Truth or Narrative? Why What We Believe Shapes Behavior—and Brands

Yesterday, I saw a video on TikTok that said Apple is offering $ 1,100 trade-in for the iPhone Pro Max 13, the phone I have.

I told my husband that Apple is offering $1100 trade-in for iPhone Pro Max 13, and repeated some other messaging I saw in the comments.

About an hour later, he says, "Mi amor, that isn't true. They are only offering $320."

Whoops.

A simple trip to Apple's website would have given me the actual facts of trade-in values, but I chose to initially take the word from a video on the internet from someone I don't know.

This morning, I watched a video on Instagram and saw the person in the video saying a statistic that I knew wasn't true. However, the implications of people believing that statistics are much more serious than the value of an iPhone trade-in.

Wanting to confirm what I felt, I did some quick Googling and saw that the data mentioned in that video was indeed incorrect.

I'm not sure how many of the people who watched or commented on the video know that.

Later this year, some girlfriends and I will take a trip to Mexico City. It wasn't my first choice for where to visit, but when I took the time to dig deeper into why I was hesitant, it was because I held headlines in my psyche that send the message about how unsafe Mexico City is, and I'll be travelling without my own person Creasy to come and rescue me if something goes down.

I knew in my mind that those decades-long headlines and narratives do not tell the full story of Mexico City, and so I wanted to challenge a narrative I had been fed, with one that's actually true.

And so, recently, I've been conducting some light research and have found a wealth of information from sources and people I trust, all of whom talk about how amazing the city is — and crime is not one of the things they felt the need to warn others about.

All of this is to say, we live in a world and moment in time where narratives, stories, and viewpoints are easier than ever to share.

And the things people say publicly -- and that includes individuals, content creators, and even new organizations-- are not all true.

But the challenge is, most of the time, most people don't go around fact-checking.

If the source feels credible, we internalize what is said. And sometimes later on, long after we've forgotten about the specific video, or movie, or headline -- our opinions are shaped about others, which are often not true.

This happens especially when it comes to people who are different from us, and particularly when it comes to people from marginalized communities.

Opinions and attitudes drive behavior.

And as marketers and business leaders who have an interest and desire in serving a broader diversity of consumers, we must acknowledge that we have a responsibility to reshape harmful narratives about the communities we serve.

That doesn't have to mean you're publishing bold, preachy ads that feel like a departure from your brand messaging and voice.

It just means that we are intentional about becoming culturally aware of the narratives that exist currently and in the past with regard to your ideal customers from underrepresented and underserved communities, and doing our part to shift them in a more accurate and positive direction by the work we produce.

Here are some examples of brands and campaigns that have done this effectively:

One last thing on this: before we can effectively shift incorrect narratives for our brands, we have to do the work for ourselves on this as individuals.

Our own personal perspectives shape the work we produce and the way we go about doing it.

Word on the street

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