In responding to any crisis, brands always run the risk of coming off as exploitative—even when they have good intentions. As ad plans become further disrupted and brands seek to refocus their strategies, there’s one piece of advice that they can take directly from consumers themselves: be helpful and stay true to your purpose.

Ad Age reports that in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, “77 percent of respondents expect their brands to be helpful in what has become ‘the new everyday life.’ Only 8 percent feel they should stop advertising.” This finding drives home just how important customer obsession is in supporting audiences, a theme that’s explored in-depth in our report, (Re)Activate Customer Obsession.

The report notes, “We’ll look back on this moment as a time in which brands have realized the value in living up to their commitment to service, finding ways to build impact and provide comfort to their customers. This is the recipe for customer obsession—in which an organization ‘focuses its strategy and its budget on the technologies, systems and processes that win, serve and retain customers,’ as defined by Forrester.”

The sentiment echoes what MediaMonks’ APAC VP Growth Tobias Wilson wrote over at Campaign Asia: “The psychographic profiles of your consumers … have also changed—so make sure that you’re obsessing over your customers (mindsets and situation) first and foremost, not thinking about how your marketing plans have been disrupted and how much of a pain that is.” But what does that look like? Below, we examine a handful of brands that have answered the call by serving consumers’ needs within a “new normal.”

Google Arts & Culture’s Virtual Museum Tours

Museums have shuttered their doors to support social distancing, but that doesn’t mean you can’t explore some of the world’s best collections from home. Using the same technology that powers Street View on Google Maps, you can take your own personal tour through the hallowed halls of the museums—a refreshingly futuristic way to discover and observe artifacts from across human history. It’s worth noting that Google Arts & Culture has offered such tours for years, though social distancing has prompted a resurgence in interest in the platform.

Digitized collections help reinforce the reason why many of these institutions exist: to help patrons connect with history and culture. This goal powered our redesign and launch of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame website, which collects stories and digitized artifacts related to more than 300 inductees. Focused on content exploration and discovery, the platform demonstrates the museum’s dedication to “to engage, teach and inspire through the power of rock and roll” in a time where digital has proven essential to social connection.

Pernod-Ricard and Other Distilleries Produce Hand Sanitizer

Famed liquor brand Pernod-Ricard has shifted its factories to produce and bottle hand sanitizer for FEMA. The frenzy to buy hand sanitizer had become a meme in the earlier days of the COVID-19 spread across the US, but has become more troubling as governments have faced shortages. The move shows that Pernod-Ricard is willing to pull out all the stops to mobilize at speed and skill to meet important needs, regardless of profitability—sticking true to its values to “live together, better.”

Snapchat Drops its “Here for You” Feature Early

Originally scheduled to release in April, Snapchat dropped its “Hear for You” feature on March 19. The tool surfaces up mental health content for users who search for terms related to anxiety, depression, suicide or bullying—and it’s easy to see how many users’ anxieties have ramped up in the past couple of months.

As a brand, Snap is dedicated to “empowering people to express themselves, live in the moment, learn about the world and have fun together,” a mission that the brand has interpreted in surprising ways. Speaking to The Verge, a Snap spokesperson explained how that sense of connectivity and community informed the tool’s development: “Here For You was informed by studies that show that connecting with friends, whether in person or online is often the best defense against feelings of loneliness and anxiety.” By quickly pushing the feature before its scheduled release, the move follows the advice of Michel de Rijk, APAC CEO of S4Capital, that “in times like this, it’s more about speed than accuracy.”

Facebook Offers Tools for Small Business

Among those hit hardest by the coronavirus pandemic are small businesses. In addition to offering a new section of its app that keeps general users informed about COVID-19, Facebook launched its Business Resource Hub, offering tools and resources for brands to keep connected with their customers or facilitate remote working, including a Small Business Resilience Toolkit to prepare—and bounce back from—a crisis. Facebook also unveiled a $100 million grant program to further support small businesses.

In 2017, Facebook changed its mission statement to “bring the world together.” While people are physically distancing themselves, many small businesses continue to operate as essential pillars of their respective communities. By helping them keep the lights on, keep their employees supported and keep the world moving, Facebook continues to serve that mission.

While this moment in time has been difficult for many people in different ways, it’s inspiring to see brands step up to wield their platforms and influence for social good. By placing people first—whether customers or employees—and finding new ways to embody their purpose, brands can instill goodwill and continue to support their consumers when it’s needed the most.

Put your plan in action to better serve customers.

