You are responsible for leading the marketing or communications for a major brand or company. You have spent years building, defending, and defining your brand. You have a tight brand pyramid with a clear sense of purpose, promise, and positioning. And it is consistently applied across all your marketing and communications campaigns. People know you and know what to expect from you.
But then a global pandemic begins: in this case, COVID-19.
Is there anything a well-established brand can do?
On the one hand, it cannot simply stay the course. Everything in the lives of its target audience, from consumers to employees and even investors, has changed dramatically. That alone is enough to force a reconsideration of how it relates to them. The fundamental aspects of your brand may be weakened by the crisis. And your tone of voice may seem completely out of place when compared to the global tone.
However, on the other hand, if your brand truly represents the essence of your organization, you cannot deviate in a way that seems credible. It is not just a matter of discarding brand equity. Your target audience simply will not believe in your brand if you appear fundamentally indifferent to the tragedy, regardless of the events surrounding you.
A different version of itself
The answer, ultimately, is that your brand needs to function differently—as a different version of itself.
The challenge lies in the fact that we build brands to endure as timeless institutions. We invest in them, we take care of them, and we know that consistency is the most important core competency that drives their market value.
Fortunately, brands are not one-dimensional; the answer to the challenge lies not in changing the core components of your brand, but in determining which specific elements of your brand you want to emphasize at this moment. And doing so thoughtfully and quickly — and in a much stronger way than simply changing the text of your ads, extending to all your messaging and even your company’s actions at this moment.
We believe that defining your brand story in times of crisis requires a thoughtful response to the following questions. These questions apply whether you are referring to the message of a product or service brand, or even if you are rethinking the role of a broader company.
Defining your brand story in times of crisis: 6 questions
Context: What aspects of the crisis most deeply affect the audience(s) you interact with?
Credibility: What strengths of your brand story or character are most relevant today?
Imperative: What immediate challenge can you help solve?
Belief: Why does this inspire you?
Solutions: What are your most important actions to take and messages to send?
Promise: How could you summarize this to inspire everyone about the brand’s contributions at this very moment?
Ao desenvolver a história da sua marca em tempos de crise, aplicam-se os seguintes princípios ou orientações:
Be guided by research, but don’t be bound by it
Research from the pre-crisis period can be useful, but with so much change happening, your instincts and ability to listen to customers and employees are much more valuable tools right now.
Partner with C-Suite
Brand or company leadership must embrace this vision. The above tool is only useful when you bring together the collective minds that understand all your key stakeholders and have the power to take action.
Stay true to part of your brand
Again, this is not about creating a new brand. It is a process of simplification, to bring your brand’s most valuable assets to life in a way that respects the context and urgency of the crisis.
Execute and communicate quickly
Time is of the essence if your brand or company wants to enact real change. Once you have this outline, choose your best writers to bring the brand to life. Focus on all stakeholder groups so you don’t miss a nuance. And share it with the world, starting with your teams.
Be flexible
If history has taught us anything, it’s that the situation around us changes in ways and at speeds we could never predict. Stay tuned to how the current crisis is continually affecting your audience and be willing to reconsider the six questions above as the situation changes.
We can help you improve your communication structure. See the services we offer here.
EDC is Edelman’s Affiliate Partner in Portugal. See the original Edelman news item here.
