In a year that began with clichéd quips about perfect vision. We’ve all been blindsided by the reality of a pandemic. As we move through the phases of shock, fear, understanding, action, and reasonable behavior. But without a timeline for a road map—marketers are adjusting as best they can. And they must. 

Head-Spinning Sea Changes   

March 2020 saw a paradigm shift that caught most of us off guard. Before the thing that hit us even had a name, invisible germs were upending large and small businesses. 

In the rush to move from office to home and to set up remote internal and external communications. It was easy to overlook existing campaigns, content, email and website messaging. As a travel, commerce and social events came to a screeching halt. Many businesses still had plans in place that reflected an upbeat spring mood, coming off record-breaking 2019 results. 

Clearly, a sea change in communications was called for without delay. Nevertheless, we’re still seeing emails with subject lines like “Spring is in the Air” to sell party dresses and “Book Your Next Vacay to Paradise…” from a cruise line!

Brands Need to Be Meaningful 

Trust and authenticity play a significant role in brands. Especially while customers deal with the fear and disruption in their lives due to the COVID-19 crisis. People are paying attention to how companies are treating their employees, what provisions they’re providing to help seniors, what assistance they’re offering loyal customers and how they’re giving back to the community. 

The 2020 Edelman Trust Barometer Special Report on Brand Trust and the Coronavirus Pandemic¹ indicates that consumers believe brands play an important role during these difficult times. “The power and necessity of brands as well as their urgent need to act,” said CEO Roger Edelman. “Brands that act in the interest of their employees, stakeholders and society at large will reinforce their expertise, leadership and trust and immeasurably strengthen the bond they have with consumers.”

Key insights:

• Brands should ensure their coronavirus-related messaging is factual and compassionate.
• Survey participants have already scrutinized brand reactions to the COVID-19 outbreak.²

The survey highlights the almost unanimous worldwide belief that brands have a critical role at this critical time. In commenting on the survey results, Adweek writes, “U.S. consumers believe brands should provide meaningful solutions, not just sell things.”

Photo by Macau Photo Agency

What Customers Want Now

The golden rules for keeping consumer attention in 2020 could not be more clear: Relevance, emotion, purpose. Yet, 27% of these survey participants in the U.S. indicated certain brands had acted in poor judgement during the initial weeks of the Coronavirus pandemic impact.  

What’s at stake? The future of a brand that gets it wrong is threatened because consumer trust is connected to a willingness to purchase from brands that are deemed trustworthy.  

According to Adweek, “Sixty-nine percent of U.S. respondents said that, in the future, they will absolutely not choose brands they see placing profits before people during the pandemic. Stakes are high and according to the survey’s results, the trust will be lost forever if brands do not handle COVID-19 appropriately.

Looking After the Health of Your Brand

Spritz SF is your brand doctor. Let us know how we can help you look after the health of your brand before the opportunity passes by. We conduct brand audits to make a quick and accurate diagnosis, we develop brand messaging guides that hit the right tone of voice, and we create content for any and all channels, including social media, to amplify that voice while engaging customers in trust-building dialogue.

¹ Edelman special report, March 30, 2020

² Adweek, “US Consumers Are Keeping a Close Eye on How Brands Handle the Coronavirus Crisis”

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Why Conduct a Brand Audit and When?

A brand audit is effectively a health check-up. The objective is to allow owners and managers to identify and address any problem areas so a brand can stay fresh and relevant.

Brands are like living entities with life cycles. They’re born, they grow, they thrive. And, at a mature stage, they potentially start to lose relevance as customers move on to the latest hot new thing.
Brand stewards must monitor this cycle regularly to revitalize a business by taking the time to address the question:

• What strategic issues are facing the business?

What is a Brand Audit?

A brand audit is a thorough examination of a brand’s current position in the market compared to its competitors. Even strong brands need a reality check to keep them on track.
An audit helps where these strengths lie, identify weaknesses, threats, or inconsistencies as well as provide opportunities for improvement and new ideas.
It produces a road map for the brand’s way forward with continued growth.

What Tools to Use for a Simple Brand Audit?

Any brand audit must begin with two essential tools, both to be completed by owners and stakeholders, as honestly and forthrightly as possible. It is usually helpful to have an outside facilitator to encourage and ensure the authenticity of the exercises to assist those who are being asked to take a step back from their own deep, daily involvement.

• SWOT Analysis (Strengths / Weaknesses, Opportunities / Threats) related to a business and its competition
• A Brand Questionnaire

Determining Positioning

• Brand Personality
• Develop Customer Personas
• Brand Tone of Voice (tweak for each persona)
• Key Words & Phrases
• Unique Selling Points

Initial Brand Questions

• Who do you consider to be your two top direct competitors?
• What is the primary differentiator between Ritz Furs and your competitors?
• What are the three main things you want your customers or potential customers to know?
• Describe your product or service in one sentence.

Brand Personality

• What are the main attributes of your company? (Hint: Think of the company as a person; how might you describe that individual?)(Check all that apply, cross off ones that don’t fit. Add others of your own?)
  

  ARE WE?	Knowledgeable / Uninformed
  Trustworthy / Unreliable	Friendly / Unapproachable
  Inventive / Old-fashioned	Attentive / Withdrawn
  Problem-solvers / Short on recycling ideas	Surprising / Predictable
  Creative / Unimaginative	Practical / Impractical
  ANYTHING ELSE?

• What is the primary quality of your brand?
• What is the precise business objective that you would like your brand to achieve?
• What is your value proposition? (Defined as an innovation, service, or feature intended to make a company or product attractive to customers.)

Analyze Current Brand Messaging

Rearrange the messages you’re currently using and rate them. Look at your tag line, website copy, print collateral, advertising, and try to find all the key messages that a customer is likely to come across.

Rate them. On a scale of 1-5, which is important to you as a brand owner or stakeholder? And why? And for which customer persona?

Customer Survey

• My dream customer values ________________ but really loves ______________.
• A stress or pressing need that my customer might have is ___________________________.
• My customer may place trust in others who _________________.
• What is most likely to make my customer into a loyal customer is _____________.
• Something that might happily surprise a first-time customer about my company is __________________.
• Some other favorite brands of my customer might be _______________ and ______________.
• My product or service should make a person feel ______________.

What are the Deliverables of a Brand Audit?

A brand audit will reveal how the customer perceives your brand, how your brand compares to the competition and how your brand is performing against its potential.
Its output supports the following:

• Evaluates and re-focus your brand positioning
• Enhances internal staff brand awareness
• Sharpens marketing communications both online and offline
• Ensures your branding and tone of voice resonates with its audience(s)
• Provides direction for your brand into the future

Spritz has helped clients in lifestyle, technology, sports events, festivals, consumer goods and services to refresh and relaunch their brands, and in some cases, to re-brand. Let us know how we can help your brand live a longer, healthier life.

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