (and answer), the more we become sure of our the strength of our products and practices.
5.) To Quit, Or Not To Quit. Truth be told, the healthy smoker is fearless. That fearlessness is admirable. He is a rebel. He is steadfast and confident. He stares science and society in the face, boldly breaking all of their rules. Because as we know, in the end, we all die. No doubt about it. And the smoker is unafraid. There are 90-year-olds who still smoke like hams at Hickory Farms. There are 30-year-olds with incurable cancers. Either way, at some point, we will all have run our course either naturally or by our own hand. No matter how good of a run you’ve had it, the tides shift, and the times change. In the same vain, the marketplace is flooded with change. There is always risk involved in being at the cutting edge of brand strategy. Especially in today’s digitally focused, fast paced, infotainment filled consumer world, audiences are constantly being bombarded with opportunities to engage elsewhere – and they will. The only question is, will we be wherever it is they go? Will we know when to stop and change gears? Will we make sure that we offer them what is they’re looking for? And when the tides come, will we be as fearless and steadfast as our smoked friends, embracing risk with a keen sense of adventure? For marketers and brands in today’s marketplace, it takes an intuitive and innovative, free-flowing approach to adapt and shift with whatever consequence or reward that comes our way.
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