This year has been a challenging one. I mean, I write and market great brands and businesses for a living, usually from my sofa. So it’s relative. I’m immensely lucky that my career allows me to do that. But marketing in 2020 has taken on a slightly different hue to usual. It has though, if not taught me things, reinforced a few truths that always ring true. Here are my (and my friends’) takeaways from marketing in a pandemic…
Think outcomes, not outputs
Programming and marketing a literature festival is always fun – but this year became a challenge. At Margate Bookie we didn’t manage the same number of events or to have people together in a room, but did transform lives through power of literature, which is what we’re here for. That purpose drove us to continue producing events and activity to support our community.
It’s all about the human story
Sometimes it’s easy to get lost in the whizzy features or technical details of something you’re promoting. A couple of months after I joined Heritage Open Days, Covid hit and we had to rethink things. It ended up being scaled back from 5500 events to 1800 – potentially a ‘bad’ news story. But it did see volunteers embracing digital for the first time, new and innovative ways of sharing history and heritage. That became the story.
And you’re human too
Alex Zeilinger-Goode says that brands and businesses need to remember this. ‘Don’t be afraid to show your soft side. I’m from a hospitality marketing background and one of my biggest takeaways from this pandemic has been the number of previously ‘untouchable’ restaurant and hotel brands that have come out to say that they’re hurting, and that this has been a really difficult time for them. A lot of the language of the bigger, more high end brands has transformed this year to be much more open and honest, from putting their business leaders out there to do opinion pieces to tone of voice on social media. A little vulnerability goes a long way in an industry where, pre-pandemic, things were becoming very focused on flashy installations and experiences.’
Creativity counts
Without the ability to disseminate The Lord Mayor’s Appeal’s annual Impact Report, we created a bold new design that runs through the pdf report, website and social media, allowing us to share impact through all channels.
Community matters
Pippa Goulden is founder of Pr Set ‘I’ve seen the brands who have nurtured their community (whether its a small one or a big one, online or offline) have really managed to weather the storm of the last 10 months. Being accessible, present and caring – and real – has helped them get through and helped to create customer loyalty. I’d say this year more than ever before, people are championing other people – e.gs local high streets working together to attract customers, small brands collaborating to cross promote to each other’s audiences.’ One great example of this is how Burger King have opened up their Instagram pages to other restaurants, helping to boost the hospitality sector.
Tone of voice is key
Eppie Shepherd says that she has noted how ‘brand tone of voice has adapted – we need to be more empathetic, more cautious or even have more of a sense of humour!’ It’s really crucial to know who your audience is and what matters to them. Crafting tone of voice and brand guidelines is my favourite thing to do – but this shows how it’s really important to have flexibility built into it.
Tess Agnew says something similar. ‘Listen to, understand and communicate *with* your audience & community, not just broadcast to it. Their needs, priorities and pain points will have likely changed during the pandemic so it’s important to put yourself in their shoes to understand how your content can provide answers to their questions.’
Flexibility wins
In fact, flexibility is a key theme of the year, with those who are able to be adaptable winning out. Literally PR a literature marketing business, run by Helen Lewis. She says ‘My biggest learnings about marketing during a pandemic were around the need to not get too stuck on a plan – even if lots of work has gone into it – if the timing isn’t right. The word of the year for me in marketing has been PIVOT!’