"Preparedness doesn't sell."

Posted by: Blast

"Preparedness doesn't sell." - 02/01/10 10:55 PM

I just got off the phone with the programing director for one of Houston's main "activist" radio stations. We were discussing broadcasting public service announcements for my upcoming classes in Edible Wild Plants and also Practical Emergency Preparedness at the Houston Arboretum. She hated the idea of an emergency preparedness class. According to her "preparedness doesn't sell" and it makes a lousy presentation/class. In her thirty years of radio she has come to the conclusion that people DO NOT want to be reminded that things can go wrong. They do not want their illusion of safety ruined. She admitted she was without power for five days after hurricane Ike, had a miserable time and didn't know what to do...but she's not interested in learning what to do for next time!! Nor does she think anyone else wants to learn, either.

It boggles my mind...

-Blast, understanding Doug Ritter's pain a bit more
Posted by: comms

Re: "Preparedness doesn't sell." - 02/01/10 11:14 PM

I think she is right that people don't like being reminded that things go wrong. Thats not a reason to stop talking. Good grief. It all comes down to delivery.

Sell Benefits/Results and it makes more sense. Instead of saying, "If you don't buy a generator you will be without power if yours goes out." While true, people look at it like Chicken Little. When delivered as, "Those that physically, psychologically and emotionally did the best after XYZ event where those that were able to meet the needs of their family for food and warmth...from a generator." blah blah blah.

Screw her, I'd go to em.
Posted by: benjammin

Re: "Preparedness doesn't sell." - 02/01/10 11:21 PM

I am reminded of the ostrich with his/her head in the sand...it knows the lion is going to eat it, it just doesn't want to see it coming.
Posted by: ironraven

Re: "Preparedness doesn't sell." - 02/01/10 11:28 PM

It might not sell, but it certainly saves!

Lets face it, she's probably right. But if it gets you ten attendees, so be it. She didn't say no, right? If she did, let it be known that she decided that people don't need or want to stay alive when you are talking to her rivals.

Posted by: Nicodemus

Re: "Preparedness doesn't sell." - 02/02/10 01:41 AM

Preparedness doesn't sell...

Someone needs to tell Les Stroud, Bear Grylls and all of the folks producing the disaster preparedness shows on Discovery and Nat Geo. I Survivied this, survivng that... Yeah, no one wants to be reminded that disasters happen.

Perhaps she doesn't know how to sell it or maybe you could attack it from a different angle that she thinks she could sell.

And I didn't intend that to sound so snarky. laugh
Posted by: Blast

Re: "Preparedness doesn't sell." - 02/02/10 02:03 AM

What really bothers me is the radio station contacted me about doing free public service announcements for my edible wild plant classes. They consider that a green thing and wanted to push it. I figured the emergency preps class would serve even a wider audience but the lady hated the idea. The preparedness class is already set up at the same place I do my plant classes, all I wanted was for the radio station to promote it like they wanted to do with the plant class.

Oh well.
-Blast

Posted by: hikermor

Re: "Preparedness doesn't sell." - 02/02/10 02:26 AM

The local public TV station in Los Angeles, KCET, regularly shows an earthquake preparedness program that lasts two hours, I believe. It is a standard during their fund drives, so it must "sell" to some degree

Many people out here learn to pay some attention to preparedness.
Posted by: hikermor

Re: "Preparedness doesn't sell." - 02/02/10 02:32 AM

One other thing. Around here the cable companies haqve "public access" channel. These often feature announcements of events and classes for all kinds of things. Usually the consist of a static screen that is displayed for about 15-20 seconds or so. Something like that in the Houston area might net all the students you could handle.
Posted by: ki4buc

Re: "Preparedness doesn't sell." - 02/02/10 03:19 AM

People tend to shy away from things negative, or negative people. Since Emergency Management is all about negativity (well, what we prepare for), people will not see it as positive, until it's too late.

So, you might try spinning it to be positive. I remember a generator company showing commercials in Florida after the Hurricanes of 2004, showing a family being "comfortable and having fun" in their house with their trusty generator. I think there were some specs about how long the fuel would last, but they made the behemoth look like it belonged in the yard and was the source of the family's enjoyment.

