How symbols empower and weaken us.
The power and the perils of symbols as persuasive tools.
What is a symbol?
Let’s start with the clinical definition.
A symbol is a mark or character used to represent an object, function or process. Essentially any item that represents another meaning or value.
Examples:
- The letter “H” is the symbol for hydrogen on the periodic table of elements
- A flag with 50 stars and 13 stripes is used as the symbol for America
- The elephant and donkey represent the Republican and Democratic parties
- A cross is a symbol for the religion of Christianity
Symbols used this way make it easier for us to identify and associate things that don’t look like each other. For example, to see the flag on a military uniform or airplane makes it easier to identify each as American.
Symbols shorthand and materialize human emotions and value.
In addition to communicating identity, human beings also use symbols to capture and reflect intangible ideas and concepts. In doing so, symbols serve as idea containers where our passions, repressed feelings as well as other unconscious and ethereal ideas collect within the symbol. This helps us to turn those vague concepts and values that we hold into a tangible form. The result is a visible way for us to say to others, “this is me!” or “these are my values.”
Because of that, symbols are also the attempt humans use to make our values publicly available for display. Otherwise, unless spoken or seen in action, those values are invisible. You wear a cross or Star of David to make your internal spiritual values apparent to others. Or one can wear a New England Patriots jersey to show they are okay with rampant cheating.
Symbols vary as humans do.
Ok, that last one was my interpretation. I suspect a true Patriots fan would see the values of wearing a New England jersey differently (your loss, BTW). And that’s another point about symbols. The values or meaning held within them can be seen differently. As humans who hold different values and beliefs within us, we can project, see or draw different meanings within symbols.
Symbols themselves evolve.
Symbols often act like living, evolving creatures. We breathe life into them by attaching value to them. We feed and grow them by attaching emotional stories to them. We can also change them by substituting or incorporating new events and perceptions that come along.
One extreme example is the swastika. For most of us, the imagery that immediately comes to mind are Nazis and atrocities associated with Hitler and the Nationalist Socialist Party. Yet the swastika symbol has been around for centuries. Even in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, companies used it as a logo. It was printed on birth announcements and greeting cards. At one time, in the Boy Scouts, you could get a swastika badge. The swastika? Yes.
With the exception of history revisionists or apologists, not many would use that symbol now in a way to say, “this is me” or “these are my values.”
Advertisers, marketers and organizations love symbols.
As symbols attempt to make our values public. They also create a visual shorthand or a tangible emotional language to communicate our values in which to influence others. It’s why it’s tempting for businesses and organizations to use them to advertise. To hold a symbol up to say…
“These are my (or my group’s) values. Do you want to be better? Fit in? Have fun? Gain recognition? Be a part of my symbol.”
When this happens, symbols can become powerful influencers because they are speaking to people’s personal truth and the values around who they think they are or who they want to be. This is why marketers and influencers are very keen to the care and feeding of symbols as a force to both drive action and/or weaken the resolve of intended audiences.
How symbols make us strong.
When they help us understand and act on our best selves.
“When people say, “this flag doesn’t run.” We know they are not literally talking about the actual physical properties of the American flag. They are speaking to values they have attached to the flag. Bravery. Determination. A sense of justice. Resilience. It’s holding up the flag as a symbol to say, “this is who we are.” By promoting it to others, it’s also being used to rally others by sub-communicating to them, “Is this you? Are you being your best? Are you with us?”
Leveraging a symbol like this can be an attempt to elicit values and ideas that are intended to pole vault the actions of others forward and toward a higher level. For instance, the flag may inspire some to join the armed forces and fight for their country.
If you’re wearing a cross, you are outwardly expressing your faith as part of your identity. As a public statement, there is pressure on you to act in accordance to that identity. Wearing a cross and openly admitting that you have no problem with stealing or “coveting thy neighbors wife” would be jarring to most people who see you wearing the cross. Personal adoption of a symbol encourages us to visibly act in alignment with our expressed symbol and its values.
Symbols. How they weaken us.
When we learn to use symbols as a replacement for action or actually holding proclaimed values.
The power of a symbol is as proclamation. A visible reminder and motivator of what we are and what we can be when we live up to our ideas.
