Share brand values and become a point of reference for your customers, even when the needs of society change.
We have already done this. And we’re about to do it again. We face change.
This time we will not talk about crises because, let’s face it, change does not always mean drastic and sudden upheavals. Change often manifests itself slowly and gradually in a society that grows, evolves or regresses, which confronts itself with the outside world and itself, for better or worse.
A company made up of many and many people, among whom you can also find your potential consumers. Those who could choose a competitor if they did not feel well represented by what your brand is and does.
Today, it’s not just about style or aesthetics, but how they manage to feel part of a whole, they share ideas and values.
At this point, we have to go back to the moment of change and the changing society. The change also occurs in points of view, familiar and subjective feelings, and, therefore, values.
How to manage this change required by the company? Let’s analyze the issue by letting ourselves be inspired by four great brands.
Why Use Corporate Values In Communication?
More and more brands are taking positions on social issues, such as inclusivity, equality and the environment.
Why do they do it? To establish a real connection with consumers.
People are increasingly attentive to brands’ attitudes towards the problems of today’s society. And they tend to prefer precisely those brands that are spokespersons of their point of view.
The more your customers belong to a young target, the more they will appreciate your position on social issues.
This does not mean that every company must necessarily take sides or do it for all social and environmental issues.
Before venturing into this terrain, you need:
- Clarity and consistency of values with the ideas supported
- Business solidity
- Accurate study of the target
- In-depth knowledge of customers’ purchasing habits.
This is why it is often a path followed only by big brands.
However, the idea is valid for everyone, even for small and medium-sized companies. The basic concept is to focus on values. Values that are not just corporate guidelines but actual human values.
Remember that your customers do not buy only for the goodness of your product but also for what your company conveys in words and deeds.
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How Do We Respond To The New Needs Of Consumers?
Among the words – and the concepts – that we use most often- is one that reigns supreme when it comes to brands: consistency.
We have emphasized the idea of coherence with the essence of the brand, with its values, and now that we are talking about change, what happens?
From this point of view, change does not mean denying oneself or one’s belief but should instead be seen as an evolution, the result of a shift in point of view, perhaps leaving the comfort zone.
In terms of business, it could also prove to be a double-edged sword: many will welcome the changes and experience it positively, just as many may see it as a sort of “betrayal” and no longer recognize themselves in the brand.
If you decide to change some elements of your business communication, the change must be the consequence of a genuine internal change.
No appearances; you have to believe in the cause you are marrying. Positive results come only if the public perceives that there is truth and concreteness.
According to what each brand is, there can be various avenues and various ways of approaching the change of society and its new demands.
How Do Brands That Support Social And Environmental Causes Communicate?
To clarify our ideas on what we have said so far, let’s look at four examples.
Coca-cola: Support For The Environmental Cause
“Uncork happiness”. Coca Cola has always accustomed us to this: happiness, optimism, sharing.
Yet the company did not stop there. In addition to the values that have distinguished and characterized it for over a hundred years, it has recently decided to embrace some issues dear to the public.
It was 2014 when Coca Cola launched Second Life, a campaign dedicated to one of the environmental problems that most afflicts our planet: plastic.
So the brand has launched a project to give a second life to Coca Cola bottles.
The idea: reuse empty bottles thanks to 16 innovative caps and still use them in everyday activities. It is a statement as simple as it is adequate to promote waste reduction, extend products’ life cycle, and protect the environment.
A new way to uncork happiness!
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Gillette: A Radical Change To Promote Inclusivity
We are in the 90s. Radiohead sings Creep, Jurassic Park gathers consensus at the cinema, and Beverly Hills depopulates on television.
In those years, a male image was proposed in which masculinity was king. Gillette is the spokesperson for this concept, reinforcing the symbols of masculinity and underlining them with the slogan: “The best of a man”.
What happened today? It happens that Gillette, attentive to changes in society, changes everything. A real revolution.
It all started a few years ago when the image of this macho man began to be unhinged. Abandon creams and razors, the best for a man, becomes something else.
Gillette, however, does not stop. And in 2019, you take a position as strong as it is risky: a whole different story, a story of change and inclusiveness.
Saiwa Gold: From The Product To The Consumer
Oro Saiwa also chooses inclusivity. The exact recipe for over 60 years: simplicity, authenticity and goodness. And we are not referring only to cookies; these are also the core values on which the brand is built.
Despite this, even Oro Saiwa is not immune to the changing times.
Communication is transformed and does so by first shifting the focus from the product to the consumer and then adopting a new perspective that progresses with the changes in society.
Result? On the one hand, we no longer speak only of the product’s characteristics but of the breakfast experience; on the other hand, a new world is embraced, where diversity is welcomed and valued.
In short, tradition is changing, and no one is excluded. It is Oro Saiwa himself who tells us.
Diesel: Stories Change, But Ways Do Not Change
From low-cost products to must-haves. Diesel marks the turning point not only in terms of fashion but also in communication.
If, so far, we have seen how brands have evolved with the evolution of the times, Diesel is a pioneer.
You are being yourself, promoting change, finding your way of life and following it without fear of judgments and prejudices. In a slogan, “For successful living”,. This is how Diesel presented itself in 1991.
Today, Diesel continues on this path. He wants to speak to young people and praise their awareness of themselves.
If in the 90s the freedom desired by young people was represented a lot by the opposition to the world, today, space is above all the courage to be oneself and do what makes us happy.
The “successful living” of Diesel today passes through Francesca’s story.
The story adapts to the contemporary world, but the transgressive and incisive register does not change.
The way of perceiving brands evolves more than we think and constantly. It is not possible to think of creating bonds and sharing messages with the public, relying only on marketing strategies.
A dialogue opens between company and consumer, leaving old-fashioned one-way communication a vague memory.
Each brand must transmit its values, find points of contact with people, and express constant dynamism to resist changes in expectations in the market and a growing and changing world.
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