Much hated ad campaigns

Hey there, 👋🏼

This morning it suddenly struck me, why is empathy so difficult in business and marketing communication? Why do brands go so freakishly wrong with their campaigns sometimes?

Maybe it had to do with the fact that I watched Rocky Aur Rani ki Prem Kahani had something to do with it.

Spoiler alert 🚨

The movie has a scene that makes the brand owners revisit their decision to pull an ad campaign off the screen as it caused outrage among its target audience.

Well, this is not the first time THAT has happened.

Brands like Ford, McDonald’s, Pepsi, Dove, Nivea, Adidas, and Starbucks, have all been down that road.

Why does this happen? And how can you avoid it as a marketer or a brand owner?

Understand the sentiments

Any time you post/publish/release something, know that it is now facing the whole world. You cannot segment people who are watching it by saying “Hey! you are not my target audience.”

Everyone watching it or consuming your content will have an opinion cause now it is out there. As a marketer/brand owner, the best thing you can do is actually weigh the pros and cons of releasing such communication.

Even if you think that you are initiating a much-needed social dialogue, you need to see if the market is even ready to accept it.

Demonstrating you're woke or old-fashioned because that’s how you feel is one of the biggest mistakes you should be avoiding at this point in time.

Empathy is a tight rope walk away

Empathy isn’t easy. While you actually need to get into the shoes of your customers and think how they would feel about a certain campaign/communication, you should also choose to do something that is characteristic of your brand and its values.

Now these two might not align often. In fact, they might even feel like oil and water mixed (trying to be) together. But doing right by not just your target audience, but by your brand as well, is crucial.

If you have a solid customer base that is loyal, they will protect your brand and fight for it if the naysayers do raise their red flags. This will further boost the connection you have with your TG (target group) for sure.

Know when to stand your ground and when to say sorry

Even big brands have released public apologies for the content they shared that didn’t vibe with the masses. Ego does not work when you are serving consumers. You will need to brush it aside and see reason in their demands. The way you handle the situation could actually turn things for you 360 degrees and make people fall in love with your brand.

So, remember GRACE in, EGO out.

Try not to be tone deaf

Like this Dove ad right here which pretty much seems wrong even with the context provided. According to Unilever, this ad was made to show the diversity in real beauty. Needless to say, they went plenty wrong.

In a world where we struggle to connect with our loved ones with the right words, just imagine talking to the masses without coming off as insensitive people who just couldn’t care less.

Empathy is a much-needed skill in marketing that is severely underrated. But if you want your message to vibe with people, you need it in your team. Don’t have it? Develop it.

I will be hosting a webinar on Empathetic Marketing and how to use it to develop powerful campaigns. This is one of the most loved webinars that I have shared via corporate training throughout all these years. I would strongly recommend you sign up for it if you’d like to learn more about the psychological aspects of marketing.

With that, we come to an end to this week’s M Word issue. Hope you enjoyed it. I will see you next week. Until then if you’d like me to write about a specific topic in marketing, please feel free to reply to this email and let me know. I read and respond to replies to the newsletter at the earliest.

Wish you a great weekend ahead!

Cheers!

PS: Answer to the quiz question ➡️ Airbnb's 'floating world' marketing campaign, featuring water-themed houses, was a major failure due to its bad timing. It launched on August 28, 2017, with phrases like "Stay above water," coinciding with Hurricane Harvey's devastation in Houston.

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