Getting readers on board with your ideas isn't the only way to achieve content success. Sometimes, stirring up a little controversy and earning a few rivals can work incredibly well — but there's certainly a right and a wrong way to do it. Rand details how to use the power of making enemies work to your advantage in today's Whiteboard Friday.
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Video Transcription
Howdy, Moz fans, and welcome to another edition of Whiteboard Friday. Today, we're going to chat about something a little interesting — how content can succeed by making enemies. I know you're thinking to yourself, "Wait a minute, I thought my job was to make friends with my content." Yes, and one of the best ways to make close friends is to make enemies too.
So, in my opinion, I think that companies and businesses, programs, organizations of all kinds, efforts of all kinds tend to do really well when they get people on their side. So if I'm trying to create a movement or I'm trying to get people to believe in what I'm doing, I need to have positions, data, stories, and content that can bring people to my site. One of the best ways to do that is actually to think about it in opposition to something else, basically try and figure out how you can earn some enemies.
A few examples of content that makes enemies & allies
I'll give you a few examples, because I think that will help add some context here. I did a little bit of research. My share data is from BuzzSumo, and my link data here is from Ahrefs. But for example, this piece called "There Are Now Twice as Many Solar Jobs as Coal Jobs in the US," this is essentially just data-driven content, but it clearly makes friends and enemies. It makes enemies with sort of this classic, old-school Americana belief set around how important coal jobs are, and it creates, through the enemy that it builds around that, simply by sharing data, it also creates allies, people who are on the side of this story, who want to share it and amplify it and have it reach its potential and reach more people.
Same is true here. So this is a story called "Yoga Is a Good Alternative to Physical Therapy." Clearly, it did extremely well, tens of thousands of shares and thousands of links, lots of ranking keywords for it. But it creates some enemies. Physical therapists are not going to be thrilled that this is the case. Despite the research behind it, this is frustrating for many of those folks. So you've created friends, allies, people who are yoga practitioners and yoga instructors. You've also created enemies, potentially those folks who don't believe that this might be the case despite what the research might show.
Third one, "The 50 Most Powerful Public Relations Firms in America," I think this was actually from The Observer. So they're writing in the UK, but they managed to rank for lots and lots of keywords around "best PR firms" and all those sorts of things. They have thousands of shares, thousands of links. I mean 11,000 links, that's darn impressive for a story of this nature. And they've created enemies. They've created enemies of all the people who are not in the 50 most powerful, who feel that they should be, and they've created allies of the people who are in there. They've also created some allies and enemies deeper inside the story, which you can check out.
"Replace Your Lawn with These Superior Alternatives," well, guess what? You have now created some enemies in the lawn care world and in the lawn supply world and in the passionate communities, very passionate communities, especially here in the United States, around people who sort of believe that homes should have lawns and nothing else, grass lawns in this case. This piece didn't do that well in terms of shares, but did phenomenally well in terms of links. This was on Lifehacker, and it ranks for all sorts of things, 11,000+ links.
Before you create, ask yourself: Who will help amplify this, and why?
So you can see that these might not be things that you naturally think of as earning enemies. But when you're creating content, if you can go through this exercise, I have this rule, that I've talked about many times over the years, for content success, especially content amplification success. That is before you ever create something, before you brainstorm the idea, come up with the title, come up with the content, before you do that, ask yourself: Who will help amplify this and why? Why will they help?
One of the great things about framing things in terms of who are my allies, the people on my side, and who are the enemies I'm going to create is that the "who" becomes much more clear. The people who support your ideas, your ethics, or your position, your logic, your data and want to help amplify that, those are people who are potential amplifiers. The people, the detractors, the enemies that you're going to build help you often to identify that group.
The "why" becomes much more clear too. The existence of that common enemy, the chance to show that you have support and beliefs in people, that's a powerful catalyst for that amplification, for the behavior you're attempting to drive in your community and your content consumers. I've found that thinking about it this way often gets content creators and SEOs in the right frame of mind to build stuff that can do really well.
Some dos and don'ts
Do... backup content with data
A few dos and don'ts if you're pursuing this path of content generation and ideation. Do back up as much as you can with facts and data, not just opinion. That should be relatively obvious, but it can be dangerous in this kind of world, as you go down this path, to not do that.
