As founder and CEO of The Joy Brigade, Shabnam Mogharabi advises people to rebel with joy.
She adopted this strategy herself, conducting research, getting brands to buy in, and executing projects in stark contrast to her journalistic beginnings where she knew that “if it bleeds, it leads,” also known as negativity sells.
Shabnam co-founded the SoulPancake studio, focused on uplifting and inspirational content, with actor Rainn Wilson. She was its CEO for almost a decade.
But she’s not Pollyanna.
“I think Pollyanna’s look on the bright side is actually detrimental to harvesting true joy, which requires understanding, feeling, and recognizing the negatives,” she says.
To spark true joy, you have to acknowledge the negative while offering a different perspective. “It works in the way you tell stories. It works in the way you write. It works in how you communicate ideas,” Shabnam explains in our interview after her well-received reception. keynote presentation at Content Marketing World.
Negativity works in marketing, but so do positive emotions
Of course, negativity isn’t limited to headlines meant to attract an audience. Clickbait headlines abound on social networks. “In reality, they don’t exploit any emotion other than fear,” says Shabnam. “While fear is a great motivator, I think love, inspiration, and joy can also be powerful motivators. »
It’s not just what she thinks; that’s what the research shows. His advocacy is rooted in the theories of positive psychology. “You can change the way your brain responds and responds to various situations – good or bad – that you find yourself in,” she says.
But fighting negativity is not an easy battle. Shabnam points out John Gottman’s researchwhich revealed that it takes 20 positive interactions to counteract one negative interaction.
It’s organic. The human brain is primed to detect dangers and potential threats. “Joy is a rebellion against the way we are wired,” she says.
Negativity is easier, but the best marketers avoid the easy way out. “THE best marketing campaigns truly capture the full spectrum of human emotions. They recognize that things are hard, that days are stressful, and that achieving greatness takes a lot of work,” she says.
Brands see the good in positivity
Shabnam shares a handful of many brands that have successfully used joy in their marketing. She worked on some campaigns through SoulPancake and admired others as a consumer.
They all share one thing: they identify a potential (or actual) problem or challenge, but turn to an insightful or “aha” moment that inspires and elevates the audience. They make people feel joy, connection, and hope – the positive emotions in the spectrum of this human experience.
Nike does it
Nike is known for tackling negative stereotypes. Shabnam shares an example from the early 2010s, when the company produced an ad showing a person running slowly down a paved road in the distance. As the runner gets closer to the camera, the viewer sees that this is a young person who weighs more than a stereotypical runner. The voiceover explains that greatness isn’t reserved for superstars; This is something that everyone can achieve.
The company continues to celebrate its commitment while recognizing the challenges, as seen in this 2024 spot — Joy —. The video, with the description “Feeling good doesn’t always feel good,” shows people sweating, grimacing, panting, smiling and crying as they run to the joyful folk tune. Joy Joy by Bob Gibson playing in the background.
Procter & Gamble sees little notice
Procter & Gamble has often shared the hard work it takes to achieve jubilation during the Olympics with campaigns like “Thank You, Mom.” This example shows the parents who get their children up in the dark of the morning, feed them, do the laundry and bring them to sports training year after year – recognizing the hard work behind the scenes that often goes unnoticed. Then, the ad shows the joy their families feel when their athletes compete in the Olympics.
Purina Backs Science-Based Benefits
At SoulPancake, Shabnam worked on a campaign for Purina, which brought the latest product to market by showcasing the science behind it.
But SoulPancake ditched benefit-focused advertising and went in an entirely different direction. The team set up a box on a street corner in Los Angeles. They asked people about their stresses in life, invited them into the box and surprised them with a basket full of kittens to play with. Afterwards, the formerly stressed people shared the positive effects of play with the kittens.
The wildly successful campaign generated billions of views and tons of influencer engagement, says Shabnam. “People really responded to it because we tapped into the emotional side of what they feel about their cats, what their cats offer them and the motivation you have to care for them, coming from a place of love and fulfillment that you get from cats,” she notes.
