REFOCUSING THE GOAL TO BUILD EFFICIENT AND LASTING COMMUNICATION CAMPAIGNS
October 2022
These days I am watching the Colacao Foundation TV commercial framed within its school program SOMOS ÚNICO@ (WE ARE UNIQUE). A delicious (and useful) self-affirmation exercise that helps (not only children) understand the POWER we all have to change our thoughts and thus create new life experiences.
The combination of sentences, music and images gives goosebumps (the “skinmeter” as a friend of mine says) because it touches a very deep and sensitive issue: IDENTITY, the I, the I AM… WHO I AM is in my opinion one of the great questions that for centuries we have asked ourselves, both individually and collectively, in all areas of society. As a matter of fact, the quest for identity is constantly present in art, philosophy, business, science, religion, spirituality, government…
The emotional impact makes this communication campaign successful in the short term. However, to be efficient and leave a lasting impression it would be beneficial to refocus the goal and hone the message.
Video credits and source: Colacao . Idilia Foods. youtube channel.
EQUALLY UNIQUE: THE WOUND OF IDENTITY
Identity is a big topic, VERY BIG…. Bigger than we are yet able to understand. And it has so many levels… But what we can know and see is when our identity is wounded because it manifests in multiple ways: abuse and desire to conquer are some them.
In one way or other we all have wounds in our “I”. We spend many resources, time and energy trying to “be” different, instead of wanting to know who we truly are; I want to be different than the others, different from what “I am” now… if I offer a product or service, I want it to be different and better than the rest… if I sing, I want my voice to be different, if I write, I want my stories to be different….
In the business world, for example, there are many wounded identities whose roots are so deep that they unconsciously block the doors to new and brighter pathways. In fact, differentiation, kew engine of many positioning and marketing strategies, is a way to compensate for this invisible pain.
A wounded identity leads us to build relationships based on competition and conflict; a conflict that starts with the most important relationship of all: the one we have with our own self, according to who we “think” we are.
As we evolve towards unity consciousness we are able to understand the paradox: we are all equally unique. In essence we are ONE, expressing ourselves individually. There is no need to “become” something or someone, we already ARE. Relationships based on this unity through diversity are able to transcend conflict and rivalry and give way to cooperation and harmony.
REPEAT WITH ME: I AM ENOUGH, YOU ARE ENOUGH
Words are powerful. They are the tip of the arrow where we direct our energy and actions.
Ghandi said it this way:
Watch your thoughts, they become your words. Watch your words, they become your actions. Watch your actions, they become your habits. Watch your habits, they become your values. Watch your values, they become your destiny.
This Colacao Campaign ends with the following message «join the “ I AM UNIQUE” - STOP BULLYING”. In which direction is this arrow pointing? What is the focus of its attention? Paradoxically to the bullying, the abuse; the energy it wants to eradicate. By law of attraction, we perpetuate that situation we focus on. So far from “stopping” it we are keeping it alive with our thoughts and words.
Any goal expressed through the idea of avoiding, rejecting, stopping… something or someone keeps us in the illusion (and the language) of separation. We know what we want but our words say and focus towards the opposite. This message therefore directs us to a defensive and combative attitude so we can “beat” the other, and it moves us away from compassion, the energy that allows us to understand that we all have wounds.
If we want to build efficient and lasting messages so that this abuse energy loses strength, it is important to open our heart and include the “other” in our gaze. A new and higher goal can give both opposites, the bully and the abused, a common direction to go. In the case of this campaign, redirecting the goal to cultivating a healthy self-esteem would activate actions with better results on the long term.
Healthy self-esteem begins with I AM ENOUGH, YOU ARE ENOUGH. And even though it does not heal all the wounds, it is a good starting point to release the abuse energies.
One step forward in communication is to become aware of the language we use and to look for an impact beyond the “emotional” and the quantifiable. We want messages with the power to transform and to initiate efficient actions; communication from the heart, knowing that we are planting small seeds that will bear fruit in due time, even if we ourselves do not see (and do not take credit for) the results. As this greek proverb goes: a society grows great when wise men and women plant trees whose shade they know they shall never seat.