CHAPTER 1

What Is a Movement?

AND WHY SHOULD IT MATTER TO YOUR COMPANY?

It began with a couple of celebrity deaths: first the soul singer BarryWhite, then the comic actor John Ritter. Both died of heart attacks, and in eachcase, the death led to the predictable media cycle of nostalgic film clips andfond farewells. That should have been the end of it, but it wasn't.

In the weeks that followed, friends and relatives of White and Ritter began tomake high-profile public appearances, talking about something called CVD. Theletters stood for cardiovascular disease, but in much of the ensuing publicdiscussion, which circulated through the broadcast media, on the Internet, andgradually on the street, only the acronym was used, stirring intrigue amongthose who began to tune in to this rising chatter. What was this CVD? And whydid people seem to be so agitated about it?

Those who joined the growing grassroots conversation—and hundreds ofthousands did, in the spring and summer of 2004—learned that CVD waskilling people faster than guns, cancer, and AIDS combined, and that this enemywas wreaking particular havoc on the baby-boom generation. Therefore, it was upto the boomers to confront this scourge—by coming together and fightingthe good fight, just as they did back in the 1960s. Seemingly overnight, amovement with its own manifesto sprang into existence. There were T-shirts,impromptu rallies, and organized concerts. There was a website with a millionhits. And while the movement had no apparent leader, it did have a name: theBoomer Coalition.

The Boomer Coalition became front-page news for a time, attracted celebrities,and spread like wildfire before, inevitably, it gradually started to losemomentum. But along the way, it managed to achieve what any cultural movementworth the name strives to do: it brought about change. In this case, change tookthe form of dramatically heightened public awareness of the risks ofcardiovascular diseases and the steps that can be taken to minimize that risk.The Boomer Coalition shifted the cultural dialogue in a way that persisted longafter the rallies were over and the T-shirts were gone.

When popular movements or uprisings such as the Boomer Coalition occur—andthey are occurring more and more frequently in today's tech-empowered, social-networkedsociety—the root sources of the movement can be the subject ofconsiderable scholarly debate. What were the societal conditions and pressuresthat set the stage for this groundswell? Who or what lit the first spark? Andwhen did it all reach the Gladwellian tipping point? The answers are usuallycomplicated, unclear, and subject to interpretation. However, this isn't true inthe case of The Boomer Coalition. If you want to know what lit that spark, theanswer is simple: I did.

This was in the early days of my marketing agency named StrawberryFrog, and atthe time one of my clients was a maverick marketer named Kipp Kreutzberg at thelarge pharmaceutical company Pfizer. Pfizer had a number of drugs on the marketrelated to cardiovascular health, and the company needed to do somethinginnovative to wake up baby boomers to the risk of heart attacks. It could havetaken the usual course: run commercials about heart disease that most peoplewould tune out. Instead, I suggested that it carefully build, from the groundup, a movement based around the theme of boomers fighting heart disease.

The plan was to approach a few high-profile people who'd been affected by theissue (starting with the relatives of White and Ritter) to help get the publicconversation started, then create platforms where people could come together tofocus on this cause, including a website, rock concerts, viral films, and streetevents—anything and everything that could foster the groundswell. Myagency had done this type of initiative for a number of other clients with verysuccessful results, but Pfizer, a pretty conservative company by nature, wasnervous about some of it. The plan required that the company keep its own nameout of the spotlight, at least in the early stages. It also required that itditch the rules of advertising and give up control of the message to the public.And after sparking the movement, Pfizer would have to just stand back and seewhat might happen.

What happened was a highly successful awareness campaign that engaged millionsof boomers, doctors, and pharma employees. It surprised Pfizer, but notStrawberryFrog; we'd seen this strategy work for companies ranging fromshoemakers to car manufacturers, from retailers and banks to cable televisionnetworks. This is why, over the past decade, we've become convinced that"movement marketing" is the new way forward for anyone who is trying to sellproducts, earn customer loyalty, influence public opinion, solve socialproblems, and, quite possibly, change the world.

WHAT DO MOVEMENTS HAVE TO DO WITH BUSINESS?

Throughout history, popular movements have given us many of our cherishedfreedoms, our finest heroes, and our basic human rights—so what do theyhave to do with the crass and superficial business of selling stuff? And whatmakes anyone think that he or she can plan and calculate something asspontaneous and authentic as a movement? And lastly, what makes movements soimportant at this particular moment in time?

To begin with the last question, while it's true that people have been startingmovements for a very long time, a profound change is underway right now. It iseasier than ever before for people to band together around a shared idea, goal,or passion—and they are doing so every day. As we'll see in this book,people are coming together to rebuild communities, rescue animals, reinvent thepolitical process, get rid of front lawns, introduce new ways of teaching kids,create new housing for seniors, go barefoot, go naked, dress up as eighteenth-century figures—these days, if you can think of a cause or a passion oreven just a pastime, chances are you'll find a group of people who care enoughabout it to have formed a movement (see Figure 1-1).

