Make it Sticky
Posted: May 19, 2008
The corn ethanol industry may need to take some cues from the opposition.
Think about it. Why is it that a totally baseless argument that “the amount of grain needed to make enough ethanol to fill a 25-gallon SUV tank would feed a child for a year” has stuck like an urban legend and continues to be quoted in news reports? Because it paints a picture and provides an easy frame of reference for people. Who cares if it’s completely wrong and/or irrelevant, it sounds good and people can easily remember it.
USDA’s chief economist Joe Glauber and Ag Secretary Ed Schafer certainly had the right intention during this morning’s press conference loaded down with statistics and power points, but there was not a good 30 second sound bite to be had there, so chances are it will be completely forgotten. Every darn thing they said was absolutely correct and backed up with research and facts, but who cares if no one can remember it?
It’s like Missouri Corn Growers Association president Mike Geske says, “We have fully proved our case. Yet the misinformation, misrepresentation, and urban myths keep getting repeated over and over and over.” (see previous post by Ken)
At the recent National Agri-Marketing Association annual meeting, one of the general session speakers was Dan Heath, co-author of “Made to Stick – Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die.” Maybe we should all get a copy of this and read it and implement some of his suggestions. Either that or shell out $300,000 for a two-month campaign with some high-powered PR agency.