Maybe you can try the infomercial approach? "Are you tired of your elderly family members freezing up in their beds? Thirsty as hell but not a drop to drink from the taps? Tired of electronic entertainment that doesn't function when the electricity is out? Introducing the FEMA approved 72 hour disaster kit. Includes water, gloves, pry bar, blanket and MORE! If you call within the next 15 minutes, we'll throw in a Pocket Survival Pak by Doug Ritter for FREE! That's a $30 value!"
Posted by: clarktx

Re: "Preparedness doesn't sell." - 02/02/10 03:40 AM

I love the irony. Its only an extra 6 words. "edible plant class *followed by an emergency preparedness seminar*"

I guess she doesn't read any popular magazines, which are inundated with the topic.
Posted by: wildman800

Re: "Preparedness doesn't sell." - 02/02/10 05:01 AM

From the "Book of Bo - Vol II":

The strangest animals on the plant all get around primarily on two legs!
Posted by: LED

Re: "Preparedness doesn't sell." - 02/02/10 05:52 AM

Preparedness doesn't sell, but fear does. Call it "foraging after the apocalypse" or something like "surviving doomsday" and that should work. The trick is to make people panic about some vague, dangerous, dystopia. And emphasise that by taking your class, YOU will teach them skills they need to stay alive. Too dramatic?
Posted by: Susan

Re: "Preparedness doesn't sell." - 02/02/10 07:29 AM

I think she's out of touch with what is going on these days. Preparedness is much bigger now than it was a few years ago, esp with the combination of economic problems and natural disasters.

Sell it through your wild edibles class. Word of mouth is still the best recommendation -- always has been, and always will be.

OTOH, remember the young woman in NYC who was asked after the power outage if she intended on making any changes in her life to prepare for a similar episode? Her response: "But if you prepare for things like that, well, it's like admitting it could happen again."

Sue
Posted by: Lono

Re: "Preparedness doesn't sell." - 02/02/10 03:08 PM

Don't blame the program director, 'blame' the millions of years of evolution behind her amygdalae, they are what are dictating her disaster response for her. Throughtout time our brains are telling us the best path to an abundant, fear-free future, free of starvation and risk and danger, and reminders that sudden disasters occur conflict with that message, and there's a hard urge to push it away (denial). Of course she resists the message, so does her audience. So do most politicians. Neuroscience is a couple levels above my pay grade, but its interesting the things they are learning about how our brains actually work. Some folks are working on getting disaster messages through despite resistance, usually it comes as a wild plant class or wilderness first aid. "Wax on, wax off" - was that really about buffing the man's car?

Never underestimate the power of denial.
Posted by: nursemike

Re: "Preparedness doesn't sell." - 02/02/10 06:04 PM

Maybe a green spin on disaster preparedness would work:
Water storage spun as rainwater conservation through collection/storage of roof runoff. Backup electricity spun as collection/storage of solar energy through photovoltaics. Food storage as a shift down the food chain to grains and legumes and bulk purchase/storage thereof. You could make a green case against charcoal grilling due to the petroleum cost of charcoal production, suggesting substitution of scavenged branches as a heat source-weave in carrying a knife so that a fuzz stick could be used for ignition, rather than petrochemical starter fluid. You could have people looking and living like Jeremiah Johnson without ever mentioning disaster preparedness.
Then we rebrand "Equipped to Survive" as "Ecology Tending and Sustaining" preserving the acronym, and rename the DR personal survival kit to become the DR habitat preservation kit. The knives could become the DR aboriginal environmental tools....
Posted by: Blast

Re: "Preparedness doesn't sell." - 02/02/10 07:09 PM

Originally Posted By: nursemike
Maybe a green spin on disaster preparedness would work:
Water storage spun as rainwater conservation through collection/storage of roof runoff. Backup electricity spun as collection/storage of solar energy through photovoltaics. Food storage as a shift down the food chain to grains and legumes and bulk purchase/storage thereof. You could make a green case against charcoal grilling due to the petroleum cost of charcoal production, suggesting substitution of scavenged branches as a heat source-weave in carrying a knife so that a fuzz stick could be used for ignition, rather than petrochemical starter fluid. You could have people looking and living like Jeremiah Johnson without ever mentioning disaster preparedness.
Then we rebrand "Equipped to Survive" as "Ecology Tending and Sustaining" preserving the acronym, and rename the DR personal survival kit to become the DR habitat preservation kit. The knives could become the DR aboriginal environmental tools....


