Social Guerrilla, the new book by Professor Paolo Peverini, published by LUISS University Press, takes a semiotic look at contemporary forms of unconventional communication in campaign-building strategies and in their effects on the public.
"The expression ‘unconventional’ is as appealing as it is problematic," explains the LUISS professor of Media Semiotics. "A campaign can be defined as unconventional only to the extent that it is planned and circulated in the media, starting from a preliminary analysis of the most consolidated and codified forms of communication in order to redefine them. In other words, the most innovative methods of social communication are those able to grip its audience by studying people’s instinctive reactions at their roots: in effect, they are really a kind of ambush."
Social Guerrilla specifically focuses on the analysis of certain awareness campaigns of actors such as NGOs, institutions, and the third sector. "The assumptions that guide the design and implementation of the most radical social advertising campaigns consist in not responding directly to public skepticism, but in getting around the defenses of the audience by producing an unexpected discourse: a 'semiotic trap' that becomes more effective the more it can transform the recipient’s doubt, indifference and prejudices into raised awareness."
This type of campaign is the result of a complex strategy that involves a series of tactics ("ambient, viral"), techniques ("stickering, use of objects, flash mob…") and dissembling where the campaign’s central theme ("protecting human rights, protecting the environment...") is hidden behind what appears to be a familiar discussion. "The most innovative unconventional communications are those that use everyday actions, seemingly obvious and commonplace, such as crossing a crosswalk (covered with stickers depicting the victims of car accidents), grabbing handrails in public transport to avoid falling (covering them with stickers showing the face of someone condemned to death) or lifting the lid of a dumpster (inside which there is a close-up image of a homeless man asking for help). In forcing the recipient to be part of a fictional situation, the campaign urges him to take a position with regard to the social issue at hand, thus driving him to support the organization and spread the message."
In betting on the surprise effect and constant novelty, the social guerrilla must constantly invent new approaches and for this reason is considered a perpetually evolving phenomenon. In addition, "we must not forget that the gradual tolerance built up towards the portrayal of pain, fed by the media, forces those working in social media to continually rework their approach, to find alternative ways to overcome widespread indifference."
A special case concerns digital media and specifically social networks, which often encourage the circulation of the most innovative awareness campaigns. "If we consider social platforms not so much like technologies but as real media environments, it becomes clear that the development prospects of the social guerrilla are linked to the ability to understand and use the logic of the production and sharing of content."
Two important cases cited by Peverini in this regard are the campaigns of Amnesty International, called Tyrannybook and Trial By Timeline: "two attempts to redefine the narratives on torture and on the death penalty. The first case envisaged a potential social network based on the Facebook model, with profiles of dictators implemented by activists and supporters of the organization. In the second case, user content (with consent) is used to stage a hypothetical conviction, forcing subjects to reflect on the link between free expression and social networks. In both cases, the campaign’s originality was based on a thorough analysis of the structure and uses of social networks, and a provocative rethinking of the form.”