What Challengers Can Learn from the Post-Pandemic Trends

The brands in the past year have had to undergo more intense scrutiny than at any other time in history. It has shifted consumer perception and brand perception in two different ways.

New normal lockdowns are starting to subside, and our mindets have changed as a result. Trendsetter businesses should keep this in mind.

Contents

1 1. The political standing of your brand matters
- 1.1 Striving to be as much like a Challenger as possible
2 2. Your brand should be dedicated to serving the community
- 2.1 Striving to be as much like a Challenger as possible
3 3. In order to expand your brand organically, you should prioritize organic growth.
- 3.1 Striving to be as much like a Challenger as possible
4 4. It is crucial that your employees are mentally, physically, and emotionally well.
- 4.1 Striving to be as much like a Challenger as possible

1. The political standing of your brand matters

The market has transformed, and today’s brand offerings are intended to appeal to customers, not to avoid offending them. Today, 50% of customers in the US are more inclined to boycott to purchase a product due to its corporate or political affiliations than a year earlier.

Although the presidential election and Covid-19 policies drove this figure to prominence, it is also a significant indicator of consumer mood going forward.

Those who have authority have a responsibility to use their privilege to promote equality. As falsehoods and biases abound, your brand’s political position is more important than ever.

Striving to be as much like a Challenger as possible

This year’s cultural events have made it clear that an organization’s social and political stance is influential. A voice of a brand can be heard in many movements, like Black Lives Matters, and the Capitol Insurrection. In order to demonstrate to consumers and employees that you are a company with integrity, you are telling the world that you have values, and that you’re providing customers and employees with the information they need to make well-informed decisions about where they invest their money and efforts.

Patagonia, in particular, can be used as an example. Bears Ears National Monument was reduced by 85% and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument was reduced by 50% due to efforts by the Trump administration to shrink the monuments.

Take concrete actions to show that you believe in your principles, both within your organization and outside in your marketing communications. Once you’ve identified who creates your inputs and goods, you should learn everything you can about those companies, who owns them, who works there, and how they are treated. Consider the issue of waste and recycling when engaging with businesses, clients, and providers. Apply that perspective to your services, partners, and advertisers.

2. Your brand should be dedicated to serving the community

In addition to showing where we have room for improvement in terms of our cultural identity, the epidemic revealed how poorly we’re developing and nurturing our communities.

Some boiled down to the needs of children and those with mental health issues. Others have described providing internet connection to students as allowing them to use local McDonald’s car parking lots for work. This, in a nutshell, explains the widening gap between basic human rights and mere privileges. Challengers must close it.

Striving to be as much like a Challenger as possible

To know who the Challenger is, don’t look at how big it is, but rather the way it does business. Therefore, see where you can inspire change and develop community inside your firm, as well as among consumers.

Realization may be achieved through the development of safe places or programs that are directed toward assisting disadvantaged communities, or by being a member of coalitions who want to make the world a better place.

While the pandemic was going on, we saw all sectors shine brightly. The biggest thing that people will expect of any initiatives like these to continue is that Convoy, which has used a digital freight network to collect and distribute funds to trucking companies, will continue to pay for the cost of goods that are donated to local food banks and Airbnb’s Open Homes and Frontline Stays initiatives, which offers free stays for essential workers and customers.

3. In order to expand your brand organically, you should prioritize organic growth.

Traditional advertising is shifting. According to Andreessen Horowitz general partner Andrew Chen, startups are dying because they are addicted to paid marketing.

Paid marketing is difficult to scale, and in addition, at scale, the major channel. Both competitors and the company’s leadership need to fight both exterior pressures (competition and platform) and fight for psychological energy in order to survive.

Starting in the next year, we’re going to see a lot of businesses face the challenge of organic growth for the first time. They will return to our marketing roots and find they can cultivate even more involved and devoted communities while they do so.

Striving to be as much like a Challenger as possible

The reality is that as marketers, we have influence and a responsibility to determine where that influence is best applied. Just recently, Massachusetts filed a lawsuit against Publicis Health for its involvement with Purdue Pharma, claiming that the business has increased the severity of the opioid crisis in the United States.

Keep in mind that in the process of switching to a more organic development strategy, you must be providing value and offering something in return for your customer’s personal information or time. There are those that are continually trying to figure out how to do things better and implement it through their goods or messages. Don’t just grow your brand at the expense of someone else’s life.

4. It is crucial that your employees are mentally, physically, and emotionally well.

As a result of the epidemic, our manner of working has changed. Many people welcomed the shift. More than half of individuals whose job responsibilities can be handled from home want to remain employed once the pandemic ends, according to a recent Pew Research study.

The negative remarks stated above have been countered by several positive statements from employees saying that businesses need to take a more active role in managing their mental health programs.

Striving to be as much like a Challenger as possible

People are your company’s most important asset. It is important that you care for them and ensure their well-being as part of your overall brand strategy. It is good and encouraged to incorporate health programs and virtual efforts that place special emphasis on physical and mental well-being, but these things must go farther.

Thinking about what your employees are dealing with in their daily lives, such as financial planning or stress management, ask them to attend courses that provide information and inspiration. Encourage your staff to seek help when they need it, and then take immediate action to correct problems that arise.