Conscious Marketing: Finding Connections & Positivity During A Global Crisis

This year has no doubt been a time of uncertainty. As a working mom, the recent months have challenged me in ways I never thought possible. That being said, having more time at home with my family, it’s given me plenty to think about and reflect on. Rather than focusing on the everyday struggles, I’ve found that I’m on the path of searching for that sense of connectivity and positivity that makes our world go round. And I’m sure I’m not alone! 

The pandemic has upended our entire lives. With kids often in remote school plans and parents working from home, there’s of course been increased stress levels as overworked parents try to juggle it all. Research has in fact shown that quarantine can induce insomnia, stress, anxiety, depression, anger, and emotional exhaustion, and post-traumatic stress symptoms, among other things! Further, the longer parents stay at home, the more at risk they are for emotional and cognitive burnout - in fact, I was surprised to learn that at the end of March 57% of mothers and 32% of fathers “reported worsening mental health” due to the pandemic. As a working mom myself, I’ve had to recalibrate on parenting, managing the household, homeschooling my children, and much more. My husband and I have had to figure out how to create a work-from-home environment that is productive and happy. When there’s a high amount of stress and uncertainty, it’s easy to focus on these struggles. But through the tough times, I have learned that I am not alone. These challenges are something that many are facing, and a shared experience that ties us to each other even while we’re physically distant. This mindset has always deeply impacted my outlook on parenting and marketing, but more so now than ever before. 

I’ve always believed when we’re in a crisis, it’s more important to focus on solutions rather than problems, no matter how difficult that may be. The same laser focus applies when effectively marketing during crises. Marketing is all about finding a solution to people’s problems, being genuine, creating a connection with consumers, and bringing consumers a sense of fulfillment and joy. Loyal customers often develop connections to brands that mirror relationships, with 60% of customers using language like “love,” “happy,” and “adore” to classify their favorite brands. It’s this deeply personal connection that many feel makes marketing campaigns and brand strategy all the more important. And what better way to establish that connection by bringing what we encounter and learn in our everyday lives to the table?

However, when brands instead fall into the trap of pushing a message simply for the sake of doing so, rather than having it come from a genuine place, that’s where strategy often falls flat. Consumers can very easily detect when brands are “being real;” it’s not just about lip service. They want brands to put their money where their mouth is. Moreover, they don’t just want to see an ad, they want to see a campaign that engages every aspect of the company to promote a change. That’s what companies like Patagonia, Levi, Nike, and Adidas have exemplified, as well as Allbirds, Cuyana, and Everlane with their commitments to sustainability. It’s not just a singular ad campaign, but a lifestyle for these bands. It’s a lifestyle that depends on the pillars of strong leadership as well as long-term strategies and a company culture that revolve around a company’s purpose, and seek to find solutions to issues their customers are currently facing. 

I brought this ethos to my own team’s recent work at Humanscale. A focus on these pillars with a lens of creating solutions led us to develop Humanscale’s WFH campaign, a conscious marketing campaign where we provide ways to make remote working more feasible. We decided to address our dire situation with positivity, not just to acknowledge the adverse mental and physical health impacts, but to realize that when we all come together we can create solutions that help many. This positive mindset that drove the Humanscale marketing team’s recent strategy also drives my personal strategies for getting through this challenging year. I’ve been finding the joy in having more time with my kids, getting to know them as people as well as myself as a mom. More than just seeing them as little people, I’ve gotten to know my kids as friends who are all trapped in the house together and hunkering down till this all blows over. It’s the little things like being able to get them dressed in the morning together and putting them to bed each night that have been so rewarding. And in the end, that’s what ties us all together.