Sometimes truth really is stranger than fiction. If we ever needed confirmation of that, then we get it in spades from Danny Wallace, who, wait for it, accidentally started a global cult. It seems that our friend Danny was bored and unemployed one day and decided to place an ad in Loot (free pages), asking people to Join Me. All that was needed to become a joinee was to mail Danny a passport-sized picture of yourself.
You can probably already guess how this one ends. Much to Danny's surprise, thousands of people wanted to join, even though they (and Danny) were not really all that sure what they were joining. People clearly thought it was funny and interesting enough to "tell a friend", explaining how one small ad triggered it all off.
Thinking quickly on his feet, Danny invented a reason: the basic idea was that people would join him in agreeing perpetrate random acts of kindness every Friday (in the style of Kevin Spacey's pay it forward).
What followed was an international phenomenon, with Danny visting Australia, Norway, Belgium, the US and god-knows-where-else to persuade people to join him. He is now, by his own admission, a cult leader, able to draw upon his international Karma Army to perpetrate random acts of kindness.
But why on earth would people do this? I think it is about human desire for togetherness, to be part of something bigger than themselves. At the same time, Danny is an appealing leader because he is not taking power from people, he is empowering them. Marketers might do well to recognise this simple truth. Empower your customers and they will lavish their attention on you. I think we should stop calling people consumers, its too passive. Danny has shown us that people want to be Participants, they want to feel empowered. That is what Danny is offering, his form of 'leadership' does not involve taking power away from anybody. That is why Danny appeals to us.
Truth is really stranger than fiction. Read all about in Danny's Book
Comments