A priming strategy is the application of Priming (psychology) within advertising to influence the Implicit Memory of a targeted audience—colloquially referred to as the "Inception" strategy in reference to the 2010 feature film where the protagonist is tasked to "implant an idea into a target's subconscious" to make them think it is their own. [1][2]
Through Astroturf and Ad Placements with non-Declarative Language, an advertiser is able to mask their sponsorship of the message. Content promoted—known as Stimulus—quietly calls attention to ingredients of an idea; relying on the target's subconscious to combine them. [3]
The strategy creates Source Confusion—a form of Memory Error that involves misattribution of the source of a memory—and develops the unconscious memory of those targeted.
In 2014—not known to me as priming at the time—the strategy enabled my Facebook Ads Prank; the success of which was later extrapolated into Influence the Influencers and other methods.
Common uses
Brand Priming; familiarizing an audience with a brand prior to a prompt for conversion
Customer Priming; influencing individuals within a team targeted for an enterprise sale
Influencer Priming; cultivating organic interest to bypass paid influencer placements
Investor Priming; swaying the opinion of an investor soon to be approached for funding
Frequently asked questions
Priming (strategy): FAQs
See also
Facebook Style Guide
References
The Science Of 'Inception', forbes.com
The Psychology of Inception, overthinkingit.co
Facebook Ads Hack, ghostinfluence.com