The unprecedented formula for wasting as much brand equity and ad budget as possible in these uncertain times:

Cue up somber piano music.
Load up b-roll of empty streets and businesses.

Use phrases like:
Especially today
Now more than ever
Today more than ever
In times like these
During these times of great uncertainty
During these uncertain times
And the all-time favorite – In these unprecedented times…

Then toss in the words home and family.

Remind everyone that your company is here to help. “We’re here for you” is a great phrase to express that.

Then reassure everyone that we’ll get through this together. Be sure the word ‘together’ is also a hashtag.

Then spend thousands of dollars getting people to clap for the camera, err healthcare workers. But in no way should you actually spend money helping the healthcare workers. And certainly not restaurant employees.

Manipulative and meaningless.
A big part of what makes this all so meaningless is that so many brands did it using this formula. In less than a week, they were all announcing they were here for us. Watch this video to see the embarrassing number of times the same sad music, phrasing, and b-roll was used.

And this from brands way too big to honestly give a flip about anything but their bottom line.

Uber, GrubHub, Re/Max, Samsung, Facebook, Apple, Kia, Budweiser, FedEx, Heineken, Penske, Lexus, Nationwide Insurance, Taco Cabana, Uhaul, Nissan, Aldi, Target—all guilty. (Apple, you should know better.)

“Nissan has been with you through thick and thin.” Whoever wrote that should be fired.

These are all the brands who will soon start showing ads depicting a “new day” – early morning scenes of people waking up and throwing back the curtains on a beautiful sunrise. They’ll be reminding you of how they were there for you in the bad times, and you need to go forth and shop with them during the good times.

How to make marketing that means something.
The best rule of thumb for advertising during “these uncertain times” is the same dang rule of thumb it’s always been. If you can’t add to the conversation (which is 90% of brands at this point), don’t say anything. Keep your head down and focus on using this time to plan for the bigger picture. Don’t stop marketing, but don’t do cliché, designed by committee marketing either.

Always create marketing that gives more than it takes. A real competitive advantage in any marketplace is to actually give a sh*t about your customers. These brands did nothing but prove they really don’t.

Always behind you 1,000%,
Julia

PS – I’ve been quiet over here lately. Mostly because I had nothing to add to the pandemic conversation, and I’ve been busy rearranging life for a new schedule and routine. I’ve also been working at my new jobs as a hairdresser, dog groomer, hygienist, fine-dining chef, pedicurist, and yoga teacher. In addition to my “day job.” 

PPS – And it goes without saying that I am, of course, here for you in these unprecedented times. (I know you know that’s always been true – even in the most precedented of times.)

My husband calls me the Gladys Kravitz of our neighborhood. I’m always looking out the window and down the street. It’s important to be aware of your surroundings. 

One day as I was peering out the window, a car whipped around the corner, made a U-turn and parked right in front of our house. Out popped a chick with a bird’s nest of hair piled on her head, wearing pink bunny slippers and a black pleather jumpsuit. #nojoke

She had a cigarette dangling from her mouth and her iPhone hanging around her neck, playing rap tunes. I was mesmerized.

She grabbed a camera out of the back of her car and walked to the house across the street. She yanked the “for sale” sign out of the yard (and placed it in the neighbor’s yard), set up a tripod, and started snapping away.

As I watched her march around the yard in her fluffy bunny slippers, I thought, “now there’s an independent soul who is quite secure in their state of being.”

She went into the house (I was disappointed the show was over), and I went back to work.

It was a memorable, albeit brief experience.

What’s the point here?

I’m not saying I want you to dress up in pink bunny slippers and a pleather bodysuit (unless the spirit moves you…), but I do want you to put effort into making your content memorable.

As if it had on pink bunny slippers.

Instead of throwing facts, figures, and data at us in your social posts or website articles, give us some juicy details. A story about why you’re sharing what you’re sharing. And yes, you too have juicy details. Those aren’t reserved for strippers named Tanqueray.

Have you used this information to improve something in your life? Has it helped someone else? Is there an anecdote you can relate it to?

David Sedaris has said that it’s usually the worst thing you can admit about yourself that most people will be able to relate to. Which means I’m really relatable.  #plentytoshare

Don’t be afraid to get personal. It creates a connection that facts and figures can’t.

Facts tell, stories sell. Use your stories to make memorable experiences for your customers. The kind they will be disappointed to miss.

Always behind you 1,000%-
Julia

PS – She never put the sign back in the yard. For a week, it looked like the neighbor’s house was for sale. 😳

PPS – The next Noteworthy has some good info in it on content generation that is effective (read connects) and tips for writing stuff worth reading. Click here to get the next issue: https://www.juliapizzolato.com/get-noteworthy/

PPPS – Gladys Kravitz was the nosey neighbor on Bewitched. 😂