Same words, same audience, different responses
I used to work with a guy who runs an ecom brand in Australia.
And I remember how their reviews were filled with customers who raved about the brand’s products ‘cause they're awesome and made in Australia.
Something about supporting local businesses and all that jazz.
“Made in Australia” is prominently written on their products, and customers dig it.
But that wasn't the case for “Made in Germany” products.
Especially in 1887, when Great Britain* passed a law forcing foreign countries to label their products with where they were made.
(*Great Britain? Who calls themselves “great”? That's like nicknaming yourself “The Don”. Sure, no one will stop you, but it's kinda pretentious.)
Anyway, the main target of that law was German manufacturers…
Since they were copying British products, creating knockoffs.
And the idea was the “Made in Germany “ label would be a dog whistle to Brits:
“Buy British products, not German knockoffs.”
Well, it worked.
People steered clear of products with “Made in Germany” labels.
Then, decades later, after World War 2, while most industrialized nations focused on mass production…
Most German manufacturers made it a thing of national pride to “produce quality work” and focus on “post-industrial custom-tailoring.”
Guess what?
As a result, the reputation of “Made in Germany” goods skyrocketed.
People now want "Made in Germany “ products since they're usually of high quality.
So much so that the EU wanted to regulate how manufacturers use the labels on their products.
See, the words remain the same.
But instead of people seeing “Made in Germany” and immediately thinking, “no way I'm buying that."
Now they see “Made in Germany", and it's, “oi, I've gotta buy this.”
(Even if the product is a glass armonica and you've got no clue how to play a glass armonoca.)
So what's changed? The context.
The context around those three words has changed.
And that change led to a change in people's behavior towards the same words.
See, words don't persuade in isolation.
They do so in the context they are presented.
So don't just focus on the words you use… focus on the context as well.
Create the right context, and your words become very persuasive.
In fact, given certain context or conditions… the words you use matter less.
