The Great Lockdown– such an unprecedented event that happened just as we started moving forward with our 2020 goals. There has been so much of speculation for COVID 19 and its consequences, lockdown and its repercussions; but there also has been one thing that kept us all rolling. The human mindset! With constraints come new creative ideas. Our imagination, creativity and innovation take us far away from stagnation, depression or pessimism. According to Nielson India, there was a 44% rise in social media usage during the lockdown. There was also a 72% increase in ad content by influencers (thedrum.com). Some brands did tap on this talent outburst organizing a showcase for their customers getting their attention, or even loyalty. As we move past lockdown the question is; should we just let this bubbling creativity disappear, or nurture it? Also, with salary slashes and lay-offs, people will delay their purchases or disconnect from buying loads. As brand strategists, how do we continue to have a connection with our consumers and keep them motivated?
The lockdown made all of us Pause… Ponder… and find our Passion. What a bizarre way of Mother Earth to push all of us back into our dens and make us realize that we have sufficient material comforts to meet our physiological needs. But we are missing on something basic- our connection with ourselves and the Nature. Running in the race of climbing up the ladder, acquiring more, selling more, or aspiring mostly in terms of materialistic gains, suddenly COVID 19 came to put brakes on all of it. And the whole humanity was stirred to its core. First time ever in the global history- there was nothing left to be done except for reflecting back from within!
The Himalayan peaks started showing from many cities around, twittering birds were heard and the herds of deer came in the urban areas. Perhaps it was a sincere greeting from Nature with her deepest expression- a request to humans to learn to co-exist! At the same time, humans were beautifully engaged with their creative expressions- cooking to crafts, music to art, sports to exercise, prose to poetry, make-up to drama, photos to videos, learning to loving, and sharing to caring. They bought bare essentials- and they were Happy! Without the brands pushing happiness to them! They candidly shared their no filter, no grooming, and no make-up looks doing their own messy chores (with pride). They were thrilled with their own ideas and content- be it a #sareechallenge or the #25pushups. They thrived on exploring and stretching their own limits with the given limitations. In the lockdown they unlocked their own potential! And they celebrated themselves.
The question that gapes now is whether as marketers and brand strategists will we imbibe this message from Nature and Humanity? And look at it as a huge opportunity for the next big change? Or will we continue back with our conventional ways- by pushing products, doing more sales and focus only on profitability? With the looming pressure of gaps created from the lockdown, the worries around economy and recession; it definitely may not be the top priority. But in due course could we strive to help the new species of humans, who have finally discovered themselves beyond capitalism, stay that way? Is that the new learning curve for all of us? For many of us these questions may put as at the crossroads. But there are some clever brands who have already taken a plunge in that direction- where people and planet, both are nurtured.
Vote for my artwork– I came across at least three requests from my friends’ network-a kid, a housewife and an artist. Even if I do not remember their artwork well, I remember the organizer was HDFC that invited people to express their creativity during the lockdown. Volini built its concept inspired by people doing home chores or taking care of elderly while staying at home. Greenpanel campaigned for home based exercises for keeping fit and asked people to share ‘Work from home desk’ photos to win amazon vouchers. Asian Paints also tapped absorbing all this people creativity in their commercial. In their shoot for ‘Har Ghar’ they had all non-actors. But Vodafone apparently took the boldest step ahead by remotely shooting the real people from all ages for their concept ‘Friendship Uninterrupted.’ It was amazing! Is this something that we can really look forward to more and more?! It sort of automates twin purpose – people engagement and virality of content. Besides, we may not need even the hefty budgets which anyways turn out to be cosmetic expenses- first to be chopped during the times of recession.
According to Thomas Kolster, self-actualization is the next best thing for brands to look at (Source: Book- The Hero Trap). As a matter of fact he brings attention of organizations to people’s urge i.e. to fulfill themselves- through sports, art, work or whatever helps them ‘become.’ This approach is observed in ICICI campaign which calls for talent from customers and rewards them with a FitCoach membership. There are now many big league brands empowering their customers with their choice of creativity and their own goals. And many start-ups are evolving around the lifestyle that people want, helping them achieve their goals. Coaching, motivation, expert advice is something that people plugin into. Thanks to the big and thick data analytics which helps dig deeper into people choices and behavior. The economy is now all about ‘style over stuff’ and style is no longer that outward flashiness of possessions sharpening the divide in the society. But a reflection of inner journey and the outward experience; that accomplishes oneself as a distinct individual while nurturing other people and the planet. These trends are all towards a circular, shared and sufficiency economy. People connect more with the icons like Milind Soman, who re-invented not just themselves but empowered many more around; especially those who are often dismissed by the society.
Motivation and giving the DIY wings is nothing new for the brands. From US to India I have observed many engaging experiences that start from choosing own toppings, to buying from Marketplace with a straight order to cook, the DIY meal kits, or just walking into a studio to paint. Experiential consumption is anyways on the rise and good for both- people and planet. Thomas (popularly known as Mr. Goodvertising) also advocates in his new book for facilitating the transformational journey even for the societal and environmental purposes. This can take the load off from brands to be the superheroes and getting trapped with the unreliability as every brand seems to be in the race of purpose. In the age of disruptive media, marketing mix finds tremendous scope in influencers. From #MeToo movement to #Climateaction by Greta Thunberg, or from Sonu Sood for #MigrantWorkers crisis to George Floyd #BlackLivesMatter and #WorldAgainstRacism; the power of expression and storytelling is with the common individuals and the masses. As brand engineers, we may need to just notice that transfer of power, steer along and cheer the influencers.
Dr. Anju Dave Vaish
Founder, Creative Director
CoffeebeanMedia | TRY for GOOD
Dr. Anju is a Branding and Sustainability professional with special focus into Bio Science & Technology sector. An invited speaker in Sustainable Brands (USA) and other global forums for marketing and purpose she is acknowledged for her incisive content- Aping West, East may go South; and Global brands hold enormous do good potential.