The Genius of Simplicity and How It Can Work for You
„It’s the economy, stupid.“
Chances are you have heard this catch phrase before, but many are not aware of where it stems from.
The phrase was coined by Bill Clinton’s lead campaign strategist, James Carville, during Clinton’s successful bid for the presidency in 1992.
Carville famously wrote a list of three key messages on a whiteboard at a campaign headquarters. These included:
- Change vs. more of the same
- The economy, stupid
- Don't forget health care
It was a beautiful reminder to focus on the key points and ignore everything outside of this framework, and it won Clinton the bid.
Why?
Because complexity doesn’t win voters’ hearts. Bill Clinton had a tendency to over-intellectualize and get bogged down on details in TV Debates, and so the campaign decided to shift strategy and simplify their communication to the public
After some re-strategizing and re-newed focus on three core messages, Clinton was able to drive home his core messages more effectively and do it a way that truly resonated with his audience.
The phrase, „it’s the economy, stupid,“ caught on and became symbolic of Clinton's campaign, even though it wasn't intended for public consumption. It encapsulated the campaign's focus on the economy and highlighted the message that Clinton understood their economic anxieties and would address them.
Why it worked is the subject of my last read, „Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die“ by Chip Heath & Dan Heath. (Highly recommend this one.)
The book argues that ideas that stick—meaning those that are memorable and impactful—tend to follow certain principles. One of these principles is simplicity, which the Heath brothers describe as finding the core of the idea and expressing it in a clear, concise, and compelling way.
In my personal journey, conducting thousands of calls and meetings with hundreds of stakeholders from all sorts of businesses, I’ve tried consistently to align my style of communication with how the brain likes to process information — whenever I strayed away from this tendency, it has gone back to hurt my performance.
And one of the habits I have learned to get rid off is overcomplicating things. The most effective slogans, but also political campaigns, ads and speeches are, without exception, simple. Not simple in their message, because the message they intend can be very profound. But, simple in their wording and delivery.
Another fascinating anecdote from the book that explains this concept well is the story of a 1990s Subway ad:
In the late 1990s, Subway was looking for a way to differentiate itself in the fast-food industry, where health concerns were becoming increasingly important to consumers. Around the same time, a college student named Jared Fogle had lost a significant amount of weight—nearly 245 pounds—by eating primarily Subway sandwiches.
Jared's story was incredibly simple: he lost weight by eating Subway sandwiches and walking. The simplicity of his story made it incredibly relatable and easy to understand.
Subway didn't need to explain complex nutritional facts or launch an elaborate marketing campaign. They just needed to highlight Jared's personal success story, which clearly communicated that eating at Subway could be a healthier option.
This campaign became wildly successful, not because it was flashy or complicated, but because it conveyed a simple, powerful idea: "If Jared can lose weight eating Subway, so can you." It stuck with people because it was easy to grasp and directly relevant to their concerns about health and weight loss.
Just as Subway succeeded by distilling their message into a clear and relatable story about weight loss, sellers and any one in the business of persuasion can boost their effectiveness by cutting through complexity and honing in on the key value their product or service offers.
How can you simplify your messages / ideas for your target group?
Feel free to let me know your thoughts (jmpwittig@gmail.com), and don’t forget to subscribe to this newsletter for more content like this.