SPONSORED CONTENT
Erin Norman
Senior Solutions Consultant, Public Policy
Heart+Mind Strategies
enorman@heartandmindstrategies.com
571-926-8852 x321
When public debate seems to focus mainly on those who shout loudest, how can marketers be sure they’re hearing the voices of all consumers, not just the most vocal few?
We agree with the basic premise of this question. The last two years have been full of “shocking” political, societal and cultural changes. But were these outcomes and trends so unpredictable or just initially unnoticed by a society that increasingly insulates itself from non-like-minded people?
The advice from experts who predict widespread trends in their infancy is simple and clear: make it a habit to talk to people from a broad swath of places, perspectives and backgrounds. In a world where we increasingly “bubble” off our social groups and media consumption, that can be a challenge and a catastrophic oversight for those who are tasked with understanding where our society is heading from inside the boardroom or statehouse.
This broader perspective is particularly important for CMOs and CCOs whose job it is to understand the lay of the land as part of any outreach on behalf of a corporation, product or issue. It’s critical to hear all voices – not just the loudest – to create effective strategies.
This need has increased in the current noisy communications environment. It is difficult to develop marketing strategies that break through and are relevant to the conflicting social currents coursing through our country. As marketers thread that needle, the results can sometimes further polarize those to whom communications are meant to appeal (e.g., Nike’s Colin Kaepernick campaign, Gillette’s recent “Toxic Masculinity” advertising). While this polarization might benefit the brand, strengthening ties to the intended target, that potential impact must be carefully calculated.
As a company with an unusual heritage that stretches across political, nonprofit and corporate worlds, we’re deeply familiar with these challenges. Many of our clients come to us because we understand how these complex cross-currents can affect their business.
How we hear less-heard voices
We have begun studying the people who largely keep their opinions to themselves but still make daily decisions about where to shop, what to buy and who to support. As any researcher knows, this is not an easy charge because people who are less engaged in political discourse are also less likely to participate in research. Some of the characteristics of this effort include:
- specifically targeting those whose opinions are not normally heard;
- using multimodal approaches to reaching and engaging people who are not normally interviewed and including both deep qualitative and more projective quantitative data; and
- carefully structuring the research engagement to ensure participants feel comfortable expressing their own views, even if they run counter to the mainstream.
With input from these voices, we are able to more carefully calibrate the marketing advice we provide to clients, ensuring they chart a path knowing the full picture of their marketing landscape.