Between stimulus and response

"Between stimulus and response, there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom."
-VIKTOR FRANKL, Austrian neurologist and psychiatrist, 1905-1997

Frankl, a Holocaust survivor, was describing how he was able to live through the hell of a Nazi concentration camp. He saved his humanity—and his own life—by choosing not to respond with aggression to the torture and the inhumanity to which he was subjected.

His is a remarkable and inspiring case of triumph and courage.

Most of us, thankfully, will never have to engage this “space” to seek our spirit’s freedom from cruelty. Nonetheless, when confronted with social ills and inequality, we each ought to consider Frankl’s words of wisdom as we prepare our response.

Social marketers need to be mindful of this almost imperceptible delay between stimulus and response. Marketing is the business of stimulating people into action and we want to be sure that we give our audience the stimulus in such a way as to allow for their moment of reflection to generate a positive response for the society in which they live.

All too often, marketing messages are delivered forcefully, graphically, even belligerently in the hope of shocking the audience into action. This approach appears even more common now than ever, as we are all competing for attention in the white noise of advertising.

Indeed the goal of most marketing is to expedite a response. We fear that our audience will become distracted and lose interest or conviction if they don't act immediately.

Our messages for positive social behavior need to cherish the space between stimulus and response. We need to cultivate the time for every audience member to allow them to consider their actions and behaviors such that their response can be sustained and can be adopted into their habit.

For social marketing messages, we need to generate this cause for pause.