 Last week’s massive storms in the northeast left powerlines, cablelines and nerves frayed. But Mayor Swiderski from Hastings-on-Hudson, NY understands that empathy goes a long way. He wrote an email EVERY DAY for nearly two weeks with updates about utility companies’ restoration efforts, thanking residents and emergency responders for their resilience and patience.
Optimum customers had a difference experience. In some parts of Westchester County internet and cable service was disrupted for well over a week. Customers were tense and angry - no storm can match the fury of teenagers without WiFi - but Optimum was stone-silent during the crisis, and calls to their customer service line were answered with a recording saying they were aware of an outage. Then they hung up. Optimum can’t control the weather, but they CAN control how they communicate with their customers. And done right, they can even control how their customers feel. We at TELL-IGNITE reached out to Optimum as experts on empathy strategy (and also as customers!) and explained how Mayor Swiderski’s empathetic emails earned him devotion from residents. Last night there was another interruption of Optimum service - and Optimum promptly sent e-mails with detailed explanations and empathy. Kudos to Optimum for quickly adopting a strategy that will make their customers feel better - about their tensions, and about Optimum. More of our Igniting Ideas: http://www.tell-ignite.com/igniting-ideas
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 Change is good. It’s also inevitable. And when handled properly, it’s healthy and invigorating. Managing change is tricky because you have to balance your vision for the future while honoring the successes of the past. That’s the challenge, and the key is STORY.
Why STORY? In a world of quarterly earnings reports, it’s easy to forget that every brand is ultimately an authentic, arcing storyline from the dreams of the founders to the dreams of today’s leaders. Every person who ever worked at the company is a character, and the brand itself is the hero. When a major change happens to a brand, the story takes a dramatic turn. Meredith Corporation’s acquisition of Time Inc. is a perfect example. Honor the past, don’t delete it. It’s part of your new authentic story, it boosts your credibility and showcases your confident vision for the future. Former Time Inc. executive Tammy Berentson summed it up best on LinkedIn: “Meredith may have bought the company, but they did not buy my experience, my memories, our history.” From the New York Post: http://nyp.st/2BMY9K6 More of our Igniting Ideas: http://www.tell-ignite.com/igniting-ideas  Why do two white guys have the nerve to wade into a conversation about a magazine crafted by and for black women? Perhaps we shouldn’t, but we’re firm believers in the power of a brand’s story, and with ESSENCE’s recent sale to Richelieu Dennis it has reclaimed an important component of its brand story - black ownership and management.
Understandably, there has been palpable excitement among the brand’s fans, and unsurprisingly, in certain corners of society there has been a backlash suggesting the enthusiasm is steeped in racism. But black identity is at the heart of ESSENCE’s brand story, because forty-eight years ago a black woman could not find a single magazine that understood her and spoke to her with empathy. ESSENCE changed that forever. Another reason we are wading in - we worked closely with ESSENCE at Time Inc. and we fell in love with the brand because the passion and empathy that the ESSENCE team exuded was above and beyond anything we saw with any other brand in the building. ESSENCE is much more than a media brand. Will reclaiming its brand story have a similar effect on ESSENCE’s fortunes as Steve Jobs’ return to Apple did? We hope so. Welcome home ESSENCE. From the New York Times: http://nyti.ms/2D5WWvx More of our Igniting Ideas: http://www.tell-ignite.com/igniting-ideas  We worked at Time Inc. for over a dozen years and believe us when we say - the Koch brothers are not involved in this for a “moneymaking opportunity” even if they are performing a role “similar to that of a bank.” There are many better places to leverage their expertise to make money. This is about influence. Look for the Kochs to purchase the news titles from Meredith after the deal closes. The reality? The news titles are not the money makers for Time Inc., but rather the opinion makers - that’s the value here. You’ve heard the phrase ‘Follow the Money’ but in this case it’s ‘Follow the Influence’. It’s the end of Time as we knew it, and boy, we will all miss it.
From the New York Times: http://nyti.ms/2Aa17Y3 More of our Igniting Ideas: http://www.tell-ignite.com/igniting-ideas  What’s free and makes everyone feel good? Other than oxygen, it’s empathy. And every brand can use it to make their audiences feel better, even when they DON’T have an actual solution to their problems.
