Is The Mask Issue Making You Mad?

Masks.

Angry?

We can learn a lot about how we should apply behavioural science to marketing campaigns from the huge damage it's done over this issue.

I don't need to know whether you support wearing masks at all times or hate the idea to know that a good few of those reading this will be at least a little annoyed about some aspect of this issue.

And it's a clear warning to brands and marketers that excessive use of behavioural science (cynical jumping on bandwagons, use of tricks to 'adjust' how people see your brand/campaigns etc) to manipulate your customers might yield short term results but can lead to disaster.

You have to trust your audience to make sensible decisions based on real evidence. You can't tell them one day that masks are useless/just a tool to make you feel better (as Fauci implied in March)...

Then a few short weeks later pivot to a new manipulative message "my mask saves you, not myself" - which is designed to make you a selfish ass if you don't wear a mask - and expect there to be no frustration/cynicism.

The people who buy into the message are angry at all the supposed selfish asses. And the people who think they're being manipulated are angry at everyone spouting the slogan and it actually turns them off the idea of wearing a mask further.

I remember at the start of the pandemic we had the WHO, CDC, UK Government and indeed lots around the world, saying masks were useless to the public. Behavioural science was used by some as a justification for taking a side during uncertainty as it would stop mass buying and protect supplies for medical professionals.

Now that risk has passed and the public needs to be manipulated the other way, in the face of some evidence that it might be handy if people wore them, the new slogan was busted out and they're now compulsory on public transport as a minimum in most places and widely in others.

If masks are useful now, and people should be wearing them, then sadly lives will be lost as a result of this blunder.

All because instead of presenting evidence and reasons to the public, the reasons and evidence were kept to the behavioural scientists and government advisors.

An attempt was made to 'perfectly manipulate' the public into not wearing them at the beginning when supplies might run short, and wearing them now when they are deemed likely to help slow the spread.

People point to the planned manipulation and evidence of it as a reason not to comply. Some right thinking people are confused and uncertain as to what the evidence actually is. Lots of people are digging in and angry at the other side.

Manipulating people to buy what you want, and see your brand the way you want them to does work in the short term (hospitals didn't run out of masks because of panic buying, though there were worldwide shortages for other reasons) - but trying to overdo it and maintain that over a long period with conflicting and opposite messages and behaviour will fail.

Brands that are trying to align themselves with social justice and a fairer society are pulling that off right now, while the focus is on 'cancelling' their less compliant rivals.

But with many of those same firms hypocritically surviving on horrific working conditions abroad, bribes, corruption, proxy slavery and environmental damage done far away enough that nobody 'at home' notices, one has to wonder how much damage will be done in the long term when their cynicism and manipulation comes to light.

I don't blame the scientists here, I want to be clear about that. Just as some companies have asked their experts and ad agencies 'how do we look good (despite all our obvious failings) in this social justice wave' and received campaigns back, governments asked 'how do we make sure there isn't panic buying of masks' and received the answers they wanted.

The problem is the leaders were asking the wrong questions. Those firms should ask how do we actually become fairer businesses, and turn that challenge over to their operations team, not ask how do we appear to be one and turn it over to marketing and behavioural science.

And governments back in spring should have asked how do we be honest with people that we need them not to buy up medical masks right now while we struggle to ramp up production.