Do... convey a world view
I do suggest that you try and convey a world view, not necessarily if you're thinking on the political spectrum of like from all the way left to all the way right or those kinds of things. I think it's okay to convey a world view around it, but I would urge you to provide multiple angles of appeal.
So if you're saying, "Hey, you should replace your lawn with these superior alternatives," don't make it purely that it's about conservation and ecological health. You can also make it about financial responsibility. You can also make it about the ease with which you can care for these lawns versus other ones. So now it becomes something that appeals across a broader range of the spectrum.
Same thing with something like solar jobs versus coal jobs. If you can get it to be economically focused and you can give it a capitalist bent, you can potentially appeal to multiple ends of the ideological spectrum with that world view.
Do... collect input from notable parties
Third, I would urge you to get inputs from notable folks before you create and publish this content, especially if the issue that you're talking about is going to be culturally or socially or politically charged. Some of these fit into that. Yoga probably not so much, but potentially the solar jobs/coal jobs one, that might be something to run the actual content that you've created by some folks who are in the energy space so that they can help you along those lines, potentially the energy and the political space if you can.
Don't... be provocative just to be provocative
Some don'ts. I do not urge you and I'm not suggesting that you should create provocative content purely to be provocative. Instead, I'm urging you to think about the content that you create and how you angle it using this framing of mind rather than saying, "Okay, what could we say that would really piss people off?" That's not what I'm urging you to do. I'm urging you to say, "How can we take things that we already have, beliefs and positions, data, stories, whatever content and how do we angle them in such a way that we think about who are the enemies, who are the allies, how do we get that buy-in, how do we get that amplification?"
Don't... choose indefensible positions
Second, I would not choose enemies or positions that you can't defend against. So, for example, if you were considering a path that you think might get you into a world of litigious danger, you should probably stay away from that. Likewise, if your positions are relatively indefensible and you've talked to some folks in the field and done the dues and they're like, "I don't know about that," you might not want to pursue it.
Don't... give up on the first try
Third, do not give up if your first attempts in this sort of framing don't work. You should expect that you will have to, just like any other form of content, practice, iterate, and do this multiple times before you have success.
Don't... be unprofessional
Don't be unprofessional when you do this type of content. It can be a little bit tempting when you're framing things in terms of, "How do I make enemies out of this?" to get on the attack. That is not necessary. I think that actually content that builds enemies does so even better when it does it from a non-attack vector mode.
Don't... sweat the Haterade
Don't forget that if you're getting some Haterade for the content you create, a lot of people when they start drinking the Haterade online, they run. They think, "Okay, we've done something wrong." That's actually not the case. In my experience, that means you're doing something right. You're building something special. People don't tend to fight against and argue against ideas and people and organizations for no reason. They do so because they're a threat.
If you've created a threat to your enemies, you have also generally created something special for your allies and the people on your side. That means you're doing something right. In Moz's early days, I can tell you, back when we were called SEOmoz, for years and years and years we got all sorts of hate, and it was actually a pretty good sign that we were doing something right, that we were building something special.
So I look forward to your comments. I'd love to see any examples of stuff that you have as well, and we'll see you again next week for another edition of Whiteboard Friday. Take care.
Thanks for checking out this week's Whiteboard Friday! Granted, it's an unusual topic, but something I've been wanting to cover for a while. I worry that far too much content is bland and takes no position because companies are so afraid of making someone upset, they aim for the blandest common denominator. Big mistake.
Content, products, companies, people, organizations, and services that takes sides, that have a position, that stand FOR something and also AGAINST something are doing something worth talking about, and that's how you earn amplification, links, coverage, rankings, and what's more, a memorable brand. Just think of all the best stuff you've seen--disruptive new companies or amazing new products, powerful discussions or shareworthy content, a great talk at a conference or a video that stayed with you--chances are each of these took a stand, and made some enemies in the process.
Look forward to your thoughts on this week's WB Friday. Hopefully at least a few of you will strongly disagree with me :-)
Rand.. I disagree on some points. My opinion is that, no one want enemies. Yes, i agree that they push us to the next level, but directly we are not making them.
Quality content + People liking = Good results
I just think that more people should respect others work no matter what..I am applying on fostering relationship approach. and yes, In my case it always works. My opinion is that do nice things for those peoples who can give you the leg up, they will notice you and do good things back. We’re all friends!
Thanks.
You have just made an enemy of Rand!
