Founder and CEO of Demonstrate, Joey Hodges has over 15 years of multi-faceted integrated marketing and strategic communications experience.
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Public relations and marketing are about so much more today than product placements and creating brand awareness by forcing a product into the faces of consumers. The Covid-19 crisis, the Black Lives Matter movement, unprecedented political unrest and beyond have evolved PR and marketing to a revaluation of and focus on brand belief, philosophy and values. I believe these are the true measures of a business’s livelihood and brand health today, and they are an indicator of future success.
In its Global Millennial Survey 2020, Deloitte found that Generation Z and millennials, in particular, have been moved to strengthen their mission to improve society and challenge the status quo in the face of the pandemic.
As marketers, we can no longer rely on old playbooks to advise clients on evangelism and building brand equity. Today, many consumers (nearly 75% of the millennials and Gen Zers surveyed by Deloitte) are showing more sympathy for others’ needs than they were prior to the pandemic. What’s more, these younger generations have reminded us that with change, there is hope for growth, prosperity and resiliency not only for humankind but for the world itself. According to Deloitte, “the pandemic’s environmental impact — reduced economic activity has lowered energy use and therefore pollution — has given hope that there is still time to take action and protect the planet.”
During the time spent away from large industry trade shows, fashion weeks, music festivals and other key events that take place throughout the year, successful companies have been redefining their businesses and their corporate responsibility models to position themselves as agents for change, rather than trying to muscle through with yesterday’s strategies that no longer suit today’s world.
While many companies saw a decrease in sales when physical retailers closed, our clients in the consumer and lifestyle category saw it as an opportunity to continue to connect with their audiences. Many of them experienced a substantial increase in engagement, which in turn led to sales when stay-at-home orders began to lift. They often found that consumers were going out of the way to access their products. Others in the consumer packaged goods space found this period to be a pivotal time for their brands to remind customers of their commitments to sustainability, their employees, their partners and their communities.
We have seen a surfacing of the golden rule with a focus on humanitarianism as opposed to capitalism. While customers remain a priority, it’s less about the profit margin and more about altruism. Many companies are zeroing in on this because it is inherent in their brand beliefs, and it’s resonating with their respective consumers. In fact, Deloitte found that 60% of the millennials and Gen Zers surveyed “said they plan to buy more products and services from large businesses that have taken care of their workforces and positively affected society during the pandemic.”
It’s important to understand the foundations of your brand’s purpose versus going down the road of cause-related marketing (without purposeful intention) and consumer conscience exploitation, which we have seen backfire. Make sure that corporate actions are based on foundational organizational beliefs — and that you have your tone in check, are staying in the proper lane and aren’t taking a bandwagon approach. It’s important that brands’ actions are manifestations of the company’s mission and espouse true purpose to their customers, communities, employees, shareholders and suppliers.
Some things to carefully consider as you look to build your brand communications framework and the way you’re communicating externally include:
• How does your brand work to change the world for the better?
• Does your brand work to improve the lives of people and their respective communities?
• Aside from the bottom line, does your brand have a purpose?
• How does your brand engage and benefit all stakeholders?
In today’s connected, always-on world, we feel that brands should be storytellers in order to remain relevant, or create relevance, for their respective audiences and potential consumers. How do you grow influence as you build your brand? We often find that approaching content strategy in a way that combines both brand communications and editorial planning powered by compelling creative is the best way to articulate brand purpose and actions. As the earned media landscape continues to shift, so do the ways in which we effectively communicate from the brand voice.
At my company, we always look to three key tenets when developing communications strategies and tactics: Is it authentic to the brand story, mission or founder-led vision? Is it authentic to the times (i.e., timely in regard to cultural tensions)? And lastly, does it resonate as authentic to the audiences when pressure-tested? Meaning, does it attract and spark engagement and talkability across touchpoints?
To me, brand purpose is about rising above the fray and showing people loyalty by taking a stance. It has been said that the most effective communicators listen with the intent to understand, as opposed to listening with the intent to reply. This is a stance that I am personally taking when it comes to managing my business, working with clients and developing communications strategies, and I encourage others to do the same. To best serve clients, partners and consumers, we must first listen to better understand before returning to our platforms.
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Author: Joey Hodges, Forbes Councils Member
