CorpSumers are a powerful and growing segment of consumers that place shared values at the center of their decision-making. They cross all ages, geographies and demographics and they care more about corporate reputation than the actual features and benefits of the products. Their attitudes and beliefs about company reputation are so strong that they drive…
These days, it seems like no one is safe from a crisis arriving suddenly and unexpectedly. Some have subscribed this phenomenon to hypersensitivity on the political left and right, goaded on by professional activists who subscribe bad intentions to…well, everything. In fairness, there’s something to this idea that culture warriors jumping to conclusions (or trawling…
Our last post emphasized the somewhat counterintuitive idea of emotionlessly planning for an emotional response. Given that this is a fairly broad idea, I thought it might be helpful to do a deeper dive into some unique elements of this planning process for standing up or laying low. As an organizing principle, when working with…
In the last post, we discussed the false choice of “standing up” versus “laying low” in a post-truth era, specifically how a perceived need to be aggressive or avoid the limelight can lead us to abandon sober judgment. This notion of emotional decision making – something we’ve assigned to our audiences and customers for good…
In the post-truth era, seizing opportunity and limiting risk has taken on an entirely new meaning. Over the past few months, I’ve spoken with dozens of experienced communicators who are dealing with this new reality and the added complexity layered into seemingly every decision. Many experts and commentators have cheered for more assertive and proactive…
In recent posts, we’ve talked about the so-called “post-truth” environment we find ourselves operating in as communicators. For many, it feels like the ground under our feet has suddenly and quite substantially shifted, and the presumptions and PR playbook many relied on for decades have been turned on their head. In reality, “post-truth” is widely…
Before the kickoff of the Super Bowl last night the internet was already buzzing with conversation about the “Ad Bowl” – from ads that leaked to the Coca-Cola commercial celebrating diversity right before the kickoff. This year’s ads covered some heavy topics like diversity, immigration and gender equality. And much has already been written about…
Much is being written about the importance of “people like me” and the emotional decision-making by consumers despite the facts. And while marketers scramble to address the questions about how to reach, engage and activate “people like me” and create emotional connections, companies may be missing an equally important opportunity. The post-truth economy creates new…
It isn’t easy to be a company spokesperson. And no matter how many times you’ve created messaging, prepped a spokesperson or trained a spokesperson, you don’t really get it until you do it. In the times I’ve done it (vs. told my client how to do it), I’ve been struck by the broad range of…
Post-Truth analysis has been front and center since the Presidential election, with the “post-truth” terminology named the “word of the year” by Oxford. At the heart of the debate about the post-truth environment is the apparent decline of the importance of facts, in favor of emotion. Repetition seems to be the new truth. Because people…