"You have enemies? Good. That means you’ve stood up for something, sometime in your life." ;)
ISIS has enemies, just FYI. :D
To be fair to Anja, ISIS does think they're standing up for something :/
Love this WBF Rand! Seen too many company blog posts who are playing way to safe and therefore not attracting anything. Not friends, nor enemies... Deleting killer blog posts with a lot of positive reactions but a few haterade comments is a troublesome and it's hard to convince some people to keep them since they are afraid of any negative reactions...
Keep up the good work! You rock! :)
Thanks Emil! I totally agree -- the blog posts that should be deleted are those that garner no engagement and no feedback at all (and there's far, far too many of those). The ones that deserve investment and replication and iteration are those that DO in fact create some controversy, that take a side, that show to the world who you are and what you stand for (and against). In my experience, those are the content pieces (and the companies/organizations/products) that tend to do well.
This is a really good article, there is a line you sometimes have to tread when creating this type of content but a lot of companies are terrified of being even slightly controversial.
One thing I would add to the list is to be aware of places which have an "echo chamber" effect, such as Reddit. You might find that something small is jumped on and used to discredit the content with a lot of other users simply not reading and supporting the objection, its very hard to overcome.
Well, this was unbelievable, Rand!
In fact, with this WBF, you've created a controversy, opinions, etc. Not all people will agree that it is a good idea. But, yes creating a thought process and that too backed up with detailed stats and data, it really creates a group of friends and another group of enemies.
Well, I also tried creating a few topics, "Top 10 Automated Software Testing Tools" & "Top 30 Digital Marketing Twitter Handles to Follow in 2017"
But, I must say that at that period of time, I was unaware of the things that I actually created a controversy. I thought to support the industry leaders. But, I believe that is the reason why both these really worked great as I had support from the leaders and didn't had any appreciation from the many.
Also, I feel I really need to work on both Dos & Don'ts to create killer blogs..
Rand, I was actually thinking to find out a different way to write content. And, now I think it's not always exciting to create friendly content. Thanks by the way!
I like this. I've made plenty of enemies due to the material I have published through the years. In fact, that content always gets the most engagement. However, there is a fine line you must navigate when doing this. I believe it is EXTREMELY important to strategize with your client(s) before attempting this kind of content. The last thing your client needs is to have their Google and Yelp review boards become the target of hatred, threats, and politically charged reviews. Whether we like it or not, almost everything can and will become politicized in today's age. Some businesses, in Portland for example, have been forced to shut their doors due to political outrage. Let's just be careful with content that represents a business rather than a personal opinion or line of thought. Toronado, above me, mentioned using polls to gauge reader reactions to what some would consider a rather controversial subject. To add on to that, maybe a good tactic would be to poll your readers about a particular subject to see what reactions would be should you decide to write a 2,500 word article about said subject. The feedback you receive can help you develop your content.
Anyways, thanks for this enlightening WBF, Rand. Good job.
Like Chad said, we need to be a little careful with this. I often grapple with the fact that most of the good digital marketing advice online is from SEO consultants or content creators etc. for whom the business model is mostly about pulling traffic. Often I have to put down an article and have a good think about how the advice applies to my ACME inc. selling real-world widgets or services.
I think before trying this I would want to be very sure of the following:
Is creating enemies consistent with my overall marketing strategy? (for example, customers in my target segment might actually value that I am taking a stand against whatever)Independent of the above, is the tone this sets consistent with my brand? Am I a 'down and dirty' brand, or do I want to be seen as rising above?I think if I were to try this out I would start with something off my main website - like getting an employee to pick a fight on their personal blog, or maybe sticking it on Tumblr where some of my more cheeky content goes.
Nice work Rand, thought-provoking.
Excellent WBF... What I find so intriguing about your subject Rand is how the competitiveness of journalism right now is facing so much controversy. Increasing viewership, for example, can depend on 'creating enemies'. You made a point of 'creating enemies' in an ethical and balanced fashion.
In the truest sense to me, internet marketing is about creating conversion. Conversion is taking action such as purchasing services, goods, joining email list or simply sharing content in social media. All is fair in love and war!! If creating dislike spreads the word, yes indeed, success in creating conversion is at hand! Have a great 4th of July weekend!! Best, Mark
I think is all about positioning statements, and authenticity. By defending your point of view, you can increase the value of your content for those who identify themselves with it. Its also a great way to be provocative and start sme discussion and buzz around a topic. Awesome WBF!
