The 3 Core Lenses of Mindful Marketing

By Mo Edjlali, Mindful Leader President and Chief Community Organizer

Recently, it seems everywhere I turn marketing is taking a bit more of a mindful-esque approach. Organizations are flaunting their social consciousness, tech companies are sending me robo messages that they love me, and kindness is now a campaign slogan. Whether you are in a leadership position trying to convene a compelling message, trying to share the benefits of mindfulness within your organization, or a vendor of mindfulness-based products and services, marketing is an important competency to develop.  

Marketing has been one of the critical competencies that have helped in the success of Mindful Leader and is one of the areas I head. I’d like to share a simple way to review your marketing or any messaging. Some time ago I stumbled across the idea of looking at marketing with three lenses. These lenses will be very familiar to many who have done some self-work:the emotional lens (heart), the mental lens (head), and the intuitive lens (body/gut). I've created this short set of checklist questions for things to look for and ways to put on these three different lenses to use when creating and reviewing marketing materials for maximum effectiveness. 

1. Emotional Lens 

The emotional lens is well known to marketers. It's where the actual decision is made; regardless of the other elements, the ultimate decision is made here. It's why you will see a majority of ads try to move you by evoking an emotional reaction, quite often playing on fears and desires. This is the lens where things tend to get ugly, where people are manipulated and taken advantage of. The emotions can override and bypass the other elements so it’s very important to consider your values and ethics in what is appropriate. 

Questions to ask:

What is being promised?

How does this address individuals’ fundamental emotional needs? 

Is the message manipulative? 

Is there personality in the tone and style of writing? 

Does it feel like a human is talking to a human?

What do you think people feel when they look at this? 

Is there a compelling sense to act? 

2. Mental Lens

Let’s start with the mental lens, I like to think of this as the Spock lens. How would an engineer, scientist, or professor react to your message? The mental lens is where our logical and rational needs must be met. Questions around risk, cost, what your boss will think, and what your friends will think all need to be answered. Most often the mental lens is not where the decision is made, but more to confirm the decision made with the emotional lens. 

Questions to ask:

Do the people who have done this already have positive things to say? 

Is this credible, backed by science and research? 

Are there companies or experts that can vouch for the quality of this? 

What metrics and numbers can confirm this works? 

Are there grammar or spelling errors?  

Is the message clear and easy to understand? 

Is the risk of signing up worth it? 

3. Intuitive Lens

The intuitive lens is a tricky one. This is the one that I believe takes the most skill and is the hardest to "check off". Do you really believe in what they are saying? Do you understand the audience that they are trying to reach and how to speak to them? This is where the subtle, unconscious bias and under the surface stuff bubbles up. This is also a lens that really requires an outsider’s perspective. I've found that having an outside perspective and getting their first impression, their last impression, and their impression a few minutes later is one of the best ways to gauge this. This is where the subtle things can make a difference. 

Questions to ask:

Is the format/layout/color consistent and harmonious?  

Do the messaging, the graphics, the company, and the people appear cohesive?

What were the outsider’s first impressions looking at the material?  

What were their last impressions? 

What were their “later” impressions? 

Is there a sense of alignment and connection to the message? 

I hope these elements are helpful to you as you audit or write your marketing materials. Please give it a try and share your thoughts and comments below.