Be a better brand. Document the current moment.
One week into quarantine, I received an unforgettable recommendation. I was listening to the New York Times podcast, The Argument, hosted by Opinion columnists Michelle Goldberg, Ross Douthat, and at the time, David Leonhardt (now, Frank Bruni). Their viewpoints span the political spectrum, and the point is that they gather to "argue" (they're polite; it's hysterically refreshing) about a current critical issue. The civilized exchange wraps up with a recommendation, an apolitical indulgence that cleanses the mental palette, say Szechuan food, or an out-of-print midcentury magazine.
On March 19, at the end of this episode, it was David's turn to share a recommendation. He revealed that on 9/11—during which his wife emerged from the subway and witnessed the World Trade Centers being felled by planes—he and his wife realized they were experiencing history and made a long recording about what they had seen and encountered. His recommendation, prescient at the time, was to acknowledge that we are living an unprecedented global experience and to document it.
"However you want to do it," he says, "sit down with a physical journal, make physical recordings of yourself, but understand that you're basically living through history right now. Record even the small things, how you're spending your days, what you find frustrating, what you're eating, what little joys you've managed to work in. Because my guess is, in the future, our kids and grandkids are going to want to understand a lot more about what this period is like."
Weeks after I took his advice and began a nightly ritual with my husband, wherein we share a recorded conversation about our days and moods over a glass of wine, the advice popped up again, in Cheryl Strayed's new podcast "Sugar Calling," during an interview with author and educator George Saunders. "This has never happened before here — at least not since 1918," he shared, quoting a letter he'd written his students. "We are, and especially you are, the generation that is going to have to help us make sense of this and recover afterwards...Are you keeping records of the emails and texts you're getting, the thoughts you're having, the way your hearts and minds are reacting to this strange new way of living? It's all important."
Here's the point, and I'm stealing it straight from David and George: document this moment. For yourself, because it restores, and for your company, because it's smart. Do not be the brand that builds a marketing strategy based on gaslighting consumers into thinking that everything will go back to normal. It will not. Do not be the company that nationally proclaims, "we're all in this together," when that reality is so false it's fatal. Use this time to collect your audience's stories and to concept a messaging strategy that speaks to what humans have missed in quarantine, and what they're craving upon reintroduction. How will your company contribute to the collective recovery?
It's effortless and costs nothing. Use the tools at your disposal, and implore your audience on social, via email, in the chatbox on your website:
How can we help you right now?
Which brands are currently making you feel like they care?
What are you most looking forward to when society reopens?
What has been the hardest part of all of this?
What brightens your day?
Use their answers to revise your target audience profiles, and embolden a new perspective on campaigns (holiday gifting in a recessed economy) that demand a fresh approach this year.
You are our people. How can we help you right now? Get in touch, and let's have a brand messaging therapy session. We could all use it.
Amanda