WHAT DO YOU MEAN?

In crisis situations we tend to move faster. We react and defend and there’s nothing wrong with that until any lack of thinking and preparation alongside, comes back at us with force. We have all seen daily examples of hope and positivity from business and people as well as what happens when any combination of national crisis, celebrity business, altruism and social media collide. Then marketing and PR ideas that seem like a genuine desire to help, can start to look like cynical marketing ploys.

Anyway, there’s a point. Things are definitely changing but it’s too soon to say how much. These are uncharted waters with identity finally set to one side. Status and wealth are no longer symbols of power and popularity as gestures of courage and compassion take over. We are now cheering for ordinary people doing extraordinary things.

This is the moment when position and tone takes the spotlight back. Now the shape of the world is changing and we should be going back to basics, carving ourselves  a new and strong position in a new and changed market. Brands now telling us they are here for us through the bad times, were almost certainly the same ones who didn’t care about us in the good times and as consumers, we are going to remember.

This is the time to think very hard about messaging and start preparing. In doing so, don’t concentrate on the ‘how’ and ‘what’. Focus on the why?

Strategy was always really story. What will yours be? How can this crisis be survived? Is your story believable and deliverable? Can it be simpler, work harder, go further? What will you mean to me (the consumer)?

Perhaps now is the time to seek good advice, maybe a different perspective and be prepared to change your thinking, because in a new world, new stars always step forward.