Snooki and Strategic Communication

Bill Petti links to a new concept sure to be poured over by multinational IO planners:

Here's the deal: Remember how Snooki, drunk or sober, was never seen without that Coach bag dangling from the crook of her arm? Snooki and her Coach were as synonymous as The Situation and his six-pack. But then the winds of change started blowing on Jersey Shore. Every photograph of Guido-huntin' Snooki showed her toting a new designer purse. Why the sudden disloyalty? Was she trading up? Was she vomiting into her purses and then randomly replacing them? The answer is much more intriguing. Allegedly, the anxious folks at these various luxury houses are all aggressively gifting our gal Snookums with free bags. No surprise, right?

But here's the shocker: They are not sending her their own bags. They are sending her each other's bags! Competitors' bags! Call it what you will — "preemptive product placement"? "unbranding"? — either way, it's brilliant, and it makes total sense. As much as one might adore Miss Snickerdoodle, her ability to inspire dress-alikes among her fans is questionable. The bottom line? Nobody in fashion wants to co-brand with Snooki.

Now, the real question is this: how can we use this against al-Qaeda or Iran??

Comments

[www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=11811251]

Dare I say that this...Situation...is serious?

[BillPetti]

Thanks for the link, Adam. I've been trying to think of possible analogs in IR/IS.

As in any domain, a counter-signaling strategy would only work if the audience did not know where the actual signals emanated from--i.e. people that know where Snookie is now getting her handbags may not attach as negative a "type" to those brands. My initial reaction is that this is the playground of strategic communications. Their focus is to shape the narrative and paint actors as either "good" or "bad".

[A.E.]

I hope the Great Satan's Girlfriend discovers a means of exploiting this...