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Sex Sells...why we can all learn

By Amy Kean | head of futures

August 28, 2014 | 6 min read

One of my favourite ‘media world’ stories is from a colleague – let's call him Simon.

“Simon” was asked by a client ten years ago to prepare a report on porn. The client worked for a mainstream brand, but there was method in their madness.

Whilst everyone was still getting their heads around 'the web', the porn industry was embracing and succeeding in an emerging and innovative mode of content delivery.

New and effective revenue streams, catering for niche communities and user generated content…in fact with any new technology – the rise of tablets, 3D printing, even AI and robotics – you can be pretty sure that sex is going to lead the way.

This is largely because this industry (and I'm talking about the soft stuff, guys – nothing gross and illegal) understands people very well – emotionally, psychically, mentally and financially.

The sex industry responds accordingly (maybe better than any other) by looking at the way people think, their desires, the length of content they're after and how they want it delivered. We could learn a thing or two from the way it approaches innovation - understanding what consumers want and need, related to your product, and then giving it to them aplenty.

But this isn't just about sex, it's about feelings, emotion and what makes human beings tick. From a marketing perspective, a number of brands could do well to understand our natural urges, in the same way the porn industry does. Nobody wants to watch that 10 minute video about the history of your brand, because to be totally honest, it's boring.

That doesn't mean everyone should start creating crass content, it means we need to better grasp how brands can meet our basic Neanderthal behaviours and needs that existed a million years ago and still exist today. A study recently released by Havas Media Labs on the mobile and social usage of young people found that these two merging media now sit at the forefront of their natural, instinctive behaviours.

Think about apps like WhatsApp, Snapchat and Tinder – 52 per cent of UK 16-24 year olds have engaged in dialogue with a stranger on one of these apps. More surprisingly (to me, anyway) 36 per cent of this same demographic have sent a photo of themselves to a stranger via one of these social mobile platforms.

It seems the excitement, the thrill of the unknown, the feeling of being globally and locally connected and the celebration of self that goes on through these apps is a big thing driving the next generation. However, rather than proclaiming the next generation as a bunch of perverts, maybe we should just assume, that based on our survey, this is now a genuinely mainstream behaviour. Just like, I suppose, sexual relations are.

Eat24 – a US food delivery company - made a very big deal out of the fact that it got higher conversion rates on porn sites than any other online platform, thus combining two of our basic human needs. We need to think about giving consumers more excitement and playing to their 'nature'.

Playboy, for example, has hit that perfect balance for over 60 years, catering to human desires yet maintaining substance (my boyfriend says "the articles are GREAT!") It knows how to generate a reaction from the public and play the commercial game (although its line of stationery and tween clothing range will always be a bit of a question mark in my opinion.)

And if you look at its target consumer in calling cards across the decades, since its 1953 launch, he's described as, well, pretty much every kind of man.

Recently, I was lucky enough to be introduced to an exciting start-up called Strange Thoughts. An unusual workforce (boasting a magician, robotics experts and choreographer), pride themselves on using technology to understand the most basic and personal human feelings and sensations.

They then create branded experiences around them – for example a beer pump that's activated by your brain waves and pours when you need a drink – perfectly tapping into an innate human need.

Encouragingly, emotion marketing is on the rise and neuroscience is being talked about more and more in the marketing world. I’d like to think this signals a step-change in catering to our audience's needs with more understanding, in ways that other industries have always done.

I'm talking about Charmin creating an app that helps you find the nearest toilet, KillSwitch untagging and hiding everything from your Facebook newsfeed featuring your ex and this VW ad of people laughing. That's it…just laughing.

My colleague “Simon” spent a socially acceptable amount of time on the desk research, got friends involved for second opinions and a lot of fun was had putting together a report that was extremely well received. It entertained those involved, so much so, that they're still talking about it ten years later and hey, he's still loyal to the brand.

Because as the Bloodhound Gang once so eloquently explained: "You and me baby ain't nothing but mammals". Human beings are all very similar, being psychologically and physically stimulated by very simple things.

Technology – mobile and social in particular – can help us get to those things far quicker, and as marketers we should remember this if we want to generate feeling and emotion in our consumers. If Millennials want excitement and don't just want to be delivered pictures of raindrops and roses and whiskers on kittens, then maybe we should use their favourite media to oblige. Clearly the porn industry has nailed it, so why can't we?

Amy Kean is head of futures at Havas Media and has previously featured as part of The Drum's Girl Guides series, aimed at championing senior female business leaders and encouraging young girls to opt for digital as a career.

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