The Strange Power of Instructions That Nobody Asked For
A quiet shift is happening in product marketing. Not louder ads. Not bigger campaigns. Instructions.
Not the boring legal ones. The weird ones. The playful ones. Open a box and you are told to freeze the wrapper for ten minutes. Or place the lid upside down and spin it before you eat. One cereal challenger recently printed a three step “morning experiment” inside every pack. None of it changed the product. All of it changed the story.
People like a tiny mission. Give someone a small instruction and they suddenly feel part of something. It is the same psychology as cooking instructions, treasure hunts, or those oddly addictive puzzle books near the checkout that nobody admits buying. Marketers are realising that behaviour is the new media channel. If someone performs a small ritual with your product, they talk about it. They film it. They make their friend try it. That is distribution you cannot buy.
AI is quietly becoming the co writer of these rituals. Not the obvious ad copy stuff. The strange behavioural prompts. A useful prompt I have been playing with: “Invent 50 tiny physical rituals someone could perform with a packaged product that take less than 20 seconds and feel oddly satisfying.” The good results are bizarre. Tap the lid three times. Stack the empty jars into a tower. Tear the label in a spiral. None of this is logical. That is the point.
Expect more brands to design moments instead of messages. Small instructions tucked inside labels, lids, seals, and wrappers. Not campaigns. Tiny performances. In a world drowning in polished content, a slightly odd instruction might be the most human thing a brand can offer.
Not the boring legal ones. The weird ones. The playful ones. Open a box and you are told to freeze the wrapper for ten minutes. Or place the lid upside down and spin it before you eat. One cereal challenger recently printed a three step “morning experiment” inside every pack. None of it changed the product. All of it changed the story.
People like a tiny mission. Give someone a small instruction and they suddenly feel part of something. It is the same psychology as cooking instructions, treasure hunts, or those oddly addictive puzzle books near the checkout that nobody admits buying. Marketers are realising that behaviour is the new media channel. If someone performs a small ritual with your product, they talk about it. They film it. They make their friend try it. That is distribution you cannot buy.
AI is quietly becoming the co writer of these rituals. Not the obvious ad copy stuff. The strange behavioural prompts. A useful prompt I have been playing with: “Invent 50 tiny physical rituals someone could perform with a packaged product that take less than 20 seconds and feel oddly satisfying.” The good results are bizarre. Tap the lid three times. Stack the empty jars into a tower. Tear the label in a spiral. None of this is logical. That is the point.
Expect more brands to design moments instead of messages. Small instructions tucked inside labels, lids, seals, and wrappers. Not campaigns. Tiny performances. In a world drowning in polished content, a slightly odd instruction might be the most human thing a brand can offer.