However, we aren’t simply what we say we are. It’s been said that the true reveal of our values is by what we actually do. This means that for all the influential power that a symbol wields, it, in itself, is not an action.
Symbols are not a replacement for true action.
By using a symbol, marketers can prod the intellectually lazy, weak-willed, or the simply nieve to make a small gesture to signify support of a value. An action so minimal, it fails to prove true care or commitment to the value. In fact, the same person may even deny their support if their commitment to that value is tested.
Why?
Because the marketing or the participant ends up conflating adopting the symbol or symbolic gesture with the fulfillment of the value. A belief that allows them to stop there as mission accomplished with no more expectation of making a further investment.
Why do the work? Just buy the symbol.
Brands make it easy to do this. Not as financially successful as you’d like? Buy (or lease) a car brand that says successful. As you drive around in your fancy car, people are likely to believe that you are among the successful since you have the symbol. You don’t need to do any more than that to obtain the perception of success and wealth. So if the perception of success, and not actual success is your goal, it’s actually inefficient from a time and money approach to invest more in working towards achieving a true success that associated with the symbol.
Remember the dust-up (I say that tongue and cheek) about Chick-Fil-A? People bought or didn’t buy sandwiches to show where they stood on the company’s stance on homosexuality and marriage? The sandwich was a (tasty) symbol. Though unless I missed the headline “Purchase around chicken settles issues around homosexuality,” I doubt the gesture did little for each side’s stance on the issue. It did line the pockets of Chick-Fil-A.
Another version of this is fans who wear sports jerseys (Full disclosure. I wear an Eagles hat on game day). We (as in not me. See, I don’t want to be associated with the symbol) wear a Patriots shirt as a symbol of the team. We get attention and identity for being a fan.
Yet most of us have an on-field passing completion record of zero. Meanwhile, Patriots Quarterback Tom Brady and his team put in the work to make the team what it is. Tom Brady spent the week training. Reading the game day playbooks. His millions in salary go into building and maintaining the value of the Patriots franchise name. Meanwhile, you and I likely spent $25 for two Bud Lights and Buffalo wings at the bar watching the game. You and I don’t feed the symbol. We are simply buying an association with it by wearing the jersey to the bar.
When symbols drive association over action.
Under this scenario, symbols offer low-cost, low effort value adoption. A low bar that is tempting. Most of us, I included, are often only willing to make a small down payment on the value we profess to have.
Like the flag? Show you are a true American. Stand up (Instead of fight or actively stand for the values it is meant to express. Hate X? Click “like” on Facebook and call it a day. When it comes to social media, it’s what we call Clicktivism.
Symbols used this way are essentially a budgeted transaction. Our identity or being perceived to be associated with the cause or value is sold to us at a low price or we can profess certain virtues, essentially on credit. The real price of the symbol is subsidized by someone else doing the hard work and actually living up to the demands required to uphold the values.
For example, I get to wear the ribbon that says “I love and stand by America.” See how wonderful I am? Well, off to lunch.
Meanwhile, American soldiers, whose chose to be on the front lines for America to support American ideals, get to repel hostile enemy fire in a god-forsaken country away from their families. Ironically, it’s possible a warrior’s sacrifice and death on the field of battle makes my low-cost, low-effort symbolic gesture and association with the cause even more valuable for me to show off. Good value for paying $2.25 for a ribbon. Problem is I did not provide the value. Someone else paid the bill.
My business is all about attaching people to symbols. The right car is equal to status. The iPhone means you are cool. A politician’s rant about not becoming arugula, latte-drinking, Prius drivers is made possible by our natural tendency to attach symbolic meaning to brands and things. Like that example, which when used, is often totally detached from an actual policy.
By invoking symbolic connection, we are encouraged to skip over the need for true work, true understanding, nuance and self-reasoning. As it promotes stereotypes, we may even fail to take a closer look to see if the symbol used or referred to actually matches the person it’s being attached to.
It’s how influencers can use symbols to induce Pavlovian responses to simply draw you near something or push you away from it. No questions asked. I mean, You don’t want to be a arugula, latte-drinking, Prius driver or gun-rack toting, ball-cap-wearing, pick up driver…do you?