Now that you're seeing some examples of distancing,

and we defined what this concept means.

Here are three key things you should know.

First of all, Niche Appeal.

The digital is all around us and it's hard for most of

us to get away from it for more than a few days at a time.

For example, adults who attend

a digital detox camp are probably professionals who use smartphones,

spend hours online each day and receive lots and lots of emails.

Thus, while they may enjoy the benefits of visually detoxing for a few days each year,

they are unlikely to be able to sustain this type of

distancing from the digital for extended period of time.

Likewise, many people who own a flip phone

with limited internet activity probably also own

a smartphone and only use their flip phones on

special occasions so just when they're trying to

spend quality time with friends or family.

Thus, distancing is more of

a niche strategy and may not appeal to most people most of the time.

However, it can still be a very profitable approach if it targets the right niche.

Second, The Heart of the Beast.

Interestingly, it appears that a distancing strategy

has the most appeal among those who are the most digitally connected.

For example, one of the more popular no tech schools is located in

the hardest looking Valley and is full of

children whose parents work for Apple, eBay, and Google.

This is probably because these are the folks who are most likely to

realize the negative impact of being too connected to our digital world.

Thus, distancing is more likely to appeal to people who are younger,

more affluent, and engaged in professional jobs.

Third, More Sizzle than Steak.

Like many marketing efforts,

a distancing strategy may be more hype than reality.

There's an old marketing expression which says,

you should sell the sizzle not the steak.

Have you heard this before?

Basically, it means that good marketing is not just about

the actual features of a product but how these features are perceived by the customer.

For example, the Waldorf school in the peninsula holds

an annual fundraising event in which the prizes include a Tesla car and an Apple watch.

Thus, even though the school markets itself as a no tech school,

it is deeply, deeply embedded in the digital.

Indeed, we live in a digital age and it's very difficult if not

impossible for most of us to escape this reality.

Thus, attending a digital detox camp for a week or ditching your smartphone

or a flip phone may make you more aware of the pros and cons of the digital world.

However, it's unlikely to transform your life.

Hence, these strategies are essentially more sizzle than steak.

Now that you know what distancing is,

here are some tips for successfully leveraging

this concept to enhance your marketing efforts.

First of all, turn off the net.

In essence most distancing strategies are pretty simple.

At their core, most include turning off access to the Internet. That's about it.

As discussed earlier, flip phones offer little or no internet access.

Likewise, the main difference between

a digital detox camp and a regular camp is a lack of digital connectivity.

Typically taking something away is fairly cheap and easy.

Indeed, by not having Wi-Fi access both

flip phones and digital detox camps reduce their cost.

This allows them to either charge a lower price and or enjoy higher profits.

Thus, a distancing strategy is fairly easy to implement

a product offering perspective and can be quite attractive from a pricing perspective.

Second, don't distance your marketing.

Interestingly, nearly all examples of

distancing employ digital tools to market their product or service.

Almost all of them have their own website and most have many online reviews.

As we discussed earlier,

some of them even offer digital products such as smart watches to promote their business.

So even though you may be marketing a product or service to

help people distance themselves from the digital,

you should still use digital tools to help them find you and get them to choose you.

Indeed, distancing strategies are likely to have the most appeal

to those who are most heavily engaged and embedded in the digital world.

Third, target millennials.

Being digitally connected takes a lot of time and energy.

According to recent estimates during our lifetimes

we'll spend over five years on social media alone.

In contrast, we 'll only spend about three years eating.

This is just an average. Some people spend much,

much more time online than others.

For example, the average teenager spends over 20 hours

a week online and many of them are suffering from internet addiction.

Overall, too much time spent in the digital world has been linked to depression,

narcissism, and a decrease attention span.

As a result, a growing number of people especially

young people appear to be growing tired of the digital.

This trend has been called Digital fatigue.

For example, in recent years in both the U.S. and the U.K. the sales of

electronic books has been

decreasing while the sales of printed books has been increasing.

Interestingly, this digital fatigue appears to be most prevalent among millennials.

Press because they spend the most time online.

According to a recent survey,

62% of 16 to 24 year olds say they prefer an analog book to a digital one.

For digital natives such as millennials who grew up in an online environment,

the digital world is not as exciting or as

revolutionary as it is for digital immigrants such as the baby boomers.

In fact, for many young people the digital world is becoming

boring and a growing number of them are disconnecting from social media.

Hence, millennials is going to be a great target market for

transforming the digital by using a distancing strategy.

Fourth and finally, employ fud.

Although we don't often like to admit it,

many marketing campaigns are based on appealing to human fear, uncertainty, and doubt.

FUD. For instance, for many years Microsoft has employed

this approach to keep consumers from buying

low cost or free open source alternatives to their software products.

Likewise, a FUD strategy can be used to encourage consumers to consider products and

services that allow them to distance themselves from the dangers of the digital.

A good example of this is

tech free schools which claim that digital devices hamper creativity,

decrease physical activity and limit human interaction.

As we discussed earlier,

there is considerable evidence that too much time

spent in the digital world can be harmful to our well-being.

Thus, distancing strategies can leverage this growing awareness

of the hazards of the digital as an effective marketing approach.

Well, I hope you enjoyed this exploration of distancing,

that it gave you some new insights about marketing in the analog world.

Lecture 2: Distancing (Side 2)

Marketing in an Analog World

Meet the Instructors