The problem with that approach is it would be a misrepresentation of the class. What's funny is I'm also involved in the Houston Transition program which is trying to convert Houston into a self-sustaining city on many levels. Most of the people involved in this are Green/AGW/Peak Oil people and they want me to teach the emergency prep class. It really just seems to be this one lady blocking the path. I've choosen to pity her rather than continue to be angry at her. Pity is a much more satisfying emotion. smirk

-Blast
Posted by: airballrad

Re: "Preparedness doesn't sell." - 02/02/10 07:49 PM

You could always find a hook for it... Make it more appealing to the target audience, and then switch it up. Like being ready for zombies or something.







...Nah, that would never fly. wink
Posted by: nursemike

Re: "Preparedness doesn't sell." - 02/02/10 11:02 PM

Originally Posted By: Blast


The problem with that approach is it would be a misrepresentation of the class.

-Blast


First of all, you have to abandon any negative feelings you have to "misrepresentation". Re branding, positive spin, emphasis of neglected features all have a more positive connotation, and these are things that have made our country great. ETS folk are all devoted to the preservation of Gaea, and strive consistently to fit into the natural order (as it exists, or as modified by TEOTWAWKI) in a fashion that precludes being frozen, broiled, crushed, dehydrated, starved or eaten by something bigger. Those ecology kits that DR has constructed for aviators are designed to permit the fallen pilot to establish a green and symbiotic presence at the crash site, rather than to damage the natural balance by dis-harmoniously putrefying among the wreckage.
Posted by: Roarmeister

Re: "Preparedness doesn't sell." - 02/03/10 12:09 AM

Did you tell the part that "prepared" people have more sex? And more often? laugh

Whether or not that's true - my point is, sex sells and is the easiest way to spice up any marketing campaign. Just talking about it adds a bit of spice and perhaps lightens the mood. Perhaps "preparedness" is just too serious of a topic? A little bit of irrelevance and/or comedy can make a boring topic meaningful to some people.
Posted by: Susan

Re: "Preparedness doesn't sell." - 02/03/10 03:28 AM

"According to her "preparedness doesn't sell" ... In her thirty years of radio she has come to the conclusion that people DO NOT want to be reminded that things can go wrong. They do not want their illusion of safety ruined."

And she wants to perpetuate that. Nice.

Talk to her competition?

Sue
Posted by: Todd W

Re: "Preparedness doesn't sell." - 02/03/10 06:03 AM

"How to Survive"
"What the radio lady doesn't think you need to know" wink

COMING SOON!
Posted by: Compugeek

Re: "Preparedness doesn't sell." - 02/03/10 02:16 PM

Originally Posted By: Blast
What really bothers me is the radio station contacted me about doing free public service announcements for my edible wild plant classes. They consider that a green thing and wanted to push it. I figured the emergency preps class would serve even a wider audience but the lady hated the idea. The preparedness class is already set up at the same place I do my plant classes, all I wanted was for the radio station to promote it like they wanted to do with the plant class.

Oh well.
-Blast



Of course, YOU mention it during the wild foods class, yes?
Posted by: Blast

Re: "Preparedness doesn't sell." - 02/04/10 01:28 AM

Originally Posted By: Compugeek

Of course, YOU mention it during the wild foods class, yes?


Yep, I shout it from the rooftops.
-Blast
Posted by: benjammin

Re: "Preparedness doesn't sell." - 02/04/10 02:29 PM

"Talk to her competition?"

NPR has no competition.
Posted by: Blast

Re: "Preparedness doesn't sell." - 02/04/10 02:53 PM

Originally Posted By: benjammin
"Talk to her competition?"

NPR has no competition.


Not NPR, it was the local affiliate of Pacifica Radio: Radio for Peace.