A trend that’s become increasingly important to today’s consumers is the expectation that brands take a stand, exhibiting a sense of purpose not only in their messaging, but also in the way that they conduct their business. An infographic found on the  Forrester blog, “The Power Of The Values-Based Consumer – And Of Authentic Brand Values,” by Jim Nail, offers data on the impact that purpose has on brands: “37% of values-driven firms report double-digit year-on-year revenue growth, vs. 32% of companies overall,” according to the data, showing that purpose is more than goodwill—it drives bottom-line impact. 

Exhibiting values and brand purpose are often discussed in the context of the shifting expectations of younger generations, though Forrester’s data notes that consumers ages 60 and over value social responsibility and purpose, too: 52% of them. To us, it’s clear that being more consumer-based is increasingly important to both brands and consumers of all types. 

But brands must be careful in their approach to promoting or showcasing their sense of purpose, ensuring their efforts read as authentic rather than hollow. Below are three principles that organizations can follow to infuse a sense of purpose in marketing and product development, which we have identified in the work we’ve done alongside purpose-driven brands.

Keep Your Work Consistent with Your Values

Savvy consumers are able to gauge whether a brand message is genuine or simply a marketing tactic. When a brand aims to authentically exemplify its purpose and values, it must keep a coherent message consistent to those values rather than make a one-time gambit. These values must be incorporated at all levels within a business.

A great example of a brand that consistently sticks to its values through its marketing is feminine hygiene brand Libresse, which continuously stays true to the values behind the brand—an important, yet difficult task for FMCG brands. Take, for example, its high-profile “Blood Normal” campaign, made created a stir by depicting period blood to destigmatize the shame that many young women feel about their periods. 

As the first of such advertisements to feature period blood, the campaign won a Glass Lion for Change Grand Prix award at Cannes in 2018. Saba, Libresse’s brand for the Mexican market, isn’t very shy itself in its depiction of femininity. Working with Circus, one of the latest additions to the MediaMonks fold, Saba aimed to challenge convention. 

“Our client is trying to build a global platform that is breaking the rules,” says Dauquen Chabeldin, Head Creative at Circus. The campaign, titled “We Are Ready,” features women in active lifestyles—ranging from athletes to everyday women working out—who don’t feel held back from societal judgments and perceived value based on looks. “They only see how we look, and not what we do,” says a jogger at the end of the hero video, opening up a dialogue on behalf of women everywhere who feel their ambitions and accomplishments aren’t recognized under the male gaze.

Build Impact by Committing to Your Message

To keep authentic, brands must extend purpose and value beyond just marketing and incite real action. According to data from ANA and the Ad Council, “While 78% of marketers said their company has a clearly defined purpose, only 18% strongly agree that it’s part of a companywide business strategy with specific goals.” 

This commitment is critical to building trust with consumers, notes MediaMonks Founder Wesley ter Haar. Speaking from his experience serving on the Cannes Titanium Lions jury, he advises that the big idea must be conceived at a scale that makes a real impression. “Good ideas are great, but the scale of those ideas—the way you commit to them and have them have a real impact—defines a lot of what wins.”

Saba has taken its insight of combatting sexism by offering products that support women with active lifestyles, making good on the promise that women shouldn’t be held back by outdated notions of femininity—including the idea that women can’t exercise and remain active during their period.

Learn what separates the best from the rest among award-winning trends at Cannes.

Strike a Chord and Start a Dialogue with Relatability

No matter your brand purpose or value, relatability is key to opening space for dialogue and ensuring it has impact. “Saba’s campaign was made for Mexico, but once we went digital, we knew it could ultimately live anywhere,” says Pablo Miranda, Creative at Circus. “Sadly, the insight behind the campaign—that women viewed by their looks rather than their achievements—applies globally.” This became clear in the response that the campaign received on social: “Many women commented that they had had similar experiences in their own lives,” says Miranda.

Calvin Klein’s digital #ForAllEternity campaign similarly resolved to get people thinking about and reflecting on transformed gender roles. The integrated campaign defies the typical cologne messaging with storytelling that takes a multifaceted exploration of masculinity and what it means to a series of influencers. Just like Saba’s campaign features women who break convention in their hobbies and professions, the Eternity campaign portrays a range of roles that masculinity plays in the profiled men’s lives: as husbands, fathers and in their careers.

Based around a series of interviews, these stories are told in the men’s own words, making the message ring as true and authentic as possible. As a digital-first campaign that extends the reach of an original TVC, the influencers open up and invite a dialogue with viewers who engage with them each day on social media.

Purpose is more important to brands now than ever before—and it’s never been easier for consumers to scrutinize their actions under a microscope. These truths prompt brands to better exhibit and validate their values through consistent messaging and impactful action, ensuring brand purpose resonates authentically with their audience.