Brand Purpose: An Effective Advertising Response in a Crisis | Ekaterina Mochalova

Have you ever thought about human history through the prism of advertising? Never mind, J. Walker Smith, Chief Knowledge Officer, Brand & Marketing, Kantar has done that for you. Let’s take a dive in 20th century with him and look at his findings. 

We can clearly see changing eras starting from the early 20th century. At first, it was all about product. Brands were fighting in the attempt to prove that they have a better product. Oh, how simple it was back in that times… Then, in mid-sixties, after crisis, the focus shifted to make consumer look for his or her better self. People not just wanted to buy a better product now. They wanted to be with the brand that makes them better – or makes them feel better at least. 

In this Era of Person, people bought brands because they wanted to be like the people who used that brand or were seen to use that brand.

This trend is still with us in away, but it has started shifting in the beginning of 21st century. 

And then, after a while, another crisis hit. After 2008 a new era came – Era of Public. Now the consumer started to look for brands that are standing for good, for some purpose that is making the life of the whole society better. 

Global Kantar survey data showing a 2017-2019 rise from 51% to 65% in the percentage of consumers saying that it is important for brands to be committed to building a better society

And now, in the Covid times, this is even more explicit. Interesting enough, nowadays people tend to trust the brands less and less – and still they demand them to do more. Now people evaluate brands on how do they take care of their employees in these hard times, what have they done for the society to support people, how helpful they were. 

Disruptions often clear the way for underlying trends to become more visible and, in some ways, disruptions can accelerate those underlying trends

Paul Donato, Chief Research Officer, ARF, introduced the study Cracking Brand Purpose, that demonstrated, how the campaigns that are leaning on brand purpose are becoming winners. It clearly shows that to become successful, campaign needs to be connected both to brand history and brand purpose. It has to trigger emotions. 

Sarah Capers, Head of Brand, North America, Kantar, dived deep into the study to figure out what exactly the campaign needs to be successful, what bricks should be in that wall to make it solid and effective. And here’s what she has found out: 

• Just be who you are. Think of the most obvious thing, and it will be the right one. What is the brand standing for? What was it standing for throughout all it’s history? Be consistent in your purpose and you will prevail. 
• Show people that you care. Don’t be boasting about your own greatness – talk about them, not about yourself. 
• Don’t be closed. Try to engage your audience – it will pay off. 
• Don’t just talk. If you say something – do something. Just talking will not gain any trust. 

How COVID-19 is Affecting Public Attitudes, Emotions and Values

Diving deep into research with IPSOS and NORC at the University of Chicago, who have some great findings of what is really going on. 

What is the first emotion coming to mind when we are speaking of pandemics? I would say for many of us this is fear. But is it rational? What is it based on? The research found, that in the start of the pandemics, 50% of the Americans were afraid that they or their loved ones would contact Covid. Meaning 1 out of 2 people wasn’t afraid. This dramatically changed in just in a month, and in early April only 1 out of 4 wasn’t afraid. And we can also see how these stats are correlated with consumer confidence, that dropped from 63 to 46 during March. 

In late March, only 39% of Americans were very confident that the U.S. Healthcare system could handle the virus

What have they done under such circumstances? 90% have stocked up, and many of them, despite the falling consumer confidence, we using credit cards and making debts – just to feel safer. And there is another reason behind this fear – only 1 out of 2 trusts Federal Government (only 21% of democrats vs 60% of republicans). Although people feel more confident in their local government, with a 60% approval rate. But that is obviously not enough to make people feel safe when they are facing global threats. No surprise that over 40% of Americans claim, that their emotional state has been damaged. 

Rates of emotional distress such as sleeplessness or nervousness doubled after 9/11 and persisted for two years or more in affected neighborhoods. This crisis is likely different in that in prior crises, friends and family were the best antidote to these emotions. Isolation is likely to exacerbate these conditions

So what is the future that is awaiting ahead? Are we going to change for the better – re-evaluate our lives, become more educated and cautious, would learn how to handle hardships and rise stronger then ever? Or will we fall down with the economy and find ourselves desperate and struggling to recover? And how should brands behave in this new upcoming post-covid era? 

There is the America that was laid off, furloughed or who have to work at their grocery stores, bus routes and other civil service roles because they cannot afford to do otherwise

I feel like the most important for brand would now become in a way a replacement for those who people don’t believe in – for Federal Government. People need someone to believe in, so maybe there is a time to break this trend of not trusting brands? What if the brands would show, how much they care about their employees, show that people do have someone to rely on in the desperate times? I feel that brands need to show this, and gain in the long run. Only by turning their face to people brands can get customers loyalty. And just claiming good intentions and saying nice things is not enough. Right now it is time to act big.