The company i work, Rock Content (biggest content marketing start-up in Brazil), created a blogpost about how we managed to capitalize on the "Who is Neil Patel?" campaign, and rank #1 for his own name, driving a lot of traffic to our blog. You can check it out by searching "Obrigado Neil Patel" ;)
I loved the article this week. It reminds me of famous phrases from artists who said something like that if they do not speak badly about you, you are doing very badly.
Not only does it have to create controversial content. This same effect also produces very grotesque ads, very far from being professionals but it helps to viralizar the content.
Of course this has to be done with moderation, because otherwise we can be harmed with so many controversies. This can also happen if we write articles with political and / or religious ideology.
I love whiteboard Friday. This is the one and only article I read Friday mornings during my first cup of coffee. This article is going into toolbag. Lately, in travel blogging, we have been encountering examples of this and our current position is to avoid all controversy.
Example 1: Adventurous Kate attacks Travel Blog Expo (TBEX) for planning a conference in Zimbabwe. Her idea was that Zimbabwe was a dictatorship and working with and branch of that government is inherently evil. The counter argument is bringing western press and establishing travel industry will liberalize the country. There are valid points on both side but I was under impressed when she called out an adversary as a douche canoe. All this being said, She is winning many key words for TBEX and Zimbabwe as well as getting a lot of traffic and notoriety.
Personal Example: We live in San Diego and cover San Diego. The zoo has a search volume of 375,000, the Safari Park is 175,000 and Sea World is about 175,000. There is an obvious appeal to write to these key words but all zoos, and particularly Sea World, have the potential to make enemies. My wife/partner and I have been discussing this exact issue at length. Your content by making enemies article is going into this conversation.
As always, fabulous job.
Rand i didn't think of this! Thank you this could be brilliant. What would be your limit though of stiring things up? I only ask because i know that myself and probably a few others on here could be pretty brutal and obviously you don't want to ruin your reputation ahaha.
Thanks! Like I said in the video, be professional. Don't aim to "stir things up," just aim to stand up for what you believe, what the data shows, what you stand for, and frame it directly in opposition to what you/your perspective/your information is against. There's no need to be cruel or nasty, insulting or dismissive. Show respect, but be unafraid to make your points. That's how I'd recommend doing it.
Thank you Rand for this, very helpful!
Thank you for this video!
Actually, I didn't realize to think about that before writing new piece of content. I am usually very careful not to upset somebody while writing :)
And as I was watching this video, I realized that I saw lots of really popular pieces of content, that has actually some enemies. But since this content was truthful and trushworty, it got also lots of links and shares.
So thanks again for bringing this topic up. I will think more of that in the future :)
We've recently had earned quite a lot of hatred for a simple poll asking our users whether they are in favour, or against the return of the wolf (the cuddly animal) in our vicinity. Nobody really posted this as a method of starting a controversy (but one of our chief editors is rather against the wolf 'cause he's a passionate hunter), but we earned a lot of hatred (even on the phone!) for that simple poll. From the SEO perspective, on the other hand, it helped us because it generated many clicks and shares in social media.
Just as Death In June sang: Many enemies bring much honour!
Super inspiring post & most definitely saving this piece for regular reference. I hadn't really considered the 'making enemies' as being a positive thing.
Finally! I feel like it took 2016 to bring people around to the "power of the darkside" so to speak. But this is a very old internet tactic that I've been utilizing properly with my team for awhile and have been preaching about for ages.
This is the internet. And one of the oldest trolling tactics in the book is to post something the exact opposite of what you really want to say. And lo and behold people will come along and "correct" you. They will engage, argue, and attempt to defeat you.
So I've always said to people:
1- Be aware of this. It's human nature.
2- When appropriate, harness this power for your own good.
3- Do it well and the whole thing will feed your overall ability to engage AND build an audience.
The internet, especially social media, is a massive channel of entertainment for people. And those people love to argue! There is quite a lot of potential in that arena to market. A great example is the twitter feed nihilist arbys. They do not say anything positive, let alone positive about arbys. But arbys doesn't stop them because they increase attention for arbys. Now you've got wendys taking a much more benign but similar approach on their twitter feed. Arguing on the internet is another tool to drive traffic. If you post something somewhere on behalf of your client and you start getting a bunch of "well ... actually" replies, you've now got a toehold to market.
Excellent post WBF!! Content is king and it's really important for get the ranking and sales..
