Book review: JOIN THE CLUB
How peer pressure can transform the world
Genres:
- Social Science
- Sociology
- Psychology
Review posted on:
11.11.2016
The number of pages:
432 pages
Book rating:
3/5
Year the book was published:
First edition published 2011
Who should read this book:
- Marketers, Start-up founders, Entrepreneurs, People in sales, Coaches, Public figures.
Why did I pick up this book and what did I expect to get out of it:
We all know about peer pressure with kids and teens, but what about adults? In what capacity does peer pressure work for adults and how can it be used? Those are some of the questions that interest me and in hopes of getting some answers, I decided to pick up Join The Club by Tina Rosenberg. When going through the covers, the intro, and online reviews made by others who read Join The Club I decided to pick it up. One of the main reasons is that Tina Rosenberg supposedly shares real-life examples from all across the world of how peer pressure influenced masses of people. I wonder how in-depth did she go with the examples, and if she covered them from the very start until the very end.
My thoughts about the book:
There is no universal formula for how peer pressure works, but lucky for you Tina Rosenberg in her book Join The Club shares more than a few examples of how it worked in some situations in certain parts of the world. Tina Rosenberg talks about which strategies worked in the battle against smoking and which didn’t in the USA, how South Africa successfully lowered the number of teens getting infected with HIV/AIDS, and why the same strategy didn’t work for adults. You will also get to read about how peer pressure can start a revolution in a country being terrorized by a dictator, or how and why neighbors are more effective communities if they develop trust and live as one big family, and how community clubs, training centers, and similar youth centers prevent gang and terror violence. There is also a case study where a movement was started in India to eliminate the caste system by empowering the lowest caste the Dalits (untouchables) with knowledge and responsibility of caregivers and teaching them about entrepreneurship and business. It is remarkable to read how these women then changed their world. Not all cases/examples are success stories, as many projects started failing when their funds were cut, or when the political climate changed.
A great point Tina makes when she talks about how peer pressure is the power of influence you give to others over yourself based on your need for acceptance and acknowledgment of others. In every circumstance, peer pressure will give you the courage to do what the majority and the leadership of your group want to do, even if you do not agree or feel like doing it 100%. It all starts and ends with emotions, feelings, and your needs. That is why peer pressure is such an enigma. Even when you develop a successful peer pressure strategy or as Tina Rosenberg calls it “social cure” you always have to keep an eye on it because it is like a living organism that reacts to the changes in its environment. A powerful element of peer pressure is the need of an individual to belong to a group of people and the fear of being alone or abandoned by them.
To sum up my thoughts about Join The Club, it’s an interesting read that might give you a new perspective on peer pressure and the effectiveness of influencing people, not so much individually but rather in the masses. But what I didn’t like is that in some parts, she drags “the story” too long, and in some other parts, her conclusions are just guesses at best without any scientific backing.
If you picked up this book please let me know what you think about it in the comment section.
My notes from the book:
- The more important and deeply rooted the behavior, the less impact information has and the more people close their minds to messages that scare them.
- People want to belong, to be part of the “in crowd”, to be loved and admired and respected.
- The way to change behavior is to create a “desirable club” to join a peer group so strong and persuasive that the individual adopts a new identity.
- Along with genetics, peer pressure is probably the most important influence on who we are.
- Take your brand off the shelf and into the community. Create fun and cool experiences with concerts, games, tournaments, blogs, websites,… Whatever it takes to get people talking about your brand.
- The logic of your brand should be to create something larger than life, a sense of belonging.
- Create an environment where peers can motivate others by sharing their own personal history.
- The stronger our commitment to a belief, the more we are invested in proving it right, and we interpret all other information in the light most favorable to our beliefs.
- People typically measure themselves and set their own rules by looking at the social norms of a handful of peers. When people are uncertain about how to behave, they usually look around them to see what their peers are doing.
- When changing behavior make sure you do it by showing it in a way that the change you want is presented in a way that is socially acceptable and doing otherwise is socially unacceptable. This triggers our most primitive response – “What is the crowd doing”.
- Getting people to feel something is a more powerful motivator than getting them to know certain facts.
- Credibility with your audience matters. There is nothing wrong with employing emotion, as long as it is true to the people you are trying to reach.
- For teenagers looking stupid is much worse than the fear of death. So if you want them to stop doing something make sure you pick the right strategy.
- If you want to persuade people to change their behavior, you must embrace the idea of brands. A brand creates loyalty, affinity, and consistent expectations for the experience people will have with a product/service. Brands create emotional associations.
- Word-of-mouth-marketing experts say that it isn’t simply good products that inspire customers to text call or e-mail their friends. It’s about the way the product affects the customers’ identity.
- Experiential marketing tries to build a community, one that transmits its new norms to its members. It gives them activities to go to and do, people to meet, and a group that revolves around the product.
- If they cannot relate to you, if your lifestyle doesn’t resonate, they will not accept anything from you.