The current movement mania is being fueled by several factors, the most obviousone being technology. The Internet, and in particular the rise of social media,has made it easy to find and connect with like-minded souls. And that sametechnology makes it possible for a group, once formed, to organize, plan, andtake action.

But there are other social factors at work, too: while people today are moreconnected in one sense, they're also more disconnected—from theirneighbors and from some of the traditional community gatherings of yesteryear(from the Elks Club to Tupperware parties) that used to provide social hubs.Movements are becoming the new gathering points.

At the same time, movements are offering a means of finding reassurance andpurpose in a world that has become increasingly unsettling. "In times ofturbulence, anything that gives people a sense of meaning tends to grow,"says Bob Johansen, one of the directors of the Institute for the Future thinktank. "Movements have a strong meaning component to them—it's whatattracts people to them in the first place. And so as the world gets more andmore volatile and complicated in the years ahead, we can expect movements tobecome increasingly important."

YOU DON'T HAVE TO OVERTHROW A GOVERNMENT TO BE PART OF A MOVEMENT

We all have some sense of what a movement is. However, many people may associatethat word with big, world-changing social phenomena: the women's suffragemovement or the civil rights movement. Along with these important socialmovements, there have been groundbreaking cultural movements that tend to beassociated with the arts and ways of thinking, such as the Renaissance or, morenarrowly, Italian Neorealism. Then, too, many great religions grew and spread asmovements. And today, throughout the Middle East and beyond, we see a wave ofindependence movements that are shaking and sometimes breaking the existinggeopolitical foundations.

All of the movements just mentioned can be thought of as "movements with acapital M," because what we're talking about in these cases is truly important,history-making stuff. And there's definitely a place for some discussion ofthese capital-M movements in the pages ahead; there are fascinating dynamics inand lessons to be learned from everything from the uprising in Egypt to thecurrent Tea Party and Occupy Wall Street movements in the United States.

But through much of the book, you'll find a focus on movements that may seemmore modest in scope and of far less historical significance. These "movementswith a small m" may involve, say, a group of passionate activists, creativetypes, or even rabid consumers of a particular product. When these people bandtogether around a shared passion or idea and try to turn it into somethingbigger and more significant, they're not necessarily trying to change history orto change the world as we know it. They're just trying to change the world (orsome small part of it) as they know it.

If you break it down to a four-point quadrant, movements can range from small tobig, and from personal to societal (see Figure 1-2).

The upper right-hand quadrant of this chart (large/societal) would includeeverything from the civil rights movement in the 1960s to the Middle East today.But quite a few of the movements you'll read about in this book started out inthe lower left quadrant (small/personal). And I think they represent somethingquite interesting, particularly from the standpoint of marketers or anybody elsewho is trying to exert cultural influence, because while the really earthshakingsocial movements in the upper right quadrant are probably too big, too volatile,and ultimately too important to even think about in marketing terms, thosesmaller, everyday movements are more accessible and sometimes in need ofjump-starting or nurturing. There are countless opportunities for companies toconnect with these movements with a small m—or possibly even to launch amodest movement of their own.

PASSION: THE ONLY PREREQUISITE

The point is that it isn't necessary for something to be earthshaking to qualifyas a movement. It can be a phenomenon that affects a limited group of people.And it doesn't have to be righteous or profound—it could involverelatively mundane matters like what people are eating or whether they'rechoosing to live in communes. And although I'll be using the term culturalmovements throughout the book, this doesn't mean that a movement has to beabout high culture or art. What I'm talking about are the shared behaviors,attitudes, styles, influences, and beliefs that surround us—the "culture"we're living in at this moment in time. Art is part of that culture, of course,but so are a million other, less lofty things, from what we're watching on TV towhat we're obsessing about on Twitter at any given time. The culture we live inis subject to constant change, and one big agent of that change is movements.When they're successful, movements tend to shift the dialogue and add somethingnew and dynamic to the cultural ecosystem that we all share.

There are hundreds, perhaps thousands, of movements small and large happeningall around us. As far as I'm aware, there are no available statistics trackingthe actual growth in the number of movements, but it's clear that thisphenomenon has exploded in the past few years. In the pages ahead, we'll seeexamples that range far and wide: movements about people expressing theircreativity through craftwork, joining together to take on a problem (such ascancer or crime), or finding new ways to live together (the co-housing movement)or work together (the co-working movement).

The growth of movements has been fueled by new technology that makes it easierfor members of a movement to find one another and coordinate their activities.But the role of technology in movements (which we'll examine more closely inChapter 4) is secondary to what really drives the growth and success ofany movement: passion. Whether a movement is large or small, or whether itscentral idea is profound or playful, for a movement to actually take wing,people must feel strongly enough about something to want to take some type ofcollective action—to actually move on that idea together, usually with thegoal of bringing about some level of change.

