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recession washing

April 5, 2009 3 Comments

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I stumbled across "recession washing" as a useful expression in this presentation and thought it captured so much of the advertising bandwagon right now.

Six months ago, I was at a conference on marketing in the credit crunch and several speakers stressed the importance of showing empathy to consumers.  Of course, sincerity is crucial too.  Empathy without sincerity can do more harm than good.

The last two years, agencies were flooded with "green briefs".  Many businesses tasked their agencies to come up with advertising to communicate sustainability (whether or not there was any actual substance there). 

This year, it feels like "green briefs" have been replaced with "value briefs."

In their presentation, the agency scenarioDNA ranked a few examples of recession washing and recommended a few tips on what not to do:

  1. Don't be Mother Theresa. Empower consumers to stand on two feet.
  2. Don't over-empathize. Respect boundaries.  Allow breathing room.
  3. Don't be overly reactive. Roll with punches but keep on thinking.
  4. Don't count on loyalty. Be prepared for consumer boot strapping.
  5. Don't only help when they're down. Always be consistent.
  6. Don't get stuck in the mud. Be flexible. Help consumers transcend.
  7. Don't over-promise. Help relearn the ideals of patience.

Filed Under: advertising, recession

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3 Comments

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  1. Eric Weaver says

    April 6, 2009 at 3:38 am

    Great post – thanks for sharing!

    Reply
  2. karin koonings @ The Essential Orange says

    April 6, 2009 at 12:13 pm

    Refreshing. I can’t help getting cynical reading or watching another company jumping on the “we’re here to help bandwagon”. I would also add “Be Relevant” – have you seen the latest that KFC is doing? check it out
    http://theessentialorange.blogspot.com

    Reply
  3. Denise Lee Yohn says

    April 8, 2009 at 9:46 am

    may i add:
    8. don’t patronize — consumers may have less money but they’re wiser for it.

    Reply

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  • Paid licensing options include high resolution download.
  • Presentation $35.00 Add to Cart
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  • Corporate Blog/Sponsored Post $50.00 Add to Cart
  • Looking for other licensing options? click here
  • View Cart
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