Great insight and tips for a tricky terrain.
This is a good post. This post give truly quality information. I’m definitely going to look into it. Thank you so much.
Rand, You just managed to put it in to words what we see all the time. Someone has already said it: "Stand for what you believe in". Thinking about it: Would you engage with something everyone agrees with? If we all agreed with what said in this article I probably would not have left a comment.
i thinks so some points are very p[pointed to understand .this is useful to us how to use form basic to extraordinary. all those points described very well to making us informative .
thanks for this posting to us and sharing ,
regards,
mansi desai
Whiteboard Fridays are my favorite, though I usually catch em on Mondays instead! Great article and something I've seen employed by social media influencers in Singapore too.
Making a fuzz is probably the most effective and cheapest way of increasing website traffic (till someone sue you, of course). Great article as usual. Cheers, Martin
I'm so much agree with your article. No matter how many times someone copy your article to try to destroy your Keywords, no matter how many times they criticize you for doing SEO on your page, and surpass your competitors on the SERPs.
If you make enemies, it means that you are on the right way, and you are doing things right. You are visible, and criticism makes you strong.
You have touched on a sensitive topic this time, which is actually like a tightrope walk. Once, you start publishing controversial content, things can easily go out of control. This is mostly not because of the content but due to the clash between allies and enemies. Small content like a simple FB post or a tweet against social norms can trolled to an extent that it has to be deleted.
Creating enemies might be good for a online business as they can change the strategies quickly with follow-up content. It would be advisable not use controversial content especially corporates or businesses where the Brand Image is very important (whether online or offline).
There is a chain reaction sort of event created, which might get you viral but getting virality is not always good for the business, it can even tarnish your image and kill it completely as well.
Thanks,
Vijay
Amazing WBF session Rand!! You know the saying "There's no such thing as bad publicity?" I think this applies the same here, though with a little tweak... because of course too much of bad is bad! 'Making enemies' as a content marketing strategy somehow works when your goal is to get more attention and sympathy -- however just as you said you have to be sure you could back things up and defend your stand. Truly, an intriguing content yields more attention -- which is just what you need in content marketing.
Rand, will this also work if we have product comparison tables? Let's say, I am comparing two email services, or payment gateways. Do you think this would attract readers? I liked the example where "Yoga and Physical Therapy" are brought together. Of course, we won't bombard on Physical Therapy but definitely have alternatives. Like how "Green Tea is a great alternative to black tea"?
Awesome post and something I've been trying to share with clients for a while now. I'm curious if anyone has ran into a problem of a client not wanting to step on any feet, or be to politically correct?
I often find that I want fact based opinions to be posted from insiders (especially lawyers, in this case immigration lawyers) and frequently get push back saying they'd rather not. I find it makes for a somewhat bland post that's hard to share as it's spewing the same numbers over and over with no context. Any opinions/tactics to get a client like this to share a little more opinion, especially when it comes to some of these hot button topics?
It takes courage and authority to make a stand in a debatable position! Also this is a sneaky way to become famous or get into the spotlight. One good example here would be "Domain Authority Does Not Exist" vs "No it has always been a vital metric to SEO"
SEOs, make your stand now and let's be friend with Rand! ;)
This post got me thinking about brand identity and how taking a position, that could be unpopular with some customers/readers could in effect amplify the key messages of the brand and create a following.
One example I have followed over the years is the Abigail Ahern interiors blog here in the UK. The AA brand identity favours (very) dark opulent colours above pale pared back scandi -style decor. This was unusual a few years ago and could be assumed not to have had much of a market. By creating a following with a position on what is good and what is bad decor, the company has since developed into a highly successful identifiable brand - often copied by others.
Hi Rand, thanks for another thought provoking WBF, where has this week gone?!
Just looking at that framing mechanism I would say it could easily be applied to a high percentage of preexisting content as a great way to refresh. Even if you take the most mild of stances and run that back through an existing piece, it can instantly make it more interesting, which can only be a good thing. Especially if you take the world view approach, theres probably cognitive bias in someway in everything we write, if we can find it and emphasise it, bringing it to the forefront of the piece, these thing are easily achievable.
Boiling it right down, I think the key here is to create comparison. The solar example is a comparison of numbers, the lawn example with comparison of quality, both communicated in a way that creates a certain stance. Find a comparison, apply the framing mechanisms and remain professional and you're on to a winner!
Great video today.
