To Thine Own Self Be True

Our group has been on a “marketing” kick lately. Not only have we been talking about it in meetings (see the last couple of entries) but we've also used those meeting's discussions to inform some theories we have about how trends begin among youth and children. In fact, we're smack dab in the middle of conducting our own little experiment with starting a trend. But more on that later!

Last week we passed out paper and pen and asked our youth to use the following questions to interview the person sitting beside them, then report back to the large group with what they found out about their partner.

1. Name a tv commercial or ad which made you want to buy (or do) what it was selling.

2. Name a person who does something or has something (or doesn't do or have something) who made you want what s/he does or has.

3. What sorts of people influence you most?

Across the board, our youth were heavily influenced by advertising, yet said that the people who influenced them the most were not celebrities but their peers who were the most authentic, confident, and believably unique. So, we followed up with these questions:

1. You have an image: how you feel about yourself and an idea of what people think about you. Where does this come from? Why and how does it change?

2. As people get older, they often say they don't care what people think about them as much anymore. Is that a good thing or a bad thing in your opinion?

3. Why is it so hard to know yourself and then stay true to who you are?

We ended by re-telling the famous story of the disastrous 1984 Coca-Cola formula change, when millions were spent developing and marketing a new "sweeter" version of Coke’s classic recipe. Coke wanted to appeal to perceived changes in people’s tastes and convert its primary competitor, Pepsi's, following. But it failed miserably. New Coke may have upheld Coca-Cola’s promise of refreshment and enjoyment, but it didn’t connect with Coke’s longtime customers or help Coke steal share from Pepsi. Nor were they successful in attracting new customers. If anything, the change to its product detracted from the reputation that Coca-Cola spent so many years establishing. In fact, the only thing the company succeeded in doing was alienating its longtime customers. What was inside the can with the familiar logo wasn’t what loyalists had come to expect and trust.

In conclusion, we asked each youth to reflect in silence on how they could balance who they are with what people want them to be, and then to offer aloud to the group one piece of advice they had for others struggling with that tension.

How Secure Are YOUth?

While everyone else in this country seems to be discussing whether the personal risk of undergoing a full body airport scan is worth the national security it intends to bolster, we wanted to ask our youth what “security” means to them.

We began by going around the room 2 or 3 times brainstorming the first thing the youth thought of when they heard the word “security.” We allow passing, but encourage them just to say whatever comes to mind, even if it's stupid or has already been said, so everyone gets involved.

Youth came up with words like blanket, social, safety, shelter, freedom, passwords, national, teddy bear, puppy, government, acceptance, water, roof, insurance, job, locks, seatbelts, etc.

We did the same thing with the word “insecurity” which initially proved to be harder for them, but eventually they came up with an interesting list which included words like “gay” “female” “emotional” “body” “Arizona” “sick” and some choice others.

Then we asked every youth to write on different small pieces of paper 5 things which for them were necessary for their own security. When they had finished, we told them that a unforeseeable event resulted in the loss of one of them, and made them choose one to throw away. We continued to present them with various circumstances which forced them to get rid of another, then another, and finally another so they were left with only one, and asked them to share which they had chosen to hold on to, and why.

We concluded with a discussion of the following questions:

Would you define personal security the same way as the people you live with would? Why or why not?
Describe a time when you experienced complete safety or security. What was special about this experience? What made it so safe or secure?
Describe an experience in which you felt completely unsafe. What made it so unsafe? What happened?
What does a child need most to feel secure? What would be on your top ten list?
What kinds of situations or conditions create the most insecurity for young people today?

"During the cold war, peace and security tended to be defined simply in terms of military might or the balance of terror. Today, we have a greater appreciation for the non-military sources of conflict. We know that lasting peace requires a broader vision, encompassing education and literacy, health and nutrition, human rights and fundamental freedoms. We know that we cannot be secure amidst starvation. We cannot build peace without alleviating poverty. We cannot build freedom on foundations of injustice."
- Kofi Annan, General Secretary, United Nations

What do you think about this quote?

What are some tangible things you can you do to ensure that others do not lose or are able to have access to things that are of importance to their, and by extension our, security?

Personal Branding for YOU(th)

If you work with youth, you know how important social media is to them. Recently, Sean O'Brien (our amazing co-director of all things youth) and I were looking for a more interesting way to begin a discussion with our group about what they post online. The resulting meeting was so successful that I thought I'd share it.

We began with a “name that slogan” game, just for fun: paired the group up, gave each paper and pencil, and read them 15 famous slogans. They wrote their answers then traded papers to see which pair correctly named the most brands associated with each slogan. Here are a few; many more are easily googled:

I'm lovin' it – McDonalds
Think different – Apple
Just do it – Nike
Snap Crackle Pop – Kellogg's Rice Krispies
The ultimate driving machine – BMW
The other white meat – pork

We followed up the game with a brief discussion about what brands were popular now (Uggs were still very “in” while McDonalds was decidedly “out”). We had them think then talk about how much time and effort they spent “branding” themselves, how they did it, and what image they hoped to portray to others about who they were based on the brands they purchased or steered clear of.

Then we gave each youth a large piece of paper, markers, and the following handout:

The field of leadership studies has a term, 'Impression Management' which you may also hear referred to as 'personal branding.'

Imagine you could create a billboard to advertise YOU to the whole world. What image would be on it? What would it say? How do you want to be seen by the outside world?

Consider the following questions, then draw your billboard:

What stands out about you?

What makes you different from your peers?

What's your greatest strength?

What's your most noteworthy personal trait?

What are you proud of?

What should you take credit for?

What image do you want to portray to others about who you are on the inside?

When youth finished drawing their billboards, they shared as they were willing (most had worked diligently on their billboards and were eager to take part)! We then had them turn their papers over, and told them,

“Impression Management is essentially your reputation – and often, what others say about you is more important than what you convey about yourself. On the back of your papers, add the graffiti that others have spray painted over your billboards – the stuff that others say about who you are or who they perceive you to be. True or not, this is the stuff that isn't who you want to be known to the world as.”

After graffitiing their billboards, youth once again shared. The discussion began fairly seriously: how difficult it is as a youth (when you're changing so quickly) to change others' ingrained perceptions of you; how hard it is to change your reputation if it's bad, but how easy it is to maintain your reputation if it's good (even if you do bad things); how one person can make or break your reputation with one slanderous rumor; etc.

We ran out of time and had to cut that discussion short, but in conclusion we presented the group with the following questions to consider:

You may not get to create a billboard on the side of the highway, but in what other public places are you advertising to the world who you are?

Do you use facebook, twitter, and other social media to your advantage, or to your detriment?

Do your “friends” and “followers” support the image you want to portray of yourself or do they contribute more in the way of “graffiti”?