The concept of haunted houses and trails of terror mystifies me. What is it about humans that we want to seek out danger and fear while avoiding it at the same time? In other words, why is marketing doom and gloom so successful?
The boy in my cartoon assumes the marketing isn’t working for him. He has no interest in something suggesting a bad ending. Yet, experience suggests it’s exactly that kind of marketing that makes the most impact.
- We gravitate towards the news items with disaster footage and crime
- The headline format that states the story then adds a line like and why this should scare you, gets a lot of clicks
- We tend to demonize someone who doesn’t agree with us
Personally, I like good news stories. I want something uplifting that challenges the belief that the world is going to pot. The other kind of marketing may get a lot of attention. But thoughtful media and marketing that inspires and motivates us to be better, now that is a challenge that is well worth rising up to!
So my advice is to cast our anxieties aside and to stay away from marketing doom and gloom!
