With such tumultuous times brought on by the global pandemic, 2020 was the year of marketing with empathy, but it was also the year that put ethics in the spotlight, as brands around the world asked themselves important, mission-driven questions, like:
- How do we address and fight against racial injustice?
- Should we take sides in the 2020 U.S. presidential election?
- How do we authentically express our corporate values?
While certainly much of businesses’ concerns revolved around staying afloat financially during lockdowns and store closures, equally as critical was the conversation around building brand trust and connecting with customers in a deep, meaningful way.
To find out how marketers have altered their messaging priorities in the past year, we recently polled 500 B2C marketers and discovered these top three findings:
- 2020 effects on consumer communications will not fade.
- Cause-driven marketing campaigns will continue.
- Marketers will push brands to be even more socially active.
But those findings are just the high-level summary of how marketers will earn consumer confidence this year.
Check out our brand trust infographic below for even more key takeaways and statistics that can guide your 2021 marketing strategy.
Inside you’ll learn:
- The top social issues marketers made public statements about in 2020
- The most popular tactics used in campaigns to support specific causes
- The reasons why marketers think brands should (and shouldn’t) remain politically neutral
- And more!
Click on the infographic to zoom in on all the insights and download a copy for yourself.
Click the brand trust infographic to zoom in and download a copy!
Brand Trust in 2021: What Morality Has to Do With Marketing
Ethics and morality are critical components of building trust in a brand, and our research highlights marketers’ success in communicating with sensitivity on the multitude of issues about which customers are passionate.
As the data shows, tapping into how customers are feeling will be a top priority this year, because only by understanding their emotions and values can brands communicate with tact. The more mindful we are of their perspective, the more effectively we can connect with them.
Want to dive even deeper into our survey findings and learn how today’s top brands are leading the conversation around social activism? Join us in our next webinar, “Building Brand Trust in a Year Like 2021,” on Thursday, Feb. 25.
