(extract from the forthcoming book, Decoding Communications)
A person is said to be popular when that person is perceived
as attractive or pleasant, and is widely liked. Popularity is used as a proxy
for the publics’ estimate of one’s perceived social rank, and it builds from
aspects discussed earlier, like self-worth, self-confidence and achievement.
Brands, people, companies, children, even animals, actively seek social
inclusion or popularity, and a ‘higher’ social rank.
The importance of
Popularity is reinforced in early childhood, especially in school, where
Popularity means implicit inclusion. The other benefits of being popular are
also quite evident which include friends, liking, positive reinforcement,
building self-confidence. The lack of popularity brings the pain of social
exclusion, and being subject to social-meanness or relational aggression, seen
most in children who many times tend to be cruel without realizing it (and also
in several adults who display aggressive social behavior).
When enough people have a strong positive attraction
towards a Brand, it gains ‘Popularity’. A Brand’s memetic acceptance by a
significant many, makes it Popular. However, Popularity, this social rank
accorded by the audience, keeps changing as it is constantly being re-evaluated.
Small wrong actions or even inaction (where action was expected) can diminish Popularity
significantly. The key to building Popularity lies in appropriately creating
and communicating the Brand Appeal, the intrinsic attraction-quotient that
every Brand processes.
(to know more on such subjects, please follow this blog)
No comments:
Post a Comment