JWT’s AnxietyIndex is designed as a place to discuss how brands and consumers are responding to the global recession. With daily content updates, AnxietyIndex.com includes contributions from around JWT’s network, offering a truly global perspective.
Earlier this year we wrote about the misguided “Your Singapore” campaign, which was successful in attracting foreigners (the direct target) but agitated local anxieties. By contrast, the ongoing “Pure Michigan” campaign, aimed at stimulating domestic tourism, has additionally served to boost Michiganders’ morale. Seeing so many positive things being promoted helps fight off the darkness among locals. It’s become a “rallying cry” for the state.
Michigan often gets tagged as a Rust Belt state, and Detroit is frequently used as the prime example of urban decay, or outright industrial/manufacturing decline. There’s some truth to this, but there’s much more to this state. “Pure Michigan” shows the beauty and stunning diversity of the state in an emotionally compelling way and gives clear, relevant reasons why people should spend time here or even locate a business to the state. Watch a few of these TV spots; if they don’t even slightly stir some emotions, you should see a cardiologist.
While it’s clear that not enough Americans are anxious about their health and motivated to improve it, they are likely concerned about the health of loved ones. For its 2010 Effie Award-winning campaign, the regional health insurance company Anthem created a “Health Footprint”—a score similar to a carbon footprint—designed to measure “your positive influence on others.” The message was that people’s actions have an effect on their social network; the bigger your Health Footprint, the greater your positive influence on others.
Believe it or not, studies suggest many of us can blame friends, family and co-workers for extra inches around the waistline. A 2007 study found that a person’s chances of becoming obese skyrocket if a friend becomes obese; conversely, “thinness is contagious.” Anthem’s TV commercials illustrate the concept—for example, a boy is seen imitating his dad’s good habits—and invite viewers to calculate their health footprint online and share their score with their virtual social networks. The microsite includes health and fitness tips.
The idea seemed to hit a nerve. Anthem’s microsite got 79,000-plus visits, more than double the goal. And 75 percent of those who started calculating their health footprint completed the process. By tapping into a social phenomenon, Anthem was able to engage consumers by helping them see how they can make a difference in the lives of loved ones, a message both empowering and inspiring.
“If Spain wins the World Cup, we’ll have to rethink our GDP growth forecast.” Those were the words of the minister of industry a few days before the World Cup final; going by the same rule, losing could lead to a slight decrease. The idea is simple: If I wake up happy and in a good mood, I might go out for lunch, get a fancier wine for dinner and book my vacation with a bit more enthusiasm. And if 40 million people wake up optimistic and confident, that could make a difference for the national economy.
Ironically, it was the Dutch bank ABN AMRO that researched the topic (after the 2006 World Cup) and released the study “Soccernomics,” which puts the economic effect of winning the World Cup at an additional 0.7 percent year-over-year growth for the winner; the loser is forecast to see a negative impact of 0.3 percent.
The economic effect in Spain remains to be seen, but the country certainly forgot about recession and unemployment for a few days. People focused on what they have in common rather that what differentiates them, and embraced the colors of our flag, finally getting over the bitter memories of dictatorship that it carried. What else can brands do beyond the typical endorsement or congratulatory note to ride out the wave of positive public sentiment following a win?
When JWT conducted its first AnxietyIndex study in Argentina, in January, the country registered as No. 4 in the world in terms of anxiety. The two key drivers of anxiety here are the state of the economy and the cost of living. With the tagline “Vamos a reirnos mas” (“We’re going to laugh more”), the Cadbury gum brand Beldent is adopting a hope-fueled approach to this mind-set, a strategy we advocated in our Recession Handbook.
In a recent commercial, we’re told the population is growing; and as we see footage of a huge, festive parade, the spot lists some ways this is a good thing—more men who hoist you up on their shoulders at concerts, more blondes on roller skates, etc. Beldent is trying to build an ideology for the brand around empowering people to have fun and take the good things from life. In an anxious country, this is a good example of the idea that brands are better served by feeding optimism than resentment.
The general sensation that politicians are disconnected from reality gets even more pronounced during a downturn, often contributing to anxiety. Several years ago an infamous incident showed Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero’s disconnect from everyday life: During a TV debate with citizens, a man asked him how much a coffee costs, and Zapatero answered “80 cents,” 40 cents under the actual price. “Zapateros’ coffee” became a classic media buzzword, indicating how out of touch politicians are with their countrymen.
Earlier this year, as Spain’s consumers continued to grapple with high unemployment and other effects of the downturn, JWT created an 80 cent “ZP’s coffee” promotion for Dunkin’ Coffee. Since this low price had existed only in the optimistic mind of the prime minister (nicknamed ZP), we made it real, demonstrating that a “better world” can exist! With only point-of-sale marketing—copy read “This month, have a coffee with a different frame of mind”—the “ZP coffee” got significant media coverage. This simple way of leveraging a catchphrase put a smile on people’s faces and transmitted the brand’s connection with its customers’ needs.