-Blast
Posted by: JBMat

Re: "Preparedness doesn't sell." - 02/04/10 03:10 PM

Of course Blast - we should all join hands in one big circle, pledging friendship, peace and love while we all sing "kumbya" and drink the kool aid. Anyone who doesn't think that all problems, be they national, religious, personal, financial, environmental, psychological, medical, extra-terrestrial... can be solved through rational and logical discussions...why they are just plain wrong.

I don't know for the life of me what is wrong with you "survival people"!!! (exclamation points mean I am very upset) You all prepare for stuff that the government will provide and can handle in an extremely proficient and expedient manner. Now just simmer down and quit rocking the boat. Don't worry about the weather, the economy, the state of the union, the various wars... there are professionals like a former president/house builder who have the experience to bring all these people to the table and solve all the problems.

Just sing along with the remake of "We are the World" and everything will be ok. Nothing will ever go wrong, but if it does... pshaw, who needs to think about that? Let's all sing "Don't worry, be Happy next".

ok.../sarcasm off... we now return you to your regularly schedualed forum.
Posted by: benjammin

Re: "Preparedness doesn't sell." - 02/04/10 05:54 PM

"Dude!"
Posted by: DesertFox

Re: "Preparedness doesn't sell." - 02/04/10 07:56 PM

Maybe you could sell the "adventure" aspect. Seems that what Bear and Les do.
Posted by: UncleGoo

Re: "Preparedness doesn't sell." - 02/04/10 09:07 PM

Originally Posted By: DesertFox
Maybe you could sell the "adventure" aspect. Seems that what Bear and Les do.


Probably best to NOT push the brackish enema bit, even if you DO own a raft... grin
Posted by: hikermor

Re: "Preparedness doesn't sell." - 02/05/10 12:17 AM

Originally Posted By: DesertFox
Maybe you could sell the "adventure" aspect. Seems that what Bear and Les do.


Bear is absolutely ludicrous; Stroud is better. I was pleasantly surprised to watch a Weather Channel series called "Weatherproof" which had a surprisingly sane, albeit elementary, section on cold weather survival. It didn't hurt at all that the principal was a Weather Channel lady who was, uh..what's the word?....weatherly!
Posted by: Yoda117

Re: "Preparedness doesn't sell." - 02/14/10 04:32 PM

Sorry to do this wih my first post, but the reaction is the same as encountered in most security circles (particularly within information security). Since it doesn't directly contribute totheir bottom lines, it's not seen as being important.

Since the radio station appeals to the "green" crowd, the info regarding edible plants will sell, and they know that. The rest of the stuff doesn't have as large of an audience, so it's not as interesting to them.

Bruce Schneiner has a great term for this. Risk threshold.

If someone's risk threshold is more tolerant of being stuck without power for a few days, then they're not going to care about emergency preparedness. It doesn't affect their world view. However, someone for whom the possibility of losing basic services does affect their view will be more apt to take action to reduce their susceptiblity to such an event.

It sucks, but that's how it works, so you need to find and tap I to that risk threshold in order to get their attention, then to show them how whatever it is that you're doing will help to mitigate the threat.
Posted by: nursemike

Re: "Preparedness doesn't sell." - 02/16/10 05:35 PM

Originally Posted By: NightHiker
It's all about marketing,

There's an audience that will naturally gravitate toward your product and they're the ones who will find it no matter how well it's hidden.

Then there's the others who don't realize they need it, in order to bring it to their attention you may have to spin it so that they find it appealing/intriguing.


Terrifyingly true. Marketing has convinced lots of folks that planned obsolescence is a good thing, that bottled water is a sensible purchase, and, perhaps, that some nalgene bottles are poisonous, and that medicines and sterile supplies lose potency and sterility over time. Governments market fear to their citizens to keep them loyal, big pharma markets drugs to consumers rather than to the doctors who prescribe them; If Blast and DR were less scrupulous, they could choose to market their products in ways that pander to the popular taste, and acquire a much larger audience. That they do not choose to do so is a tribute to their integrity.
Posted by: ILBob

Re: "Preparedness doesn't sell." - 02/18/10 09:39 PM

My first post.

