As brands have responded to the COVID pandemic with ads that have been crafted for the times, some clear trends have emerged. In fact, in the initial period, so many ads have looked and sounded alike, it has been hard to tell them apart. As acknowledged by an ad agency Creative Director: “Everyone’s working from the same brief.”
Not surprisingly, while these ads tended to resonate, and even be appreciated by consumers in-market, the messages have been collectively producing a blurring of brand voices.
In plentiful supply are ads laden with empathetic themes ‘we understand, we get it…’ and PSA-type messages (‘Stay home’) without anything that provides clarity of either a) consumer value (‘what’s in it for me?’; ‘what benefit do you or your brand provide for me?’), or b) brand value (‘how does this change how I feel about this brand?’)
In this environment, few of these ads are building consumer connections to the brand, and thus resulting in increases in brand ‘love’.
Standing out and building your brand
Clues as to how to stand out without being tone-deaf, as well as how to invest in advertising that actually serves to strengthen brand love, can be informed both by the historical context provided by 9/11 (when people were shell-shocked and scared, and gradually coming back to some sense of normality) and the Great Recession (when people were worried about their jobs and financial security), and by an examination of broader patterns in the characteristics of ads that both resonate and produce positive impact on the brand.
In times when consumers are feeling anxious and overwhelmed, messages that provide a sense of positive direction and/or relief are a good place to start. However, successful ads do more, conveying messages that provide a clear benefit for the consumer – the ‘what’s in it for me?’
For example, during the pandemic, messages about how your brand is providing needed specific support can be effective:
- Stores staying open/providing needed services; factories continuing to produce goods and services you need.
- However, there are a lot of these messages, so building in very strong brand cues is important – and works best for brands for which these messages are congruent/consistent with the overall brand proposition. Ace Hardware – being helpful is what we’re all about [‘The helpful hardware place’]
- Products and services that provide the benefits that consumers needs now.
- Brands that may not have been top of mind pre-crisis may have a stronger role to play now – Nestle baking products that foster family moments, Microsoft Teams to help with virtual meetings.
Brands can also tap into a sense of pride, as long as the emotions are strongly connected to the brand:
- How strong and resilient we all are – we’ve gotten through bad times before; together we can do this
- Brand authenticity and linkage are critical here too, as it’s easy to forget the brand unless it’s woven into the fabric of the proposition.
- What we as a brand/company are doing
- Ensuring the safety of our workers and the public, making donations, producing masks, providing free meals to front line workers, offering loan payment forgiving plans.
- What we (the brand) and you (the consumer) can do together
- For example, establishing ways to donate or otherwise contribute to relevant causes.
What isn’t working as well
Some messages are clearly lacking in resonance and/or are missing brand linkage, and thus failing to produce or build brand connections. These include, most notably:
- PSA type messages (‘stay home!’)
- These messages can function effectively from a public service perspective – and have been shown to actually produce gains in safe behaviors. However, if the advertiser has building brand love as a goal, success is far less assured – given the plethora of these messages that have appeared in this period.
- Sales messages that are thinly disguised under the veneer of empathy and understanding.
- Many ads begin with empathetic words and visuals but transition into a ‘buy my product’ message in which no connection exists between the pandemic-induced issues and the brand benefits. Advertisers whose brand benefit cannot be connected to pandemic-related issues are probably better served to stay away from COVID-inspired themes.
In summary, the way to get it right is by being empathetic and helpful, while maintaining your brand’s authentic voice and values. It’s okay to focus on the benefits provided by your brand, as long as you are addressing the real issues that consumers are facing in their daily lives.