California Casualty offers unexpected joy
Insurance isn’t an industry that automatically makes people think “joy,” but SoulPancake changed that. She worked on a campaign with California Casualty, a provider of auto and home insurance for educators.
Five teachers were brought together to talk about the challenges of teaching. They talked about not even knowing if the kids were paying attention, lack of resources, helicopter parents, and more.
Then these teachers got a surprise. Former students came to read them thank-you letters, describing the impact the teachers had on them and reminding the teachers why they worked so hard.
Shabnam says all marketers can rebel with joy, no matter what brand they’re promoting. “Even if there are no kittens or natural joy, there is something universal that you can tap into,” she says.
Dramamine takes over with The Last Barf Bag
Dramamine is a good example. The anti-nausea drug maker celebrated its 75th anniversary in 2024 with a 13-minute documentary, The Last Barf Bag.
Although the film briefly wonders later in the documentary whether Dramamine’s debut led to the continued decline in the number of airlines providing airsickness bags, the real story centers on a small but fascinating people. vomit bag collectors. In the nine months since its debut, more than 300,000 people have viewed the video on the brand’s YouTube channel, with just 3,870 subscribers.
“Even vomit can have an interesting story, and it was brought to you by Dramamine. It was such clever marketing,” says Shabnam. “The work is to find that universal vision that you can tap into. »
Get internal buy-in
Of course, creatively tapping into the spectrum of human emotions isn’t the only ingredient to being a rebel. It will also require leadership that endorses the concepts and marketing culture this makes them possible.
Shabnam says the first step is to know how leaders view the company. Some may want to expect results next quarter; others may take a long-term view. In some cases, leaders focus first on the bottom line, while others focus on employee satisfaction. When you identify their priorities, also listen to the language they use.
“If you don’t learn to speak their languagecommunicating and selling the benefits of a change in marketing approach will never make progress,” she says. “It’s all about knowing who your audience is and how you tailor the message, benefits, etc., accordingly.”
Once you have management support, you also need to involve the marketing team. This involves looking at people and processes. To create more emotional, joyful, and sticky content, you need people whose interests and passion (the things they consume and invest their time in) reflect what you want to build.
You need people who think creatively and can see data differently. You need team members who are passionate about content, whether it’s books, movies, podcasts, or something else. They want to know what’s happening in advertising and expose themselves to wild creativity, for example by visiting museums.
And don’t forget that leadership is important here too. You have to act the way you want for the team. For example, if you create a Slack channel for an upcoming campaign and ask team members to share podcasts, videos, books, etc., related to the themes or examples to inspire, you should also contribute.
“People will do what they see modeled. If it’s not reflected at the top, they won’t model it,” says Shabnam.
In addition to people, processes should also be examined because they can sometimes stop creativity. Identify points in the process that hinder or promote team creativity. Commit to getting rid of unnecessary things. Shabnam says if you don’t do this autopsy after every campaign, make sure you do it every year.
“If you’re not really thinking all the time about, ‘Do we have the right people and the right processes,’ you’ll never have the kind of culture that kind of creates that environment of creative thinking and thinking about ideas and type of process. of the content you’re trying to create,” says Shabnam.
Develop a Strategy for Embracing Joy
It’s easier to spark the fear factor, but you can do the hard work to spark joy and connect more strongly with your audience.
The best content, says Shabnam, recognizes the full spectrum of emotions. It’s not just positive for the sake of it.
“It’s, ‘Hey, we know there are these challenges. We know there are difficult things, but here are some inspiring, uplifting, creative, and gratitude-filled solutions or ideas that can help overcome these challenges.
As she explains: “It’s a lot harder and requires a lot more work. But if we don’t, we won’t be able to rebel against these larger (negative) forces at work.”
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Cover image by Joseph Kalinowski/Content Marketing Institute
