Propaganda
Bernays, a New York public relations counsel, argues that in a mass democracy a small number of people who understand group psychology form an 'invisible government' that narrows the public's choices, and that this is necessary and can be done responsibly.
What it is
Bernays, a New York public relations counsel, argues that in a mass democracy a small number of people who understand group psychology form an 'invisible government' that narrows the public's choices, and that this is necessary and can be done responsibly. Eleven chapters move from that thesis to the psychology of public relations, drawing on Trotter, Le Bon, Wallas and Lippmann, then apply it to business, politics, women's organizations, education, social service, and art and science, and end with the media of 1928: newspapers, magazines, lectures, radio, film and the public personality. His method is to create events and circumstances rather than repeat a claim. Examples include a velvet revival organized through Paris couturiers, bacon sold by having physicians call it wholesome, and pianos sold by persuading architects to design music rooms, so that the buyer asks 'Please sell me a piano.'
Why read it now
Read it as the founding text of public relations and as a warning. Several ideas hold: buyers do not weigh every option but choose from a short list others have put in front of them, which Ehrenberg-Bass research on mental availability restates today. Changing the setting around a purchase, the music room before the piano, often moves more than repeating the product claim. Working through the people a group already trusts, such as doctors, architects and couturiers, is the logic of today's expert and creator partnerships. What has dated or failed: his confidence that opinion can be moved 'with a fair degree of accuracy', his low view of the public mind, and his claim that leading editors are never swayed by outside pressure. Bernays later wrote that Goebbels had used his work, and his quieter methods, such as paid experts speaking as if independent, now fall under disclosure rules for paid endorsements in most markets, Saudi Arabia included. Use: before buying media, map who your buyer takes cues from and what setting makes your product the obvious next step, then disclose every paid voice.
Passages worth keeping
The conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in democratic society.
الجملة الأولى في الكتاب: توجيه عادات الناس وآرائهم عن وعي وتخطيط جزء أساسي من المجتمع الديمقراطي، لا انحراف عنه كما يظن كثيرون.
Modern propaganda is a consistent, enduring effort to create or shape events to influence the relations of the public to an enterprise, idea or group.
تعريف برنايز للدعاية الحديثة: جهد متواصل لصناعة الأحداث أو تشكيلها حتى تتغير علاقة الجمهور بشركة أو فكرة أو جماعة.
If you can influence the leaders, either with or without their conscious coöperation, you automatically influence the group which they sway.
التأثير في قادة الرأي يصل تلقائيًا إلى الجماعة التي تتبعهم، سواء تعاون القادة عن وعي أم لا.
Under the old salesmanship the manufacturer said to the prospective purchaser, “Please buy a piano.” The new salesmanship has reversed the process and caused the prospective purchaser to say to the manufacturer, “Please sell me a piano.”
البيع القديم يطلب من الزبون أن يشتري، والبيع الجديد يهيئ الظروف حتى يأتي الزبون بنفسه طالبًا الشراء.
No matter how sophisticated, how cynical the public may become about publicity methods, it must respond to the basic appeals, because it will always need food, crave amusement, long for beauty, respond to leadership.
مهما زاد وعي الجمهور بأساليب الدعاية وشكّه فيها، سيبقى يستجيب للحاجات الأساسية: الطعام والتسلية والجمال والقيادة.
What it teaches best
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