The Lead

Risk seekers -- those who perceive the potential gain to outweigh the impact of the loss.

Risk averse -- those who perceive the potential gain as not worth the loss.

So how does this relate to marketing and public relations? Here are a couple of examples:

- Michelin Tires runs an advertising campaign showing babies playing in a stack of tires with the slogan "Because there's a lot riding on your tires." They're banking that you'll believe that it's worth it to spend a little more on your tires for the protection it gives you and your family.

- Visa's recent campaign showing the risk associated with not choosing a credit card that has automatic fraud and identity theft detection. They're hoping you'll see that the high risk of loss will cause you to take the time and effort to switch your credit card company.

- A promising startup recruiting high-potential employees by offering lucrative stock options and warrants in exchange for taking a base salary lower than they'd get at a steady corporate job. The premise is that you're confident enough in your abilities to skip the sure thing of a steady paycheck in exchange for potentially huge gains down the road.

Summary: Customers, investors, employees and other publics need to change behaviors if you're going to be successful. You've got to understand the risk associated with those behavior changes if you want your messaging to be on-target.