In his book Tribes, the author and marketing guru Seth Godindescribes a movement as "an idea that spreads with passion through acommunity." While I don't necessarily think Godin's word tribe is quiteright for describing the people who belong to movements (in many ways movementsare not tribal at all, because they actually tend to be heterogeneous,democratically run, and open to anyone who wants to join), I do think Godin hashit the nail on the head when it comes to the importance of passion. It ispassion that transforms an idea into a movement. It's what makes people want totalk about and share that particular idea. What's more, it inspires people towant to expend tremendous amounts of energy, often without compensation, onbehalf of the cause.

Passion enables movements to grow and, ultimately, to have a significant impacton the culture. We're seeing now that movements that begin humbly at agrassroots level can have ramifications that extend to the highest levels ofpower. For example, politicians seeking office nowadays increasingly need tospark movements, or to find a way to align with existing ones, in order to beelected. In American politics, movement mania—starting with the 2008popular surge that carried Barack Obama to the presidency, and continuing withthe subsequent Tea Party movement that sprang up in opposition to some ofObama's policies and positions—is already firmly entrenched.

Meanwhile, community leaders seeking to implement new programs may need thestrength and passion of movements to get traction and bring about change.Nonprofits, education reformers, indie rock bands, and innovators of almost anykind are apt to find that new ideas and approaches have a much better chance ofbecoming reality if they're carried on the shoulders of some kind of popularmovement. Basically, anyone whose objective is to persuade people to dosomething must now begin to come to terms with an emerging truth: persuading theindividual is often best achieved by influencing the group that surrounds theindividual.

A NEW BUSINESS MODEL: "MOVEMENT MARKETING"

This fundamental shift will have—indeed, is alreadyhaving—particular impact on the world of business. For the better part ofa century, business has relied on a marketing model focused on persuadingindividuals to buy products or services. But the dirty little secret (which isnot so secret anymore) is that all those expensive plugs for "new and improved"offerings are falling upon deaf ears. No one's listening to you, especially ifyou're talking about your product.

But we are listening to one another, and we do care about lots of things(other than your product): cleaning up the environment, reinventing ourselves,underground rock, solving social problems, scrapbooking, eating healthy, andcountless other passions that are forming the basis of movements small andlarge. The best chance for today's would-be persuaders is to ditch the salespitch and start trying to figure out what people care about and how to be partof that conversation.

Right now, some of the most established companies in the world (Procter & Gambleand PepsiCo among them) are starting to come to terms with this change. This iswhy those companies, in spite of their size and their longtime investment in theconventional 30-second TV spot marketing model, have now begun to make thetransition to movement marketing. They are recognizing that in the "postproductera" of today and tomorrow, the smartest marketing will not be about "whiterwhites" or "rack-and-pinion steering." It will be about connecting with societyon ideas and issues that actually matter to people. And in trying to achievethat aim, the movement will be the medium, serving as the ideal channelto carry and spread a message that is authentic and compelling.

The challenge for these companies—or for entrepreneurs, politicians, andchange makers of all types who want to tap into the growing power ofmovements—is figuring out how to align themselves with existing movementsor, better yet, how to spark new ones. Having studied and tried to influencemovements for years, I can attest that it is a delicate science, and one that isfraught with risk.

Given that movements are fueled by human passion, they're not something to betrifled with or taken lightly. Generally speaking, members of a movement arehungry for meaning and authenticity, which tends to put movements at odds withsuperficiality and commercialism. Moreover, marketers should know that movementsare about "insiders" and "outsiders," and if you're an outsider trying to cozyup to a movement, you may be seen as the worst kind of outsider: a possibleinfiltrator.

But that doesn't mean you have to remain on the sidelines, watching the movementmarch past you. It is possible for an outsider to become an insider, to become atrusted and valued member of the community—if you're willing to earn thattrust and prove that value. In the chapters ahead, we'll look at some of thecritical steps (such as the five basic ones shown in Figure 1-3) thatare required to build a movement from the ground up.

We'll look inside a number of today's most dynamic and successful culturalmovements—some of them in the business world, some in the social realm,and some in between—to see why people start movements, what gives thoseinitiatives momentum and keeps them going, and, most important, what it is thatmovements want and need from you. A connection to a movement can be the bestthing that ever happened to your company or your brand (even if you're a brandof one). And in the best of circumstances, you can do much more than be part ofa movement—you can actually become a movement yourself.

WHY PEOPLE HAVE ALWAYS BEEN DRAWN TO MOVEMENTS

While the movement phenomenon is growing, it's certainly not new. The instinctto band together in groups is hardwired in all of us. From earliest times,humans' propensity to gather and work together to achieve a common purpose orgoal was critical to our survival and our advancement as a species. And it's noless critical in today's world, where we depend on peers, collaborators, andfellow members of our "tribe" to help us keep up with constant change, increasedcomplexity, and seemingly endless choices and challenges.

But until fairly recently, forming large groups was not an easy thing to do, andturning a group into something that could actually be called a movement washarder still. To be organized enough to be able to take collective actionrequired group members to be able to overcome barriers of separation and thecomplexities of trying to communicate and organize. People had to find placesand opportunities to come together and efficient ways to disseminateinformation.

(Continues...)