FADS Marketing: Influencing trends and changing behavior

Just like it says on the back cover of the book – FADS rise quickly, burn hot and fall out. They influence your behavior and decisions related to food, alcohol, drugs, and sex. But with data tracking and artificial intelligence crawling into every part of our lives, those same FADS have become a vehicle for changing your mind, in ways you never thought possible.

Why should you care about the FADS?

You won’t like hearing this, but you’re easily manipulated. ALL humans are easily manipulated. It might take one or two tries, but eventually, I’m going to capture you in data sets and subsets that bring the big brands dollar bills. As we become desensitized to the noise, brands have reworked how to capture our attention.

That’s how FADS become relevant in a technology-enabled environment. They burn so hot because messaging is so frequent, focused and targeted. We eat it up and there’s always more and more.

They know what we want – and we want it bad.

Brands make decisions based on your internet searches, your purchases, and even when you don’t buy – they’re watching, they’re analyzing, and they’re running after you to remind you in ad spaces all over the internet that you had that one thing in your cart – and it’s on sale now! How helpful!

And when you buy, it’s not over. They look at how long it took you to buy, what content triggered your purchase, and you just taught them how to sell you that next thing. By understanding how it all works, we can be aware of how we’re all being targeted.

Changing your behavior – permanently

Marketers and consultants like me eat, sleep, and breathe the kind of information that helps them influence your very thoughts, decisions, and actions. In the FADS Marketing book I give you the information you need to understand how the FADS work, how we’re using your data to shape the world we all live in.

It’s not enough anymore for brands to change your perception of them, or their products. We know your attention is short, and so we work to develop strategies and campaigns that speak to the core of who you are, changing your behavior and making sure that you can’t live without the things we’re selling. Sure, you might have your panties in a bunch over privacy issues today, but we know by the end of the day tomorrow, a shiny new campaign will distract you again and get you clicking on our new offering. You can’t help it. And we know it.

Data-driven marketing reaches the middle path

Marketing exists to sell stuff to people, but the best possible way to do that is to know what you want to begin with (or hell… how about modifying their behavior to make you want it?!). Artificial intelligence is that bridge between consumer need and marketer desire, connecting both on a mutually beneficial middle path. But, as I detail in the book, there are some nasty side effects.

So what do we do about FADS? Can we avoid them?

Oh my sweet summer child, unless you unplug completely they can’t be avoided. But, there are some things you can do to be an informed participant. In fact, if you tune in to how your data is being used, you can manipulate it right back. Making smart choices, considering the dangers before handing off your data on silly internet quizzes, and using privacy-focused search engines can help. But you can’t stop it. It’s far too late for that.