The big struggle I have is trying to convince senior management to take a stance that may bring some negative feedback. Even if the majority of the feedback could be positive, I've had instances where a negative comment has caused a knee jerk reaction to apologise and pull the article.
Do you (or anyone reading this) have advice on what approach to take when trying to convince higher ups to take a risk on negative feedback? Is there a particular metric to track, or an optimal time to keep the post live (to ensure positive and negative feedback is given a chance to be expressed)?
Thanks,
C.
Rand, some great thoughts here! it makes perfect sense that people are more likely to share and link to content if a position can be taken. We see and do this everyday, but I would have never framed this in my own mind as you did, The great thing about your examples is they're actionable - creating content around topics that allow people to naturally take a side is something all SEOs can do, even on smaller budgets. Thanks, truly, this is great stuff.
Excellent Rand. Your post reminded me of a book that I learned about at the 2014 Mozcon - "The PR Masterclass" by Alex Singleton. In that book, he points out that one of the features that makes a press release compelling (and more likely to be published) is "conflict" - taking a strong position on a subject.
In the same manner, this is a good method for making content more noticeable, sharable and link-worthy.
My YT Channel ist at 355 Like and 23 Dislikes. I am happy not to have many enemies just yet.
There is a difference betweet "trolls" and real enemys. The trolls will just dislike any piece of Content you make. How to identify and seperate them?
The enemies, or at least, the good enemies, will try to engage in a discussion around why they think they're right in a rational way. It's more a productive conversation than a bad enemy (someone who just spouts hate because you two disagree) or a troll (someone who spouts disagreeable nonsense just because they feel like it). It's the buzz from productive conversation that really benefits you in this scenario and moves you forward, both in discussion and in drawing attention to / sharing your content.
Hi Rand,
Really good whiteboard session, something that is extremely relevant to me. I write for Econsultancy.com and I am always on the lookout for topics to write on that assist retailers in their journey to develop and deliver better retail experiences for their consumers. This approach often challenges convention. One article in particular I wrote gathered a lot of "hate":
"Why eCommerce retailers should never place products on the homepage"
The one point I would like to emphasise is, I always face the "hate" head on. If I am unable to articulate my points to the "haters" then my research and guidance is inadequate.
Keep up the great work.
Greg
Rand! Hello! It's surprising that I've just do a video in my channel saying some things (with careful) that maybe make me have some enemies. Indeed, in my market (study guides) I have some natural enemies that fight for the clients and SERP.
I want to share you an experience. Maybe is weird that I tell this, but the other guys are not so good, indeed much clients complain about them because they not receive what them announce in their marketplace (website). These people, next, come to me , but they are afraid. I work with that fear and they buy the products very happy. People indeed comment in the area of opinions in Facebook that the site and work is marvelous and that they would like to meet me time ago, before that places.
In conclusion: my enemies and competition indirectly are making me to have more sales because they are not doing well their jobs! :)
Thanks Rand, another nice video! To reflex!
Many people do not practice it but you are absolutely right, the transcription in the videos is increasingly considered more google. Because it is as if you had a blog and part of the video, visual and textual content in Google's eyes a wonder and more if you make it through your YouTube platform. Always do it with Google services to get extra points, since as we all would like to always help people who are our customers and not those who do not help our own business, greetings.
Awesome WBF! I'm still hesitant to try this for any of my clients, but I think you've just inspired me to start brainstorming.
I've used this for my personal accounts, though. Right after the election, when tensions were still running red hot, Larry Kim from Wordstream came out as a Trump supporter on Twitter (I think you may have been in that thread too, Rand.) For a minute I threw professionalism out the window to chew him out, and followed a bunch of the people who liked my replies. Then I followed up by sharing Wordstream blog posts with my followers that were driving a lot of organic traffic but could be beaten by better posts with half the domain authority.
Long story short, my follower count doubled in a day or two. Good times.
We ran a campaign about the benefit of using play int he workplace and we found it massively created friends and enemies. I think it's vital to have a lot of data to back up your idea. We carried out three surveys each with several thousand respondents. Even then we were attacked by groups that try to prove the methodology used was wrong. Also getting the right influencer is so important. During ideation I always like to talk about fining content that's "thought provoking but not provocative". It often helps people think in about things in the right way. I loved finding random comments (and links) about the campaign in the odd forum - again this gave us the general idea we were doing something out of the ordinary.