May 8, 2008
The Candy Bombers
On my way to Seattle today, I picked up a new book by Andrei Cherny, The Candy Bombers, the story of the Anglo-American airlift of supplies to Berlin in 1948-9, that thwarted the Russian blockade of the German capital. Interwoven between high-stakes diplomatic and military maneuvering by the Cold War antagonists is the story of individual charity and heroism by American pilot Hal Halvorsen, the legendary Candy Bomber. How the American high command managed the most unusual behavior of this pilot provides a guide for business executives seeking to connect with stakeholders.
Lieutenant Halvorsen, wandering around Tempelhof Airfield in Berlin after making a delivery of flour to the embattled city, finds a group of German kids standing at the fence. He gives them his two remaining sticks of Wrigley Doublemint Gum, tearing each in half so four kids could have a treat. He said, “The expressions on their faces were incredulous, full of awe. If I brought back thirty cents of candy, I could put these guys on Easy Street,” he said. So he promised the children that he would drop candy down to them; they would know his plane because “it will be the one that wiggles its wings.” On his return to his base in Frankfurt, he and two friends bought their weekly allotment of gum and candy, then found junk twine and an extra handkerchief “to fashion a miniature parachute.” Good to his word, he made his “candy delivery” the following day, then twice more. Within days, a stack of mail appeared at Tempelhof, envelopes addressed in crayon to the “Onkel Wackelflugel (Uncle Wiggly Wings) or “Schokoladen Flieger” (The Chocolate Flyer).
About two weeks later, Halvorsen is ushered into the office of the US Commanding General Tunner, anticipating a court-martial or other discipline. Cherny writes, “Tunner beckoned him forward, and rather than giving him a court-martial, he offered his congratulations. He had realized immediately the enormous psychic boost the candy drops could have on Berliners. In this new kind of war they were fighting, a battle for allegiance and affections as much as for territory…Tunner did not send him to the brig, he sent him to go speak to the press.” Halvorsen coined the phrase, “Operation Little Vittles” to describe his one man kids’ campaign. From Associated Press to ABC News, the media made Halvorsen a military hero, “the public face of the otherwise anonymous pilots flying the airlift…representing a larger idea, the moral responsibility to help humans caught in a struggle.” Then Halvorsen was sent back to New York City in September, 1948 for a media tour, including an appearance on CBS’ “We the People” show. On his return to Germany, he found over 800 pounds of candy and hundreds of handkerchiefs donated by viewers of the program, which were delivered by 30 other pilots. Cherny states that, “Hal Halvorsen and the Airlift had showed that for democracy to take root it required a change in hearts and minds more than in economic conditions, that America’s strength is not just military muscle but an undisputedly moral voice.”
What are the lessons in this for business? Grassroots sentiment is best changed by spontaneous actions of individuals prompted by strong convictions. These acts may stray outside of the corporate codes of conduct but the nobility of purpose overwhelms the technical violation. This applies both to employees and to those outside, including communities and civil society. Business is best served by being open to these types of entrepreneurial acts, recognizing that brands are expected to have a broader social purpose. To harness this energy, business will need to be open to change and to compromise, to co-creation of a better mutual end point. The benefits in brand sales and corporate reputation make this the wise course. I would appreciate your comments as always.
Posted by Edelman at 10:14 AM
Comments
Having been raised not far from Lt. Halvorsen's hometown of Garland, UT, I've heard his story since grade school. But I never thought of the business applications before. Thank you, Richard, for reminding me of this great story and for sharing your insights.
Posted by: Jack Shirts at May 8, 2008 4:24 PM
I was reading your blog and saw the post, “The Candy Bombers.” I enjoyed the post and the heartfelt story. I think that Hal Halvorsen demonstrated extraordinary character and sense of humanity in a difficult situation. You are very right in your assessment that these acts may have strayed outside the codes of conduct, but the motivation was much stronger than the violation. Hal Halvorsen became known for his kind heart and decency, which may have been contradictory to the military image that may have been perceived by the public. Businesses are expected to focus on brand, profits, revenue, and growth. However, that should not be their only focus. A focus on corporate and social responsibility is good for the soul of the company and will contribute to the overall success of the company.
This leads me to the reason I am writing you. By the way of introduction, I am Laurie Stafinski, marketing associate for RainToday.com (http://www.raintoday.com). I thought you might be interested in new research we just released, Fees and Pricing Benchmark Report: Marketing, Advertising, and PR Industry 2008.
The following are key insights that I thought might be of interest to you:
Does Brand Really Make a Difference?
Firm marketers are always touting the value of establishing a brand…and now they can have the hard data to back it up.
Making the financial case for branding – our research shows:
• Brand leaders were more likely to price their services at a higher level than their competitors in the market (41% of brand leaders were premium-price vs. 24% of lesser-known firms). And, they were more likely to actually get higher fees by up to 35%.
• 79% of brand leaders experienced revenue growth in the last two years versus 65% of lesser known firms
• 69% of brand leaders are profitable versus 56% of lesser known firms
According to the data, brand leaders have a better chance of generating premium fees, growing their business, and realizing a profit than lesser known firms.
