One thing is for certain, no one will be able to talk social media strategy again, without referring to the massive blip created by the folks at Invisible Children. But what exactly did we learn? That Photoshop is now an essential element for unlocking emotions? Without the slick faux 3D layers, would the images of children and conflict feel as real and in need of immediate action? Do the saturated jungle scenes and sweaty Kony snapshots evoke a greater sense of immediacy and evil? That in this fast paced attention scan, the "How it looks" of the message trumps the "what is being said?"
Eye candy aside, the simple mechanism of turning guilt from ignorance into a simple serotonin click strikes at the core of the fauxtivisms appeal. Moralising and politics of aid aside, the fact is though that Invisible Children got a lot of things right. They connected the dots of our collective connected conversations and brought their message to consciousness at unprecedented speed. It struck just the right emotional balance between disgust and accessibility, to make promotion seem socially right. The mix of celebrity, an aspirational currency that kids are well familiar with, and a limited time offer is potent stuff.
The fact that their message did not stand up to scrutiny is only a minor hindrance. Pretty soon someone will crack it. My expectation is that only two things need to be fixed:
1. The outcome will focus on a positive (integrate kids with real solutions), rather than a negative (remove Kony)
2. The clicks will translate into a mechanism for real impact. Awareness is not enough. The business model behind this could be exciting. Not quite Ecosia but something similar.
With $5million in donations from just 48 hours Invisible Children almost met their entire budget for the previous year. How much did Facebook and Google make from the 40-70 million plus clicks and views?
The next Kony will anticipate the whole awareness cycle and incorporate the mechanisms of resistance into their marketing planning.
