Those three little words are the centerpiece of a remarkable image campaign during the Olympics by Proctor and Gamble. They help emotionally connect relatively obscure sporting events to something everyone can identify with.

“A mom’s love of a young child who is an athlete is a universal emotion. These commercials create positive feelings. When consumers think about the brand, the feelings will transfer over.” – Karen Machleit, head of the Marketing Department, University of Cincinnati

A brand built on beliefs and values will transcend the individual elements of the brand.

The Contemporary Christian radio format can touch a deep place in the heart, and yet, too often its presentation is unimaginative and formal. There is nothing so brilliant that can’t be made utterly ineffective through an analytical presentation. I’ve known stations that were so unspectacular that not even the staff listened when they didn’t have to.

What can we learn from this campaign?

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At its best our format is more than just music and quacking dee jays. It can be the largest church in town and a gathering point for the tribe (which author Seth Godin describes as “a group of people connected to one another, connected to a leader, and connected to an idea”).

Transforming your station from a passive medium (we talk about anything we want and you HAVE to listen) to an active one (“all of us talk about the same thing at the same time”) involves two specific techniques your air talent need to understand.

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Facebook is ten years old, perhaps you’ve heard. Log in and you’ve probably seen something like this:

Here’s my Facebook movie. Find yours at…

Our radio stations can learn a thing or two from this campaign.

Facebook’s birthday isn’t about Facebook. It’s about you.

Roy Williams says…

“We buy what we buy to remind ourselves – and tell the world around us – who we are… We’re attracted to reflections of ourselves.”

Something to consider – hundreds of millions of movies have been created without anyone even being asked to. Facebook simply made it easy for you to see what your friends were doing.

You’ll have to wait another year to read the Super Bowl programming tip I wrote for today. Seth Godin‘s blog is better.

“One way the tribe identifies is through the observance of a holiday, of a group custom, of the thing we all do together that proves we are in sync. People thrive on mass celebration, but as our culture has fragmented, these universal observances are harder to find. We used to watch the same TV shows at the same time, eat the same foods, drive the same car. Given a choice, though, many people take the choice – and so, as the culture fragments, we move away from the center and to the edges.

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