Marketers Can’t Amplify the Anxiety That Already Exists

I got a chance yesterday to read an interesting post in the NY Times about the psychic impact of uncertainty. Which led to a reflection on the marketing message du jour, which is sympathy to the uncertainty, and how that messaging is off the mark. The Great Recession is the cause of plenty of consumer angst and it is hardly over, but your business was not built, with few exceptions, on assuaging anxiety. Uncertainty seeks safe harbor in the known.

Sympathy is important, but at this point it is expected. In order to differentiate, you cannot rely upon spiraling discounting or macro-economic messaging. You have to find the core value of your business, dig deep and find what it is that matters most about your brand. You might find that deep meaning within your employees, you might find that in a conversation with a spouse or child.

The consumer is deleveraging and stripping away the layers of material leverage that they had used to define themselves in the bubble age. These consumers are turning to different social signals to define their worth, their social standing and their happiness. But they are not defining themselves as their objects anymore…they are defining themselves by their community. Therein lies an opportunity for brands to connect, not through sympathy, or discount, but through unlevered brand truth and the community of evangelists that form around those truths. As Umair Haque wrote yesterday, companies need to think about how they can build thick power into their brands. A power that relies on the network, not a single, highly levered node, to showcase the strength of the brand and build competitive advantage.

Apple is an easy company to highlight, but let’s do it anyway. iPhone’s remain expensive and the growth of such a product is not entirely expected in these turbulent times and yet Apple continues to sell units and gain market share on the back of their core strength, community.  Apple is using the strength of community in their marketing, by highlighting not the iPhone, but the apps that make the iPhone special. This summer, they’ll introduce new software, that is meant to increase the utility of the Apps.

What is your product’s app store, what’s special? Help other’s tell your story, yes, times are tough, but consumers know that already. What’s special about you, don’t lie, don’t fudge and let the community participate. Dig deep and express your essence to the world through your marketing, whether it’s a 30 second spot or a Twitter account. The World is going through a great unwinding, businesses and consumers are stripping away debt both financial and operational and seeking that differentiating foundation from which to build their future. For consumers it’s their unique personalities and communities, for businesses it’s their products and employees. Now is the time to build your iconic brand.

Tagged as: anxiety, Apple, community, core value, iphone, messaging, recession, simplicity, strength