In the early ’80s, Rolling Stones magazine hired Fallon McEligott advertising agency to create a campaign to attract a new range of advertisers. The main goal was to show that the magazine’s readers were no longer hippies, but they had become affluent and mainstream. Fallon McEligott iconic “Perception/ Reality” campaign was a huge success. The cleverly simple designed ads – more than 60 different executions – reached its goal by raising the ad sales by nearly 50 percent.
That idea that “perception is reality” was first expressed in a statement made by George H. W. Bush’s political strategist, Lee Atwater. Atwater’s message was that if you can make people believe something, it becomes if you like, a de facto fact.
Atwater’s phrase became part of the culture – although most people don’t remember him – the magazine campaign became an iconic cultural moment, though.
However, for decades major brands still have followed the playbook that perception is what it counts.
But 40 years later, is perception still reality?
The answer is no.
A big, bold, capital letters, NO.
Today, more then ever, people expect to see words translated into actions in a demonstrative and effective way. Brand’s perception should also be an expression of what the company behind it stands for and what’s is role and responsibility in society.
Today, even big and bold actions only count if they are relevant and consistent. It’s not the time for one-offs; it’s time to make a difference.
Talk less, do more.
In the recent past, a heartwarming positive message ad would be enough to keep a brand relevant and build its reputation. It was enough to be entertaining.
Neal Gabler – journalist and historian professor – wrote in his book “Life, the movie” that “entertainment is arguably the most pervasive, powerful and ineluctable force of our time -- a force so overwhelming that it has finally metastasized into life.” He argues that entertainment and movie logic has been incorporated into every corner of society, and that was “the triumph of entertainment over life itself.”
We can find evidence of it on the success of reality shows, the increasing power of social media, the influencer’s and celebrity cult phenomena, or even on the way primetime shows deliver the news or how presidential debates are staged. It’s all a big show.
This show is over. Welcome the new normal.
The coronavirus pandemic dramatically changed the world, and we still don’t know the full extent of its effect on society. While we try to adapt to the new normal, one thing is for sure, though: priorities have changed.
In the last days of March, many brands announced their efforts to help to fight the virus and support people that have had their lives completely disrupted by the devastating effects of the pandemic on the world’s health system and economy.
The companies behind these brands are leaving their mark in history and on people’s minds in a way far beyond that any big marketing effort could do. That’s because companies and brands understand that they are made of people, and they are both their most valuable asset, advocate, and in many cases consumer as well.
It is too early to understand the shifts that this pandemic will cause in the fabric of today’s society. But it is not too soon to see that this crisis, as it unfolds, it is revealing the conflicts and challenges of the way we live. Or that we used to live.
During the beginning of this crisis, some business leads were quickly jumping to say that one couldn’t ever forget that the company comes first. For them, it meant that layoffs and furloughs were a way to make sure the company would survive. As some entire business industries are being completely disrupted – potentially thousands of companies will disappear in the following months – one wonders what the company is without the people?
To Jack Dorsey, people comes first. The co-founder and CEO of Twitter, pledged $ 1 billion ( 28% of his fortune) to fund COVID-19 relief and other charities. In 2015, shortly after Twitter laid off roughly 8% of its employees, Dorsey announced that he was donating almost $200 million in Twitter stock back to the employee grant pool. It was about a third of his total stake in the company.
He famously tweeted at the time:
“I’d rather have a smaller part of something big than a bigger part of something small.”
Jack Dorsey's was followed by a number of CEOs stepping up by taking pay cuts, promising no furloughs or layoffs, and by doing so, writing their names in history.
As the traditional ideas of leadership, success, and opportunity are being questioned by society in general, companies behind big brands should do the same.
They must not only redefine their purpose– what they mean to consumers both practically and emotionally – but also look at their company culture and make sure that their corporate values, environment, practices, and ethics align with their employee’s needs and that they are relevant to today’s society.
Walk the talk.
Did you get that?