A miss-step in a marketing campaign is any marketer’s nightmare, but one that is a failure because it is offensive? Cue waking in the dark screaming.
In this article:
- Read the
RoomAir: What Does It Mean? - Don’t Be THAT Company
- Ditch the “Yes Men” Comforts
- Keep In Touch!
- The Fullmoon Way
Read the Room Air: What Does It Mean?
As new generations enter the consumer age that have grown up in an age when the internet always existed, multifaceted social movements are constantly a hotly discussed topic, and with all these newfangled contraptions, now more than ever before relevant and relatable advertising strategies are important.
If you want your business to persist in modern times, you need to make sure you have worked on strengthening your team’s ability to “read the air.” While reading the room (noting what’s in front of you and adjusting action accordingly) is a good skill to develop and helps you on your way, going a step further to “read the air” all but ensures company survival.
Stemming from Japanese language and culture, the concept termed kuuki wo yomu, “reading the air” means to be situationally aware and attentive to the thoughts, feelings, and needs of the people around you without the need for verbal expression. In Japan, you might respond to a question with what you think of as a perfectly appropriate response just to be told later you unwittingly committed a gruesome social faux pas.
While born and given name in Japan, this concept of reading the air is a demanding call of the people to businesses they support (or don’t), companies they work for, and politicians. While reacting to these spoken demands is reading the room, being aware of the climate from the get-go is reading the air. Investigating how to avoid being kuuki yomenai, or “clueless” loosely translated, means taking any blinders off and tuning in to sense the changes in the atmosphere.
Don’t Be THAT Company
Who can forget the tone-deaf adverts that came rolling out during the first year of the pandemic? ??♀️ From awkward to cringeworthy, brands that made and oopsie with their TV ads were called out left and right for being downright off putting.
One chuckle of an example is when Dettol, a disinfectant brand based in the UK, launched a “Keep Protecting” ad campaign in 2020 that went viral, much to their chagrin. The lengthy copy ad was plastered to the tube lists things that they believe people were missing about office life. This list of unintentional jokes with “hearing an alarm” being one of them, then cited “seeing your second family” (Fweet! ?Red flag!), and “hearing buzzwords” (oh no, not my buzzwords! /s) as some of the finer things WFH employees miss out on.
Ditch the “Yes Men” Comforts
Having a finger on the beating pulse of the times goes beyond the pandemic affecting white collar workers. Taking too early of action on your first good ideas, although maybe brilliant with a niche crowd, may flop with the many. Being aware of what your target audience believes and values on a deeper level takes putting your ear to the ground and listening to diverse opinions.
Give an opportunity to those employees who can respectfully and assertively point out flaws. Empowering your team to speak up without hesitancy because of the culture of respect you develop can allow you to dig into the minds of those potential paying customers. A few truth speakers can lift your success higher than a throng of yes-men and help your campaigns avoid ending up on a list of historically tone-deaf ads.
Keep In Touch!
When times are good, you should advertise. When times are bad, you must advertise.
– A Popular Industry Adage
Keeping in touch is at least two-fold:
- Being present: Stay in touch with the customers by communicating/reaching out through ads.
- Being cognizant of the times: Stay in touch with potential and current customer base underlying needs, values and mindsets.
Be Present
Another economic downturn on the horizon with the massive layoff season in full swing, there are a couple of things to consider. You may wonder if it’s worth it to continue pushing out ads since people are keeping their wallets closed as often as possible these days. The data says, keep in touch with your customers and keep advertising! Actions businesses took during a recession in the 1980s played out when the economy stabilized:
- Companies who continued to advertise saw 256% higher sales than competitors post-recession.
- Companies who didn’t advertise saw a 0% market share increase and a meager 18% rise in sales post-recession.
Be Cognizant of the Times
Hone your air reading skills by learning from advertisers who did it right, electing timely campaigns, and taking new customer behavior into account.
Six industry leaders also give an answer to the question, “How can brands ensure they don’t appear tone deaf in the wake of the cost-of-living crisis?” Their answers boil down to a few things:
- “Brands should be taking concrete measures to support their customers wherever possible. […] And it isn’t just about what brands can offer, it’s about how that offer is communicated to customers.” – Richard Exon, Founder, Joint
- “Hope is more important now than ever, and we are not seeing it enough from brands.” – Randell Beckford, Senior Strategist, Atomic London
- “Now is the time to become more meaningful than ever, however this must be 100% authentic.” – Paul Maskell, Client Services Director & Founder, Yolk
- “Truly understand the impact the current climate is likely to have on your consumers and demonstrate empathy or an authentic way to give back if it makes sense for your brand to play a role in that space.” – Catherine Aithal, Strategy Partner, The Specialist Works
- “[A]udience-first, unbiased approach is on point for the public mood and is proven to build trust and genuine brand affinity.” – Benedict Buckland, Creative Chief Officer, Alan
- “Crises pass but the memories left behind, reminding people of what you did for them during turbulent times, won’t.” – Michela Graci, Strategy Partner, Coley Porter Bell
The Fullmoon Way
Important takeaways we see here include mindful relatability, compassion, and most of all, sincere authenticity. We know the customer is smart and will see through any disingenuous show. And that definitely has an impact on brand image, profits, and customer loyalty–but so does taking preemptive action to steer clear of avoidable marketing blunders. But, you know, better.
Still feeling a bit kuuki yomenai? No worries–learning is a process! We’re here to help you reach those people who your company couldn’t exist without. Our empathetic marketing team can help you gain insight on your customer base and lift up your brand’s voice. Drop us a line on LinkedIn to see how Fullmoon and your business can read the air together!
Tune in next week for the latest news in digital marketing from the Wolves’ Den.
