Of all the ways to design your marketing and advertising planning, listening to how consumers report their priorities on an ever-shifting basis is the best way to connect emotionally with them. We’re not talking about soft piano music and earnest narration laying out the ways you’re “in this together during these challenging times” – consumers are weary of that. We’re talking about content that shows how you align with and contribute to the everyday lives of people. This chart from Mintel shows where consumer priorities stand right now and the net change over time. We’ll call out a few and offer some helpful messaging ideas for our partners to consider when pushing a marketing message they want to resonate with consumers.
How can you facilitate social connections?
The biggest net-positive changes in priorities are staying in touch with loved ones and overall mental well-being. One could argue these are intertwined. We are social creatures and our mental well-being suffers when we feel disconnected. Part of maintaining those social connections is simply having the time to do it. Consider parents at home with children struggling to keep them busy while many of their usual activities are no longer an option. How can your business give them back some time in their lives to maybe set up video calls with family and friends?
Or take a look at what Oscar Mayer suggested in May. The traditional “Backyard BBQ” is taken to the front yard where there are no 6-foot fences keeping you separated, but you can still say 6 feet apart.
Help them get their hearts healthy and pumping
The next set of priorities to see a positive net change is physical well-being. Eating healthy and exercising is challenging when going to the grocery store or the gym is an actual threat to your health. But how can advertisers align themselves with physical health if they are not Peloton or Hello Fresh? Sponsored content is an effective way to connect your brand with seemingly disparate concepts. For instance, if you’re a hardware store, you might show some DIY home projects that will give people a little bit of a workout. Or maybe you are a healthcare provider and you want to reach people caring for seniors. You might sponsor some content about unique dietary and lifestyle changes for this vulnerable population.
But don’t forget to show off what you’re doing to help
Another segment of positive changes in priorities are caring for the environment and helping local communities. These are the hyper-local impacts that businesses can have and share with their consumers. Are you a restaurant that is maybe doing away with plastic utensils or styrofoam? Or perhaps you’re a grocery store who is enhancing food donation programs to help people in the community whose income has been affected. Highlighting the ways your business is contributing the community whether through social programs or environmental impact will connect emotionally with consumers.
On a national scale, a great example is the “Sell for Good” campaign from Nextdoor. They teamed up with PayPal to allow members selling goods through their social marketplace to donate proceeds to charities.
There are simply so many ways to be out and messaging to consumers in ways that resonate with them and their priorities. We’re here as a creative partner with decades of experience in local marketing to brainstorm with you.