In pitching cost-saving railcards to young people, families and the more senior among us, National Rail has moved from a positioning of pure cost savings to equating those savings with the warmer, cuddlier things in life. It seems that they’re seeking not only to address anxieties about the cost of rail travel (which is on the increase) but also those tied to the fact that we don’t connect face-to-face as much anymore. A headline of “1/3 off hugs with mum” is paired with the line “because a text won’t get your washing done”; “1/3 off hugs with grandad” adds the line “because it’s hard to play hide and seek on a webcam.”
We’ve seen a similar idea from Nescafé in Australia, where a “Get a little closer” campaign urges consumers to “turn off the gadgets, turn on the kettle and enjoy a cup of coffee together.” These campaigns tap into the trend of Savoring Simple Pleasures as well as the growing urge to unplug in an increasingly digital world. Quality face time certainly feels like something the modern world needs. A virtual hug via Facebook really isn’t the same, is it?
It’s not news that the crisis isn’t just economic—it has affected people’s mental well-being and has created a sense of deep hopelessness for some. So Walgreens in Puerto Rico decided to remind people what truly makes them happy—family, pets, favorite pastimes, nature and so on—in a campaign that turned its photo development department into a prescription department.
Asking “¿Cual es tu receta para sentirte bien?” (“What’s your prescription for feeling good?”), Walgreens encouraged Puerto Ricans to submit photo compilations showing their personal prescription for happiness over a two-month period. Submissions were shown on TV commercials, digital billboards throughout the island and a micro-site. Puerto Rico’s primary retail pharmacy created an atmosphere of positivity by shifting our focus to the many blessings we have, teaching us that the best prescription is closer than we think. This kind of hope-fueled approach—epitomized by the Red Cross Portugal “Hope” campaign—is a smart way to help consumers fend off anxiety.
We’ve seen various brands encouraging hope and optimism as a marketing strategy for the recession. In Pakistan, two multinational brands are using this approach in a country where the downturn is one of several factors increasing anxiety and unrest. Pepsi Cola Pakistan and Mobilink (the country’s largest telecom service provider, owned by Egypt-based Orascom) are aligning themselves with the national cricket team, which seems to be one of the only sources of cheer for Pakistanis these days. A series of Pepsi commercials feature upcoming stars and old heroes. For a nation that shows high levels of nationalism mostly when a cricket match is on, this seems like a smart approach, especially for foreign-owned companies that could benefit from showing their allegiance with a popular Pakistani cause.
South Africa has invested several billion dollars into hosting the FIFA World Cup, in large part to boost its image on the world stage. The country is highly motivated by “reputation-anxiety,” says South African journalist Mark Gevisser. But the spotlight holds a risk. As a senior government official told him: “When the world’s cameras are trained on you, sure they pick up the feel-good stories … but they also look for trouble—which is not difficult to find in South Africa.” (Case in point: This AlJazeera English broadcast, titled “South Africa crime clouds World Cup” on YouTube.)
To keep the emphasis on the positive, South Africa’s First National Bank (FNB) has been sponsoring the Shine 2010 campaign, which consists of a website and the usual social media platforms (Facebook, YouTube, etc.). The site (billed as “Home of the 2010 World Cup good news”) offers an upbeat blog, a Good News section, video clips, podcasts and guides for World Cup attendees. “We believe that confidence in South Africa only needs a home,” the About section explains. The idea is to “shape perceptions online” and inspire locals “to be active ambassadors,” FNB’s head of marketing told BizCommunity.com.
For a brand operating in a relatively new nation (the post-apartheid era began in 1994) worried about potential embarrassment, FNB seems to be doing a good job not only positioning itself as a South Africa booster but giving citizens the tools to join in.
AT&T’s new “Rethink possible” campaign represents a major push to convey a positive and innovative brand image. This commercial, for example, shows a gloomy suit-clad young man sitting on the roof deck of an urban tower; childlike animations happily frolic around the cityscape as “Pure Imagination” (as sung by Gene Wilder in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory) plays. The voiceover asks, “Remember when you were 5? And anything was possible?” Another spot urges viewers to “See what’s on the other side of too far” and to “Play the angel’s advocate.”
As still-anxious consumers slowly recover from the recession, AT&T seems to be betting that they are looking for messages of inspiration, motivation and optimism. By associating its brand with a forward-looking, upbeat outlook, perhaps it can tap into a yearning for the days before the tough realities of the recession put a dent in many dreams.
The general sensation that politicians are disconnected from reality gets even more pronounced during a downturn, often contributing to anxiety. Several years ago an infamous incident showed Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero’s disconnect from everyday life: During a TV debate with citizens, a man asked him how much a coffee costs, and Zapatero answered “80 cents,” 40 cents under the actual price. “Zapateros’ coffee” became a classic media buzzword, indicating how out of touch politicians are with their countrymen.
In pitching cost-saving railcards to young people, families and the more senior among us, National Rail has moved from a positioning of pure cost savings to equating those savings with the warmer, cuddlier things in life. It seems that they’re seeking not only to address anxieties about the cost of rail travel (which is on the increase) but also those tied to the fact that we don’t connect face-to-face as much anymore. A headline of “1/3 off hugs with mum” is paired with the line “because a text won’t get your washing done”; “1/3 off hugs with grandad” adds the line “because it’s hard to play hide and seek on a webcam.”
