Happy Tuesday!
Last week we talked about a major product launch and marketing initiative at McDonald’s that didn’t move the needle towards greater product sales. McDonald’s wanted to sell more milkshakes, so they asked their customers what they preferred. Different ingredients, different textures, other flavors?
Based on those answers, and the sales data they already had, McDonald’s spent heavily to reformulate, market and promote new milkshakes. But what was the “job” at least half of their milkshake buyers were trying to accomplish? Definitely not what McDonald’s originally had in mind.
Job = the progress a person is trying to make in a particular circumstance.
So let’s think about how this applies to cybersecurity advice directed at the general public.
What kind of change, what sort of progress, would a consumer or microbusiness owner want to make?
Which piece of cybersecurity advice could they “hire” to create that progress in their life or business?
What life / business changes would trigger their interest?
And how do you attract and hold their attention long enough for something good to happen?
— Anthony Collette
Founder, Loistava Information Security
What “job” would you hire this bottle of honey to do?
What sort of jobs would this product be a good fit for, packaged as it is?
At the breakfast table: you could sweeten your tea, toast or oatmeal
In the kitchen: you could improve the taste of recipes, sweet or savory
For a college kid’s dorm room: you could add to a care package to express your concern as they head off to school
These are all great uses, great “jobs,” but they’re somewhat limited. And the comfortable familiarity of the packaging doesn’t break new ground or expand the target audience for the product.
It’s possible you could re-fill this bear-themed bottle when it’s empty, but you also might be tempted to simply throw it away and buy a new one.
What if you kept the same product — high quality honey — but packaged it completely differently?
These are the award-winning designs of Wallrus Design Studio.
Wallrus describes their thinking behind this design: the distinctive hexagonal form of the glass bottle is designed to look like a beehive and is made from eco-friendly materials. The geometric precision of the honeycomb motif captivates the eye and also evokes a sense of authenticity and trust.
It’s not just about honey — it’s about appreciating nature and making choices that help our planet while making a product successful.
Once the honey has been savored and enjoyed, consumers are encouraged to repurpose the container as a storage vessel for an array of items, ranging from homemade jams to spices and dried fruits. This thoughtful approach not only adds value to the product but also promotes a sustainable lifestyle by reducing waste.
One of the most striking features of this packaging design lies in its wooden labels, each meticulously crafted to reflect the natural habitats of bees. Complementing these visuals is the inclusion of a wooden top lid, serving as a poignant reminder of the organic origins of the product and further enhancing its natural appeal.
You wouldn’t buy and use something this high-end simply to put honey on your morning toast. But now the same product — high quality honey — packaged differently, is a perfect fit for completely different “jobs”:
At a wedding: This product would make a very nice wedding gift, especially for couples with an interest in gourmet or ecologically friendly products.
At a housewarming: Know someone who’s moving into a new home? This product would make a very positive impression.
As a business gift: Packaged and positioned this way, high-quality honey becomes a suitable business gift, which has the added benefit of appealing to a business associate who thinks of themself as discerning or a bit of a connoisseur.
How to apply these ideas about framing and packaging to cybersecurity advice?
So what’s this got to do with persuading the public to care enough about cybersecurity to change what they do online?
Goal #1: Capture the public’s attention.
Goal #2: Hold the public’s attention long enough for a positive change to happen in their thinking.
Goal #3: Encourage them to change what they do online.
Example #1 — Tomatoes, One-Time Pads and The California Gold Rush
Using highly effective ads with some cheeky headlines, we engaged almost 10,000 people to read a blogpost about antique security technology. We wanted to expand the audience for this topic, so we added authentic features to the framing:
The history of tomatoes in the U.S., which was meant to provide an encouraging example to cyber folks who are discouraged by consumer behavior. In the space of 10 years — before radio, TV and the Internet — consumer perception and behavior about tomatoes radically, completely changed. This expanded the audience to people with an interest in consumer behavior or gardening.
The development of this antique security technology came directly out of the California Gold Rush. For people with an interest in gold, California or history, this additional framing caught their attention.
We talked about how Soviet spies in the U.S. in the 1940s were “60 years late to the party,” because U.S. business people were using this technology to solve banking security challenges 60 years earlier. This widened the audience to people interested in spy stories, and the new knowledge that this technology was originally invented as a banking security solution.
Example #2: DFLEKT, by UK design and prototyping firm, Duku Design
Duku sought to answer the question “How do you overcome cybercrime . . . with style?”
There’s a growing concern about criminals copying the signals from your car keyfob, commonly called a “relay hack.” To overcome this problem, some people use Faraday bags. They’ll throw their keyfob into a (usually) black, signal-proof, flexible bag when they get home. That works extremely well, because it stops your wireless car keys from emitting a signal which is then boosted by car thieves.
Thinking about typical consumers — let’s say your Aunt Linda — she probably doesn’t want some unsightly Faraday bag on her foyer table. But she wouldn’t mind stashing her keyfobs inside a beautiful product that also solves a security problem.
Duku Design developed an awesome version of a Faraday bag — except it’s round, solid and beautiful. The idea here is that consumers don’t want to be thought of as being weird or odd. But they do want to solve their problems. Why not work with human nature instead of against it?
Example #3: Cybersecurity Is A Form Of Wealth™
Is there another way to frame or describe cybersecurity that hasn’t been tried yet?
Our goal was to combine ideas into a new “package”:
Most of us are now living below the “cyber poverty line” and don’t even know it. The always awesome Wendy Nather coined this term some years ago.
Cyber savvy isn’t evenly distributed in the general public, making it rare and valuable.
Cybersecurity is a form of wealth, but it’s freely available to anyone.
We used an upscale gold and black color theme since this colorway appeals to the target audience.
This framing/packaging could prove interesting to people with a background in finance, personal investment, or readers of financial news and magazines, like the Wall Street Journal or Robb Report.
Example #4: Psycho Bunny To The Rescue
Business Insider published an interactive retelling of a fraud victim’s ordeal. We thought the piece was an awesome way to introduce people to the reality of organized crime attacking ordinary consumers through SIM swapping and physical theft of credit cards. Our goal was to make more people aware of this awesome explanation of consumer fraud.
But what sort of image can you use to catch the public’s attention? During Avery’s ordeal, Apple and other retailers weren’t helpful, but the folks at Psycho Bunny were. We used their colorful and attention-grabbing logo, which garnered much more traction than the plain text used by other people who shared this story online.
Example #5: CASTALOT® Dice To Create Modern Passwords
Our goal with this product concept was to take the best cybersecurity advice about passwords from password manager company 1Password, then turn it into a beautiful physical product. We wanted to make the point that these kinds of Modern Passwords are available with one click from your Password Manager. And that the use of physical models in learning environments has always helped learners understand unfamiliar concepts.
People really do judge a book by its cover.
Whether it’s honey or cybersecurity advice — colorful, attractive packaging makes a big difference.
It’s always valuable to know what people are thinking.
And it’s equally valuable to understand why people draw ideas or products into their lives. What “job” are they hiring the idea, advice or product to do? What sort of progress are they wanting to make?
Misunderstanding these dynamics can lead to a big flop, as McDonald’s experienced.
Looking at how typical consumers interact with cybersecurity issues, their problems staying safe online are getting measureably worse. Consumers are exhausted with cyber advice, password manager use is declining, and cyber scams against the public are exploding.
Isn’t it time we tried something else?
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Cybersecurity is a modern form of wealth, and you deserve to keep what you've earned.
Looking forward to connecting again next week.
— Anthony Collette