Are We on The Same Page Here?
I’ve been approached recently by Marketing Directors and VPs of companies looking for business consultation on the current situation. There are no rulebooks or marketing strategies to recommend for the current environment. We are all searching for answers, ways to make it “better” and ways to improve our future.
There’s always up and down cycles throughout business life with strategies needed to shift and change with the times. How a brand ebbs and flows and, most importantly, aligns with the consumer mindset is the key in both short- and long-term success.
“Are we on the same page here?” That is a key self-identifying question for a compassionate person first, business leader second and a brand steward third. When it comes to marketing, the owners and senior executives we are talking with are debating: 1) Pulling back, taking a breath and recognizing how they can fit and play (or not) in the current advertising landscape; and 2) Plow ahead into a difficult-to-achieve tasteful approach to aligning their brand with the news of the day.
Consumers, brand ambassadors, brand detractors and, at times, a majority of the country (reference the Peloton advertising recently) will weigh in on a brand’s lack of being on the “same page with their audience.”
I see Lexus running ads now and I question if Lexus has always been about the people? It isn’t the first brand connotation that comes to mind when thinking about Lexus. Feels forced to me.
There is no grand strategy to convey right now. It’s asking simple questions to yourself, to your teams and to your customers. Those questions and, most importantly, the answers should be rooted in the most positive of human characteristics – Truth, Love and Compassion.
Brands should be asking these 3 questions right now:
- How can we truly be of service right now?
- What resources can we provide to alleviate suffering?
- What do you need, the customer, to be as successful as possible right now?
And if the answer is: No or Nothing to any of these questions, then it’s time to take a breath and think about what your brand will stand for now in the marketplace. It’s not necessarily a time to stop marketing but a time to think deeply if you are truly on the same page here.
Stay Safe. Keep Creating!
Michael D