In the recent entry Good To Go, a behavior was described that was spreading as part of a marketing campaign by Taco Bell. That the behavior spreads to the maximum amount of people is in the best interest of the marketers. It was also described how my sister has adopted the behavior as her own “trademark” and dislikes competition from others. This behavior may slow down the spread of the first behavior. That is what will be discussed today. Personally, I don’t believe there will be any significant effect. First of all, I am still going to use it when she is not around. Second of all, the behavior will manifest itself infrequently enough so that I won’t be caught. Third of all, I’m not afraid of her. Fourth of all, my sister isn’t going to try to control people she doesn’t know that well. I will be among the few that she attempts to control. I don’t think Taco Bell will ever have to worry about these effects. In fact, by being a part of her distinctive personality, my sister is more likely to use it as often as possible. The effect can only be positive.

However, what would happen if a marketer invented a viral behavior more likely to be adopted as one’s personal behavior and create tyrants? What if the behavior included attempting to control people not known well by the adopters? What if it was a behavior that encouraged respect for another’s trademark in the peers of the “tyrant”, so he/she need not be so tyrannical? What if the behavior itself was a tyrant-like behavior? How did this behavior of trying to “own” an action spread in the first place? Was it independently invented by multiple individuals? This phenomenon has the potential to damage not only marketing of products and services, but also the marketing of political candidates, causes, or anything else that one may attempt in meming activities. More study is needed.

There are at least three factors that make certain behaviors more likely than others to be adopted as personal “trademarks”. The first one is association with a desired good for the individual in question. The adopted behavior must be consistent with the image that the individual desires to project. Some people may adopt the sayings of Doctor Who (a time traveler with an English accent), Doctor Evil (an incompetent madman bent on world domination), or Doctor Tinkerton (a builder of fake machines on a kid’s show), depending on their personalities. If an individual does not wish to be identified as a certain something, they won’t act that way. Other people may create their own original behaviors and catch phrases. The “show” that people put on is just as much for themselves as for capturing the attention of others. They must enjoy the behavior, and more enjoyable behaviors will be adopted more often.

The second factor influencing trademark adoption is the uniqueness of the character portrayed. For example, there is only one Fonzie Fonzerelli. This allows one to claim themselves as the only Fonz within his/her circle of friends. If one was to impersonate the Charlie's Angels however, this allows up to two more at any one time, as there are three of them. Since in this case the trademark is already “spread out” over three individuals, it is very easy for others to get away with claiming a share. Only through the closest of alliances with little or no internal competition could a group of three form a unified front to keep the trademark. Normally, each would worry that the others might give it a bad name or allow it to be diluted. Also, the likely outcome in this scenario is that each of the individuals would then choose a specific angel to be, reducing this case to a form of the first case (the Fonz example).

The third factor that affects the likeliness of a behavior becoming adopted as an enforced trademark is if the behavior is consistent with being tyrant-like. If one is imitating another who is mean and controlling, it is easier to act tyrannically than if one is imitating a more easygoing individual. “Getting out of character” to enforce a trademark often brings objections from one’s peers, and makes it more difficult.

There are not, to my knowledge, any formal, scientific measurements of how much these factors affect the spread of various behaviors and ideas. Little is known. It is a subject ripe for study. What is known is that guarding one’s identity is a common phenomenon. Certain economists have suggested that it makes up the root of much of buying behavior. People buy that which fits and enhances their identity. Many people (particularly teenagers) want to be seen wearing the same style as the majority, but not exactly the same outfit as anyone else (with some exceptions). This phenomenon should be of some interest.