Start a business they said… build it and they will come…
Well this has been a bit of a learning curve hasn’t it… Turns out we’re not invincible, the shelves are not self-fulfilling, we’re not infallible and it’s no longer okay to stick our heads in the sand.
Let’s take a moment to reflect, have a beer, a wine or a cup of tea. What does this all mean… and what have we learnt?
Imagine
A global pandemic virus changes our way of life.
Hypothesis
Brands that spend, communicate and operate will come out stronger.
But what about us — how will we get out of this?
Will we hate each more, or learn to be better… and who’ll help us get there? God? Brands? Government?
We are in a sea of change — it’s exciting, morbid I know, but it’s true — unless you want to get caught up in the misery, let’s not wallow. We have to look at this differently; what do we do that matters, what can we become, what can we do better, how do we learn from this — if we don’t do anything, will we survive?
There’s an opportunity here for brands to do good — not to jump on the band wagon, as so many have done, but to just be bloody better. They need to remember that helping doesn’t just mean sanitiser or shouting about purpose . It could start small (alongside your business purpose), perhaps simply making someone smile each day or remembering what’s important i.e. community, charity, people.
These guys got it
It doesn’t need to be loud but it does need to be positive, at / for your customer, consumers and beyond. https://www.instagram.com/p/B97vnBoAwz8/
The solution seems to — be better, kinder, more aware and active — everyone.
Out there
We’ve seen a huge spike in online shopping — partly as many have more money (as they’re not spending it elsewhere) but it’s very short-term in many cases — e-commerce / online strategies can be bloody disconnected from brand which is a massive flaw. Short-term, sales are great but will anyone remember one from another?
One of the criticisms of online shopping is the lack of service and human interaction — something that we’re craving more than ever.
One of the key appeals of massive multiplayer online games (MMOGs) is the ability to compete and communicate with other people within the game environment. Take Travis Scott’s recent online in game concert — innovation-through-crisis shows us is that businesses can still connect with their consumers, in this case via massive multi-participant online showrooming.
Perhaps there’s an opportunity to compete for discount like we’ve seen in China with healthcare (an extreme example I appreciate)?
Another thing that’s interesting to see is that the people who can really help i.e. charities for domestic violence, homelessness or other are not in the limelight — it’s all about pivoting business and the magpie effect — shiny.
What are leaders saying?
S4 Capital CEO Martin Sorrell said that ‘the idea of marketers spending their way through this specific crisis as “complete nonsense,” given the existential threats so many companies currently face.’
But is that right?
The reality it seems is that the companies who’ll come out stronger are the ones who act.
So what’s the point of this article…
In part to inspire people to do something.
To remind that what’s in front of your face isn’t the only thing important.
To help… or at least aspire to be better myself… I hope — perhaps that’s arrogant.
To remember this — remember that a purpose doesn’t have to changing the impact of the human race on our environment — it could be to make every life you touch better whilst they live it.
Challenge — don’t be a sheep…
This is a reboot (rather fashionable all-in-all) and how we all act now will define how we will be perceived in the future.
Surely we can all be a bit better? Isn’t this an opportunity? An opportunity to be better, kinder, more effective and less wasteful.
And so… what does a brand do?
Think long-term, hopefully you are already. Go beyond the immediate sale and think about what you stand for — why should people give a shit — your purpose, the thing that your customers, consumers and all stakeholders can get behind but don’t just say something — do something.
Think about how you can help — not just your profits, it’s time to reward loyalty with more than a point or two. This will also give you a gauge on how malleable your brand is!
Customers, consumers and citizens will decide what’s important — the question is will they forget you?
How do you want to be remembered?
Act quickly. Actually… just act.
