Crystallizing Public Opinion in 2023

Based on Crystallizing Public Opinion by Edward Bernays

Today we dive into the origins of modern day marketing or "public relations". Created by Edward Bernays, his body of work and client case studies showcase sophisticated and, often, manipulative public relation strategies, providing invaluable insights into current mainstream marketing practices.

By deeply understanding these initiatives of influence, we equip ourselves with a heightened awareness and tools that transcend customer engagement, evolving into new heights of profound efficacy.

Edward Bernays: The Father of Spin

Edward Bernays, often hailed as the "father of spin," holds a distinguished and, at times, controversial position in global history. Renowned for devising profoundly persuasive propaganda campaigns for a broad spectrum of organizations, from the American Tobacco Company to the United States Central Intelligence Agency, Bernays's strategic acumen didn't just amass him fame and fortune in the early 20th century. It established the foundational pillars for the contemporary marketing and advertising landscapes.

Bernays's footprint on marketing, propaganda, and public relations is irrefutable. His ingenuity gave birth to modern tactics such as celebrity endorsements, strategic product placement, and the creation of 'buzz' or hype around products or ideas. These tactics continue to play a central role in current marketing strategies. An example of his adept marketing was when he convinced women that smoking was a symbol of independence, significantly increasing cigarette sales among women.

His forward-thinking contributions to public relations have had an enduring impact, molding the core strategies employed by corporations today. With campaigns that resonate with human emotional realities and foster a sense of deep connection, Bernays transformed the landscape of consumer engagement.

Bernays was not only a tactician but also a master wordsmith. Sensing the negative connotations associated with the term "propaganda," he cleverly rebranded it as "public relations," casting a more favorable light on the art of persuasion. This was a powerful linguistic shift that further underscores his lasting influence on the field of public relations.

Lighting Up Liberty: The 'Torches of Freedom' Campaign

One of the most famous examples of Bernays' work is the "Torches of Freedom" campaign in the 1920s. Bernays was hired by the American Tobacco Company to increase cigarette sales among women. He orchestrated a publicity stunt during the Easter Parade in New York City, where a group of young women marched while smoking cigarettes as a symbol of women's liberation. This campaign successfully linked smoking with notions of independence and equality, leading to an increase in cigarette sales among women.

Bernays also worked with the American Tobacco Company to rebrand Lucky Strike cigarettes. At the time, green was considered an unlucky color for packaging. Bernays launched a campaign to associate green with fashion and elegance, positioning Lucky Strike as a fashionable choice. He organized a "Green Ball" and convinced influential fashion designers to incorporate green into their collections. This campaign successfully changed public perception, and Lucky Strike became one of the leading cigarette brands.

The Rise of Bacon: The Transformation of America's Breakfast Habits

Bernays catalyzed a remarkable upswing in bacon sales in the United States, a legacy that continues to influence breakfast tables to this day. Bernays's clever collaboration with a bacon manufacturer, culminating in a dramatic shift in the American breakfast culture. Armed with perceptive psychological insights, Bernays elevated bacon from an occasional indulgence to an indispensable breakfast staple in American homes.

Central to this campaign was a strategic move to gain the endorsement of physicians, advocating bacon as a healthy constituent of breakfast, thereby reorienting public perception. Impressively, Bernays secured the approval of a staggering 4,500 physicians for this initiative.

This case study underscores Bernays's profound influence on consumer behavior. It spotlights how an adeptly devised PR campaign can reshape societal norms and accelerate sales in unparalleled ways. Most intriguingly, the prevalence of bacon in Western breakfast menus today can be traced back directly to this transformative campaign.

Bernays, United Fruit, and the Guatemalan Coup: Orchestrating a Revolution through Propaganda

One of his most controversial campaigns was on behalf of United Fruit Company (now Chiquita Brands International) and involved the Central Intelligence Agency and the Guatemalan government.

In the early 1950s, United Fruit Company owned vast amounts of land in Guatemala, a good part of which was uncultivated. The democratically elected Guatemalan president, Jacobo árbenz, launched an agrarian reform plan that aimed to confiscate uncultivated lands from large plantations, such as those owned by United Fruit, and distribute them to landless peasants.

United Fruit, having Bernays as their PR consultant, felt threatened by these actions and sought to defend their interests. Bernays launched a public relations campaign to portray the árbenz government as communist-backed, a significant threat during the peak of Cold War tensions.

Bernays used his media connections to disseminate this narrative across American media outlets, creating fear and opposition to the árbenz government among American citizens and politicians. At the same time, he also lobbied with the U.S. government, framing the situation in Guatemala as a threat to American democracy and business interests due to the perceived advancement of communism.

The campaign was successful in influencing public opinion and U.S. foreign policy. The U.S. government, through the CIA, launched a coup d'état codenamed "Operation PBSUCCESS" in 1954. This operation resulted in the overthrow of President árbenz and the installation of a dictatorship more favorable to U.S. business interests.

This instance showcases how Bernays, through strategic communication and manipulation of public opinion, was able to reshape the political landscape of a country, serving corporate and geopolitical interests.

Additional Edwards Bernays Media

1. The Edward Bernays Reader: From Propaganda to the Engineering of Consent, the Edward Bernays Reader is a comprehensive volume of the writings of this influential and controversial figure. In addition to featuring extended excerpts from?Crystallizing Public Opinion?and?Propaganda, this book also includes the full text of Bernays’ classic 1947 essay, “The Engineering of Consent.

2. Propaganda: "Propaganda," written in 1928 by Edward Bernays, is an influential work that forms the cornerstone of public relations and modern marketing practices. The book articulates Bernays' proposition that the manipulation of public opinion is a necessary facet of democracy and outlines sophisticated techniques for influencing and shaping mass perceptions.