I thought that you and your readers might be interested in some of these results for your blog.
The media page for the report is here: http://www.raintoday.com/mediapagemarketing.cfm
I would be happy to provide you with a PDF review copy of the report.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Best regards,
Laurie Stafinski
Posted by: Laurie Stafinski at May 9, 2008 12:27 PM
Post a comment
| TrackBackMay 1, 2008
Chicago 1968
I was walking through Lincoln Park on Sunday en route to the Chicago Historical Society and came upon an old water trough on the bridal path, used by equestrians for their horses. It also was the watering hole for the Chicago Latin football team circa 1968 as we struggled back from our summer practice sessions in 90 degree heat. As I passed through the Society’s new exhibit on the history of Chicago, I watched a video on the two riots in 1968, one in April provoked by the murder of Dr. Martin Luther King, the other during the Democratic Convention in August. There was Mayor Richard J. Daley, defiantly ordering his police department to “shoot to kill arsonists, shoot to maim looters,” during the April upheaval, and again in August defending the police action against protestors seeking to upstage the Convention. I will never forget our football coach, formerly a professional with the San Diego Chargers, telling us, “Gentlemen, strap on your helmets. We are going to go onto the field through these hippies.” We subsequently ran wind sprints with tear gas hanging in the air and the chants of, “Ho, Ho, Ho Chi Minh, Ho Chi Minh is going to win,” in our ears from the activists storming police positions.
I discovered an excellent book on this period at the Society’s book store, called Chicago 68 by David Farber. The author lays out a fascinating theory of public relations as practiced by Abbie Hoffman, founder of the Yippies (Youth International Party), the key protagonists during the Democratic Convention. Farber writes, “The changing form of the mass media changed the way people perceived and thus made their way through reality. Because of radio, people over fifty have to hear it to believe it; because of TV, people thirty to fifty have to see it to believe it; and because of the fact that people under thirty had grown up hip to the ways TV manufactured images, in order to get them to believe in something they needed to do more than just hear it or see it—they have to feel it to believe it and that means inventing a whole new medium that begins with and depends on involvement and participation, that defines reality through immediacy rather than through passivity, that replaces explanation with actualization.” So Hoffman changed his language from “well reasoned, polished graduate school rhetoric to a hip patois, redolent with ‘you knows, groovy, cool.’ He also developed a new kind of “public happening, street theater, focused absurdity, startling put-ons,” inspired by performance art that breaks down the barrier between actor and audience and by the live comedies of the TV Golden Age, Farber contends. In Hoffman’s words, “Myth must create a participation mystique. It must have a high element of risk, drama, excitement and bullshit.”
In 1969, both my mother and I had our own experiences with Abbie Hoffman, then on trial as part of the famous Chicago 8, including Rennie Davis, Jerry Rubin and the Black Panther Bobby Seale whose mouth was taped shut before every court session because he shouted to interrupt the proceedings. Somehow my mother was friendly with Judge Julius Hoffman, a Mr. Magoo look alike who was presiding over the court. She went to the visitors’ gallery with two of her friends for a day, only to be lampooned in a New York Times article by famed journalist Tony Lukas as “Judge Hoffman’s Gold Coast Chicago socialite girlfriends.” During Christmas vacation, I also went to court and was harassed by Abbie Hoffman, sticking out his tongue and wildly waving his hands in my face. But the man saw the future and brought it to bear in Chicago forty years ago. Hoffman was working at all levels of consciousness, from in person experiences leading to word of mouth, to creating visual images appealing to mass media. In our present communications world, it is the intersection of mass media based on interpretation by experts and personal media premised on individual involvement. I would appreciate your comments as always.
Posted by Edelman at 4:03 PM
Comments
Richard, great post! Abbie Hoffman was indeed a genius pioneer of reality-based, multi-dimensional PR, and Chicago 1968 was his masterpiece. His descendents are numerous and active today (see WTO Seattle among other more recent examples). But the problem with such a deeply personalizing, experiential style is the law of unintended consequences, or backlash. After all, who was elected President in 1968?
Posted by: mark d at May 2, 2008 2:02 PM
Richard -
Farber's insights about generational differences in the way we process information is extremely valuable. As communicators, we probably do a better job of considering the impact of historical references and cultural experiences with different age groups than we do with the way information is actually processed. For example, I grew up writing papers longhand, so when I began working on a Wang Word Processor (over 20 years ago) writing speeches for my CEO, I found it to be a real transition to think through a keyboard versus pen to paper. There's something to be said for the way we receive information and are inclined to act on it. Thanks for the great reference!
Posted by: Leo J. Bottary at May 3, 2008 10:01 AM
Richard -
I enjoyed your post. While only eight years old at the time, I'd listened to my share of the MC5 by July '68 thanks to older siblings.
Let's not forget it was Abbie Hoffman who organized antiwar protesters in an attempt to levitate the Pentagon driving out evil spirits! I can't help but wonder what kind of theatre, spectacle he'd be involved in this election year.
And what was chanted by antiwar demonstrators that became a catch-phrase?
"The whole world is watching"
Posted by: Todd McGovern at May 7, 2008 10:47 AM