The next phase

Column Lucas Hulsebos – CEO

In the past few days, many people have entered a new phase. Now that more things are allowed, and we have more insight into what is, and is not allowed, it’s important for us as a research agency to focus on this next phase. The main question is to what extent Corona still plays a role in the minds of consumers. If we look at people’s search behaviour, we see that the peak has decreased considerably, but that there is still a clear role.

These past few months we have had a lot of conversations with marketers, have done a lot of meta-analyses on existing data and conducted many new studies on Corona related topics. These studies have taught us a lot on the importance of good marketing. Marketing is a strategic profession where it is always important to listen carefully to your target group, and take the right decisions from there.

Sentiment & innovations

When it comes to communication, we often see it take a turn for the worse. Never has the word “together” been used so often in advertising and in the media. Responding to the crisis and using sentiment surrounding Corona seems to be a good strategy. However, nothing could be further from the truth. Responding to the current crisis only makes sense if that communication continues to activate the built-up memory structures. You don’t change an image that had been built up over decades with just one campaign.

In the field of innovation, many products and services were introduced that were sympathetic and used as conversation starters. Beautiful initiatives and praiseworthy ideas, but only a few successful. It’s the same with innovation; it’s important to listen to the target group and, in particular, to take the consumer experience into account. People were not looking for new things. They went back to their basic routines and didn’t want to try as many new things as they usually would.

The gorilla

Many of the initiatives remind me of a clip that I used to show at conferences. In the video, several people throw a ball at each other and I asked to count how many times the ball was passed in total. Halfway through the video, a gorilla walks into the picture. When you know the gorilla is there, it is impossible to imagine others not seeing it. It is often the same with marketing: if you know what you have added in yourself, it is difficult to imagine consumers and clients not seeing it. Yet that is the reality, and it is a great risk to assume that people will see and appreciate your message. Only good research can help you with this. To get out of the crisis, it is important to continue to study whether people see your gorilla. Assumptions don’t work and gambling that your experience and expertise don’t need feedback, is and remains a great risk. Therefore, my advice to any marketer is to continue to invest in feedback. Only with the right feedback will you emerge stronger from this crisis and be ready for the next phase.