We invite you to think globally, explaining your purpose, supporting it on solid values, unleashing your voice to defend them and acting locally with your consumers.
Today we live in a global and hyper digitized world, where news are disseminated globally at the speed of light. We are overstimulated by information. For brands, it is getting increasingly difficult to be relevant to consumers and control the positive -or negative, impact of marketing actions. Something that would be accepted by one culture, can be offensive or misunderstood by others.
Moreover, today we have an informed and empowered consumer, who demands more from brands than ever before. Day after day, brands with a clear and explicit purpose are more successful. They establish a relationship with their consumers, going beyond a commercial or transactional association. Those are brands that share values and generate a win-win environment.
Patagonia is successfully doing that through sharing a clear purpose: we're in business to save our home planet". They develop global actions as well as small sponsored local documentaries to generate awareness by capturing and sharing the environmental problems of each country with their clients.
Values are the ones that define what type of behavior is acceptable -or unacceptable, in each culture where our brands operate, playing an important role on building consumer preferences and buying decisions. Brands which uphold their purposes on solid and stable values are more appreciated by their stakeholders. Clients prefer brave and authentic brands built through relevant actions for people and the planet. Those are the ones that promote and spread a message generating a positive impact. Brands should dare to move from "StoryTelling" to "StoryDoing".
It is also important to understand that brands require much more than effectively and culturally implemented communication and marketing actions. Today they are asked to be the voice of their clients, to take a clear position on issues that are relevant to them: To think globally and to act locally together with them. Communicational boundaries no longer exist, and an action carried out in one market can quickly become global, even becoming news -good or bad.
Nike is a good example of what has been mentioned above. Against racial problems and the death of George Floyd on May 25th in the USA, the brand dared to take a stand with the following message; “Let's all be part of the change” and even changed the historic tagline “Just do it” to “For once, don't do it”. They also uploaded a 59-second video on Twitter focused on fighting racism, encouraging people to assume the problem and support this cause, even making the competition join this initiative.
This action quickly became a news and spread throughout the world. It responds to a coherence and constant position that the brand has against racism.
It's not bad to remember that Nike had previously supported American football player Collins Kaepernick with the «Believe in something. Even if it means sacrificing everything», raising their voice when deemed necessary.
We live in an age where brands must have a clear stance on social and environmental issues. It is a social imperative. But not all Brands make an attempt to do it. These social problems that affect us are transversal to countries and cultures. The challenge is great and for brave brands only. Having an explicit purposes and shared values will allow other brands and people to transform our planet into a more humane and prosperous place for all.
That is why I invite you to think globally, express your purpose, support it with solid values, unleash your voice to defend them and act locally with your clients.
By Raúl Vargas Fourcade
Marketing Director, Brand Staging at Allegro 234.