Mass transit “countdown clocks” are perfect examples: they don’t make the buses and trains come any quicker, but passengers feel less anxious when they know how long they have to wait. Now New York’s MTA is taking empathy a step further with conductor announcements that address subway riders’ frustrations - warning about slippery conditions on soggy days or offering explanations for delays in service. They will even suggest landmarks near stations for tourists who might be disoriented while traveling underground. The MTA is using empathy as a strategy in recognition of T.S. Eliot’s insight about travel: “The journey not the arrival matters.” If the MTA is showing empathy, shouldn’t you? From the New York Times: http://nyti.ms/2yNALau More of our Igniting Ideas: http://www.tell-ignite.com/igniting-ideas Quick - how do you feel about Las Vegas right now? In the wake of the tragic mass shooting on October 1st, a city that depends on tourism is facing a public relations nightmare. How can they send a message that is simultaneously respectful and authentic yet also conveys the hopeful dreams that drive their economy?
Using the magic of empathy. The newest ad from the Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority features tweets and photos from everyday people reacting to the crisis by professing their love for Vegas and determination to return. They feel like winners - and everyone loves a winner. The ad convinced me that they know how I feel without talking about how I feel. That’s empathy, and that’s a winning attitude. From the Los Angeles Times: http://lat.ms/2hfFefl More of our Igniting Ideas: http://www.tell-ignite.com/igniting-ideas We’re devoted to empathy and storytelling, placing the consumer at the center of the story, which is why we’ve always been huge fans of Dove’s Real Beauty campaign. We’re likewise perplexed by this same brand - whose name itself connotes the color white - repeatedly shooting themselves in the foot with imagery that pits darker skin against lighter skin for dramatic effect.
Memo to Dove and all of Madison Avenue - if your story hinges on a “gag” utilizing skin color then you are probably telling the wrong story. Instead, focus your creative strategy on empathy for your audience, and your brand’s story in The New York Times will be very different. From the New York Times: http://nyti.ms/2wRclM3 More of our Igniting Ideas: http://www.tell-ignite.com/igniting-ideas We worked at Time Inc. for over a decade and we remember the moment well - when we first noticed women staring at their phones in the checkout aisle at the grocery store instead of flipping through PEOPLE. Patients in the doctor's office smiling at their phones instead of reading Sports Illustrated. Headphone-clad commuters, phone in their lap instead of this week's issue of TIME. Finally, here was a device that liberated a pent-up desire in consumers - to feel more emotionally engaged with their media. The time was ripe for the publishing business to embrace this new technology and welcome their audience into their stories - yet they passed.
How did this industry allow a brand extension opportunity full of potential to morph into an existential crisis? The players focused on their own emotions about their industry, products and yes, their own careers, when they could have focused on the emotional needs of their audience. Their response to this looming threat? "The power of print"..."People love the smell of newsprint"..."Sales will come back" The recent departure of some of the magazine world's most august editors is the strongest sign yet: Time to move on. From the New York Times: https://nyti.ms/2jU6qUq I had just finished reading Evan Osnos’ article about North Korea in the New Yorker when I saw it - a wind-thrashed leaf caught in a masterful web created by a formidable spider on our back porch. And then I realized that’s no leaf - that’s a butterfly. And it was fighting for its life as the spider rode it like the mechanical bull in Urban Cowboy. For twelve minutes I witnessed this scintillating drama unfold. Like North Korea, here was a vulnerable character cornered by a much more powerful, sophisticated foe with an overwhelming offensive system at its command. It should have been no contest but when fighting for your life you must dig deep to find inspiration and survive. No one yet knows if North Korea will get away with their nuclear ambitions but the butterfly got away, leaving a perplexed, frustrated superpower behind.
More from the New Yorker: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/09/18/the-risk-of-nuclear-war-with-north-korea Political groups are investing in internet virality and getting a shockingly high return by crafting memes – memorable, shareable content that audiences are connecting with in an instant. It raises the question: why aren’t more consumer brands doing this? In a world of short attention spans and tight budgets this kind of quick, entertaining and inexpensive messaging could be an incredible opportunity to spread the word about your brand and make an emotional connection with your audience at a nominal cost.
More from the New York Times: https://nyti.ms/2uxoS5k |
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