CONFLICT IN STRATEGY PART 1: THE SOAP OPERA
Every writer worth reading knows it: without conflict there’s no story.
It’s the backbone of plot, the essence of drama. It pits human against human (opposing wills), human against environment (to conquer an external force, nature, society or “fate”), or human against herself or himself (a struggle against one’s own nature, physical being, mental outlook, life change, emotional state or morals). Sometimes it is outward and obvious, other times it is internal and complex. But always, it is what drives a character or characters to seek some form of resolution – which is when the story begins to move.
Perhaps no other genre epitomizes the concept of conflict in storytelling as does the soap opera. Barely an episode goes by without a case of sexual awakening, warped adultery, murderous betrayal or mysterious birth. All mixed up and mangled in a seemingly endless web of juicy conflict.
Break down the soap opera even further and you’ll find two predominant themes: First, is that it thrives on our innate voyeurism – that is, our desire to get a glimpse into how other people live, and how they resolve their conflicts; second, is that the real brilliance of soap operas – if you can call it that – is that it is built on a hierarchyof conflicts, in which one trumps the other which trumps the other. Which one of them is going to ultimately break the character is what keeps the viewer tuned in.
Which is a nice analogy for creative strategy. For it’s not just in understanding a consumer’s conflicts that we can best determine the most appropriate resolution; it’s in understanding all their conflicts, and which need to be addressed first before he or she can move on to consider what you have to say about the next. In its purest form, this is what a salesperson innately understands … and what a creative strategy must make actionable. Think of it as “multi-level” problem/solution.
To embrace this, let’s take a step back a moment. Truth is, our lives are flush with conflict from the moment we’re born. We struggle with trying to figure out what to do with our mouths (a problem that, unfortunately, stays with many people throughout their lives). Then comes potty training. There are braces, hormones, kids, mortgages, sick parents, investments that go sour, back pain, conniving bosses – you name it, stuff they just can’t teach in school. There’s even conflict in death!
But there’s no point in dwelling on that. Instead, we constantly seek resolutions to our conflicts. If our teeth hurt, we buy aspirin. If we want to appear more sophisticated at the office, we buy designer eyeglasses. If we get a stain on our new white shirt we buy Shout! If our parents get ill, we hire home care. You get the idea. Products and services exist to resolve conflicts.
Like good soap writers, the best marketers understand how intense this quest for resolution is. But unlike a soap, reality dramatically told is quite enough. We strive to make consumers care about their products because we’ve figured out how to best demonstrate how their products are uniquely qualified and capable of resolving their conflicts. Determining what lies at the root of those conflicts, where one conflict lies relative to another, what will truly be a believable resolution to these conflicts and what will make someone sit up and take notice are the kinds of questions we’ll be examining in the next section of this series.
Reprinted from Deconstructing Creative Strategy by Rich Feldman, all rights reserved. For a free copy email richfeldman@landtheplane.net
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