The book delves deep into Bernays' belief that an unseen force of trained manipulators is essential to guide the public, as he considers them incapable of making rational judgments independently. The book is a thorough examination of crowd psychology, the mechanics of propaganda, and how leaders and institutions can wield these tools to engineer consent and exert control over the masses.

3. Crystallizing Public Opinion: Edward Bernays' pioneering book, "Crystallizing Public Opinion," published in 1923, serves as one of the pioneering texts in the realm of modern public relations, solidifying him as a key figure in the field. Within the book, Bernays maps out the blueprint for a scientific approach to public relations, extensively drawing from the theories of his uncle, Sigmund Freud, to dissect the unconscious motivations steering human behavior. Arguing that understanding these psychological mechanisms is crucial for efficaciously shaping and directing public opinion, the book provides a comprehensive study of tactics and strategies for public persuasion.

Through a multitude of case studies and scenarios, it demonstrates the power of public relations campaigns to alter social attitudes and behaviors, retaining its relevance as an indispensable resource for those interested in public relations, media, and the potency of influence.

4. Century of the Self Documentary: "The Century of the Self" is a 2002 four-part documentary by Adam Curtis. It scrutinizes the significant influence of Sigmund Freud's theories, particularly through his nephew Edward Bernays, on public relations and advertising. The series illuminates how Freud's theories were harnessed to manipulate public desires, creating today's consumer culture. It suggests that governments and corporations utilized Freud's psychoanalytical concepts to comprehend and control people's subconscious desires, pivoting society towards self-fulfillment and individual desires, and igniting widespread consumerism. The documentary offers a profound critique of consumer culture and the psychological methods employed to mold it, unveiling the unseen mechanisms shaping our society.

The Future of Influence

Having traced the origins of marketing and dissected its transformative strategies, we now stand at the threshold of an unprecedented era of connectivity and immersion. With pioneering devices like Apple's Vision Pro entering the scene, we are set to embark on a journey where millions will interface with the digital world through eye-tracking technology. This approaching reality, where nuanced eye movements are intricately mapped and combined with online data, presents an unparalleled realm of influence.

The question remains: where is this path leading us, and how will it redefine our interaction with the digital sphere?

Getting Hooked: How Software Companies Ensure User Dependency

"Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products" by Nir Eyal is a revealing book that presents a unique perspective on building products that engage consumers on a deep, habitual level. Drawing from years of research, consulting, and practical experience, Eyal provides readers with the 'Hook Model,' a four-step process that companies use to build customer habits.

The book examines the secret techniques employed by successful companies like TikTok, Pinterest, and Instagram to subtly encourage customer behavior. It dives into the psychology behind why these products are so addictive and offers practical insights for those interested in driving customer engagement.

Eyal proposes that through consecutive 'hook cycles,' businesses can influence customer behavior, making their products indispensable. The Hook Model consists of a trigger, an action, a reward, and an investment. "Hooked" is a must-read for product managers, designers, marketers, and startups looking to understand consumer psychology and create products that customers cannot resist.

Apple Vision Pro and Its Profound Implications

As augmented reality technology progressively advances, offering more immersive and gripping experiences, the future of mixed reality appears to be taking shape. This sentiment is palpable in the launch of the Apple's Vision Pro. These innovative devices promise an unprecedented level of eye tracking capabilities, enabling profound engagement with software and opening the door to an array of research possibilities.

The vast wealth of information captured through eye movements will likely be harnessed for predictive machine learning applications. Such advancements could pave the way for experiences so intuitive and personalized that they feel akin to telepathy. Media companies are about to have real-time access to intricate data concerning a user's eye and facial muscle movements - an unexplored frontier till now.

This extensive user data, coupled with the continuous stream of incoming information, will equip corporations with an unparalleled level of detail about the user's perspectives and their worldview. The implications are profound. By understanding users at this granular level, companies will be able to tailor experiences and interactions with a previously inconceivable degree of personalization.

Pioneering Post-Handheld Device Interactions

Neuralink and Science inc. represent two entities envisaging a "post-device" reality, where users engage with the internet through brain implants or optical tracking devices. This path towards an implant or attachment-enabled future appears increasingly inevitable.

Both companies contend that these technological breakthroughs could prove transformative for individuals with disabilities, paralysis, or blindness, allowing them unprecedented access to digital resources. However, the prospect of a future where billions of people connect to the internet via implants can be somewhat disconcerting. The notion of "if you can't beat them, join them" can be a difficult pill to swallow, particularly when it concerns our inherent human nature.

The Science Eye, in particular, aspires to enhance human capabilities akin to Neuralink but without necessitating surgical brain implantation. Given a choice, the appeal of a non-invasive option seems more palatable, assuming the outcomes from the optical lens can match those of an implant. Indeed, justifying a brain implant could pose a significant challenge if an optical-surgical solution delivers comparable results.

It's noteworthy that the CEO of Science Eye embarked on this venture after leaving Neuralink due to philosophical disagreements with Elon Musk.

Shaping the Future of Space Exploration Through Media

In the dynamic ebb and flow of our interconnected world, a question often arises: what kind of narratives do we, as a community, want to construct about space? Space, with its uncharted vastness, unyielding mystery, and mesmerizing allure, presents the perfect canvas for us to craft riveting stories that resonate deeply within us all. Drawing inspiration from visionaries like Edward Bernays, we find ourselves at the precipice of a new era in space storytelling that engages, excites, and binds us together.

Our collective goal extends beyond merely populating screens or stores with space-themed content. Instead, we aim to intricately weave these narratives into the fabric of our daily lives, offering an immersive, personal exploration of space that is shared and cherished by all. Through leveraging a multitude of media platforms, we are equipped to craft a collective space experience that bridges the gap between the cosmos and the community.