MICHAEL SCHMIDT
Brand + Communications Strategy
Call Schmidty 804.836.5475 | HeySchmidty@gmail.com | MeetSchmidty.tumblr.com
Agency Recommendation - Responding to the Crisis in Confidence The Martin Agency, October 2008
The Project: Recommend building when everything is crashing down Like all financial brands, Genworth was reeling from the multiple crashes that marked 2008 - real estate, banks, stock market and credit
Our client asked us to provide direction on how to position the brand for success while they focused on the business
The Outcome: An original POV I developed my thoughts by delving into current and historical position papers from other agencies, as well as business, economic and sociology editorials Culture-mapping resources completed the picture I realized that other papers were missing critical elements:
1The right perspective on the situation (neither Depression nor typical recession) 2Actionable recommendations for the brand to implement immediately
Since writing the paper, I haven’t seen any like it
How to react to drastically changing dynamics, without drastically overreacting
A Waypoint of Stability: What Genworth can offer consumers amid turbulent times “As an advertiser, you can contribute to the fear or you can help diffuse it.” -BusinessWeek, October 17, 2008 With talks of recession and rapidly retreating consumer confidence, brands are wondering how best to address these turbulent times. It is our view that consumers see this as more than a recession; people are not just questioning how they spend money and generate long-term wealth, but all aspects of their lives and values. Genworth can act as a “waypoint of stability” in this time of re-evaluation, showing it’s there for consumers when everything else seems to be unreliable. In doing so, Genworth can succeed in continuing to build its brand despite a challenging climate.
The Turbulence of Change As Iconoculture notes, 2008 has seen almost a dozen events of economic significance that in other years would stand on their own as remarkable. The New York Times frets, “The constant drumbeat of negative news about the economy [is] becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy as people overreact and deepen the recession.” However, the reactions are in many ways justified. Today’s financial crisis is so troubling because it doesn’t seem like an isolated event; it adds to a chain of bad events that has inundated our minds ever since the terrorist attacks that followed the 2001 economic downturn and has never given us a chance to fully recover:
food and mortgage global 9/11 Iraq Katrina warming energy prices foreclosures
bank failures
The housing and financial crisis is “the straw that broke the camel’s back”, and the offshoot is a climate of frayed nerves, strained emotions and general confusion.
Not Just a Recession More than a cyclical recession, we’re currently in the midst of recovery and adjustment from repeated exposure to fundamental systems breakdowns. Breakdowns in things we believed were stable and solid – U.S. economic supremacy, personal wealth and safety nets, the environment, the safety of our country, the resolution of the War in Iraq etc. …Our current situation represents a loss of consumer confidence, and potentially the start of a jarring societal shift.
A Crash in Confidence With confidence continuing to erode as consumers sense more, and longer lasting, upheaval than that of a mere economic downturn, “waiting it out” is not a viable option. Consumers are feeling uncertain and confused, but exhibiting stability through Genworth’s communications and actions will show them there’s opportunity in reacting and adapting to negative change.
What it Means to be a Waypoint
1Consistent Communications
Communicating with consumers consistently signals stability by showing you’re with them through the long haul. Multiple studies show the negative effects of cutting spending on communications in tough economic times, and the benefits to be gained from increasing – or at least maintaining – visibility. The optimistically practical tone of “Think it Possible” seems to be a welcomed way for Genworth to continue talking. Renegade Media president Drew Neisser advises,
“A little levity will be most appreciated by your otherwise stressed-out target.” And while a harder sell may be tempting, more competitive tactics, or really any radical departure from your current way of communicating, can do more harm than good by further adding to the climate of change.
2An Information Resource
People need relevant, objective and actionable information, so they can navigate themselves through this current time of change and gain confidence in their decisions. But it’s not enough to simply tell people why you are special. Instead, people want enough information to evaluate on their own. Genworth can demonstrate stability by providing information and tools, rather than just promising benefits. Even without being told, consumers will see the benefit of placing trust in a company that is willing to lay out the facts they need to make confident decisions for themselves.
3New, Not Just Better, Ways
Product innovations during difficult times often strike a nerve of changing consumer needs They signal stability to consumers because they show the strength and foresight needed when everything else is in flux. Innovations in the current climate won’t just be savvy tools for surviving a recession; unique times call for unique solutions that reflect a fundamental shift in consumer values and behavior. As other brands struggle to realize this, Genworth can serve as a waypoint of stability by introducing new, not just better solutions.
Recommendation: Making Genworth a Waypoint of Stability Now is an excellent opportunity for Genworth to leverage its global presence and data analytics to be a waypoint of stability as consumers search for objective information to ease their anxiety. Amid all this turbulent change, objective information has become the most secure investment, yet we’re finding it harder to come by. Genworth can provide clear, objective information not just about itself, but about the overall current financial situation. In doing so, we can put the optimistic philosophy of the “Think it Possible” campaign to work. In addition to increasing the utility of and affinity for the brand, this will reinforce Genworth’s belief that with the right tools, anything is possible.
Stability in Times of Change Our recommendation represents an opportunity: Genworth can earn trust from anxious and uncertain consumers by becoming a waypoint of stability in these turbulent times. In fact, it is imperative that we communicate in a way that is consistent with the brand we started to build last year, that is consistent and familiar to consumers and producers and holds true to longer-term brand ambitions. Recognizing that the current economic crisis is not just a temporary situation, but a piece of traumatic bad news in a longer chain of turbulent times, it’s clear that we can best help people deal with the situation by continuing our journey and not abandoning it. If we can achieve this amid our current challenging environment, Genworth will become a stronger brand for it.