Striving for the right emotional response.
Brand-building is an excellent predictor of long-term growth, and emotional investment plays a large part in that growth. However, the pandemic has created a negatively charged emotional environment.
How can brands and businesses navigate this environment?
It starts with accepting and acknowledging the pandemic in all marketing communications and not deliberately avoiding the issue. Again, consumers want to know that a business is meeting this situation head-on. They also want brands to be empathic and, although clichéd, to focus on the positives.
Indeed, marketing teams should prioritise creating positive emotions over making direct mention of the value of their products or services. To do the latter would be to give the impression of a business out of touch with the emotional needs of their clients. Overt self-promotion, especially during a pandemic, is insensitive and self-serving.
Furthermore, it is vital that marketing campaigns be delivered tastefully. While tasteful during a pandemic can be tricky, content needs to be flexible and serve a few different purposes. It should be helpful, engaging, and provide value while being aligned with the goals and values of the business.
So, who’s doing it right?