I think she is mostly just wrong. The current economic, military, terrorist and political situation seems to have led a lot of people who would otherwise not care all that much into at least thinking about raising their level of preparedness.

It was not all that long ago it was difficult to buy a firearm just because everyone wanted one. Ammo is still in short supply, and the sales of other preparedness supplies from knives to camping gear to MREs are above recent historical levels. Its not because a lot of people suddenly decided to go camping instead of to Disney World, although no doubt the situation the world is in probably has curtailed some Disney trips.

The situation is unsettling and at least some people decided to take at least some steps to protect themselves.
Posted by: Susan

Re: "Preparedness doesn't sell." - 02/19/10 06:21 AM

Hello, Bob!

Yes, the very same thought occurred to me. I think there are more people interested than she thinks, and I think she's letting her own personal feelings/fears color her decision.

Blast knows what he's talking about.

Sue
Posted by: texican

Re: "Preparedness doesn't sell." - 02/21/10 04:41 PM

So long as the roads leading north, east, and west, out of the Houston Metroplex area are still standing, who need's preparedness??? (Being facetious) I think quite a few folks realize the earliest birds to leave might actually make it out of town. Have some friends and relatives that turned around and went home, during Hurricane Rita... as the freeways were unnavigable.

Actually I think quite a few Houstonians would be interested... unfortunately, it might be hard connecting up the folks that 'would' be interested.
Posted by: Blast

Re: "Preparedness doesn't sell." - 02/22/10 03:19 PM

Welcome to the fire, Texican!

During Saturday's wild edibles class I mentioned my upcoming practical preparedness class...and then spent the next half hour answering student's questions about that rather than edible plants! Most of them said they'd be interested in taking it, though we'll see how many actually sign up.

People are losing their blinders and there's a lot of fear out there...which hopefully I can tap into for fame and fortune! whistle

Which leads to another post...
-Blast
Posted by: clarktx

Re: "Preparedness doesn't sell." - 02/23/10 08:03 PM

I'm really happy to hear the "end result" about how the people actually DID want to hear about it, and that the "gatekeeper of the information Mrs. radio lady" was completely wrong.

We see this again and again, where the "gatekeepers of information" choose unwisely mad

Thanks for the update on that. It made me feel very smug smile not that thats a good thing, but I think most of you know what I mean!
Posted by: Blast

Re: "Preparedness doesn't sell." - 03/05/10 02:46 AM

So it is appearing the lady was right. At this point only one person has registered for the class and this is after Houston REI stores also started promoting it.

I'm seriously considering stopping knocking myself out preparing for this class and have some fun instead...or at least get some sleep. Three hours of shut-eye a night just isn't cutting it anymore.
frown frown frown
-Blast, worn out and frustrated
Posted by: Susan

Re: "Preparedness doesn't sell." - 03/05/10 05:25 AM

There's a chance that it's a matter of timing. What with the Haitian quake, the Chilean quake, and all the snow or rain that most of the U.S. has received lately, maybe people are just 'disastered out' for a while.

Sue
Posted by: comms

Re: "Preparedness doesn't sell." - 03/05/10 03:21 PM

I enjoy REI classes. I tend to hit one a month or so. Depends on how many they recycle.
Posted by: jmd4x4

Re: "Preparedness doesn't sell." - 03/08/10 05:43 PM

Knowing that station, I can beleive what she said. You might want to try 740am station. You might have a better responce from the station. I think it has to do the target audiance the station is focused on. This is just my 2 cent.

later
jmd
Posted by: jayawk

Re: "Preparedness doesn't sell." - 03/13/10 02:03 PM

i'm the one person who signed up for the class (weeks ago). i got a call last week from the arboretum saying sorry, but due to lack of interest the class was cancelled. so color me officially pissed.

is there ANY possibility the class may be held another time/another place???
Posted by: Blast

Re: "Preparedness doesn't sell." - 03/14/10 02:21 AM

There's a Unitarian church in The Woodlands that asked me to put the class on for them. I'm also thinking of running it out at the urban farm.

Oh, and welcome back!

-Blast