How to Make Your Marketers Feel Like Mad Men (Without the Whiskey)
Marketing teams are the wizards of perception—they take ordinary products and turn them into things people feel they can’t live without. But what if I told you that the belief your marketing team has in their own abilities is just as important as the belief customers have in your brand? That’s where the Pygmalion effect comes in. If you expect your marketing team to be creative geniuses, strategic masterminds, and data-driven wizards, guess what? They’ll start acting the part.
Now, let’s break down how you can use this psychological hack to turn your marketing team into a high-performing, revenue-generating powerhouse.
Set High Expectations for Creativity (But Make it Safe to Fail)
If you tell your marketing team, “I expect bold, innovative ideas that push the boundaries,” they will rise to that challenge. But if you tell them, “Just play it safe and copy what the competition is doing,” guess what? You’ll get a copy-paste strategy that bores your audience to tears.
Start every brainstorming session by saying, “Let’s assume no idea is too big or too weird—what’s the wildest thing we could do?” Create a culture where creativity is rewarded, even if the idea flops. If employees fear failure, they’ll aim low. If they expect success, they’ll shoot for the stars. Praise originality, not just results. If someone comes up with an ambitious campaign that doesn’t work, recognize the effort and tweak the idea rather than scrapping it altogether.
Look at Wendy’s Twitter account. If their social media team was told to “just post about the menu,” their tweets would be boring. But because Wendy’s leadership has set the expectation that they should be funny, edgy, and engage in roasting customers and competitors, they’ve built one of the most recognizable brand voices in fast food. The Pygmalion Effect works.
Sell the Expectation, Not Just the Product
The Pygmalion effect is not just about motivating employees—it works on customers, too. When you set an expectation in your marketing, people will perceive your product that way even before they use it.
Instead of saying, “Our product is good,” say, “Our product is industry-changing.” Use high-value words that frame your product as elite, exclusive, or transformational. Get your customers to expect results before they even make a purchase. Testimonials, influencer reviews, and social proof all help set sky-high expectations.
Think about Peloton. They don’t just sell an exercise bike; they sell the expectation of becoming an athlete, building a fitness community, and leveling up your life. Customers don’t just expect a good workout—they expect to become a whole new person because of their purchase. That expectation alone drives brand loyalty and high engagement.
Give Your Marketing Team a “Special Ops” Mentality
People work harder when they feel like they’re part of something elite. If your marketing team sees themselves as an average department, they’ll work like one. But if you position them as an elite creative force, they’ll start acting accordingly.
Give your team a cool, internal nickname like “The Growth Commandos” or “The Conversion Avengers.” It sounds ridiculous, but internal branding shifts mindsets. Frame big projects as missions instead of just “campaigns.” Instead of saying, “Let’s run a new email sequence,” say, “We’re launching a tactical engagement strategy to drive 40% more conversions.” Set bold, exciting goals—not just, “increase engagement,” but “let’s be the best-performing ad campaign in our industry this quarter.”
Facebook (now Meta) does this with their internal teams. Their design and marketing teams have mantras and themes for their campaigns that make them feel like a mission, not just another work task. This creates a high-performance culture where people expect success—and that expectation leads to better results.
Engineer a “Winning Streak” Mentality
Ever notice how sports teams that expect to win keep winning? The same works for marketing teams. The more they believe they are on a winning streak, the more they perform like champions.
Celebrate every small win. If your email open rate goes up by 3%, throw a mini party (even if it’s just Slack emojis). Use data to prove momentum. Show graphs and visuals of progress to reinforce the idea that your team is on an upward trajectory. Gamify performance. Use leaderboards, rewards, or incentives to reinforce the expectation that success is the norm, not the exception.
Salesforce applies this principle by creating team dashboards that show real-time progress. By constantly reinforcing the expectation of success, their teams keep pushing harder, which increases performance across the board.
Use Social Proof to Set Customer Expectations Sky-High
If people see that others expect your brand to be great, they’ll assume it must be true. This is why social proof is one of the most powerful marketing tools out there.
Showcase big-name clients or high-profile partnerships. Even if a big brand used your service once, highlight it. Use case studies to show how you’ve exceeded client expectations before. Encourage customers to brag about their experience on social media and tag your brand.
Netflix does this by promoting what’s trending—when they say “The #1 movie in the world right now,” even if you weren’t planning to watch it, you suddenly expect it to be worth watching. That expectation alone makes people more likely to enjoy it.
Final Takeaway: Expect Greatness, Create Greatness
The Pygmalion effect is marketing psychology on steroids. When applied to marketing teams, it pushes them to perform at a higher level. When applied to customers, it makes them believe in your brand before they’ve even tried your product.
So, next time you’re strategizing with your team, don’t just say, “Let’s create a campaign.” Say, “We’re about to launch the best marketing campaign this company has ever seen.”
Because when people expect something great, they work harder to make it real.
Now, tell me—how do you want to apply this to Episode 11 Productions? Maybe a new marketing strategy that frames your brand as the ultimate game-changer in video production? Let’s craft some high expectations and watch them become reality. 🚀
