‘People want to associate themselves with brands with purpose’

Humanity, empathy, and creativity are going to be the drivers of brand communications in the post-pandemic era as customers and employees both are looking forward to associating themselves with companies that have a purpose, concluded a panel discussing ‘Pandemic & Power of Purpose-based Communication for Brands’ at the recently concluded PR and Corp Comm Women Achievers Summit & Awards 2021.

Sitting on the panel were Schneider Electric Senior GM Communications Indu Sharma; L&T Metro Rail Head of Corporate Communications Anindita Mookerjee Sinha; Pepsico Sr Manager Shivalika Malik; and Zupee Chief Corporate & Public Affairs Officer Subi Chaturvedi. It was moderated by BW Businessworld Sr Editor Jyotsna Sharma.

Speaking about how the pandemic has affected the communications businesses, Sinha elaborated, “The pandemic has been an unprecedented and unexpected event which sent all of our rulebooks and learnings for toss. Everyone had to start thinking with a fresh approach because it also changed our internal stakeholders along with the customers. So, for both internal and external communications, brands are now selling credibility and positive influence, with digital communications at the core of the process.”

Malik further said that employees are now emerging as the real brand ambassadors and mouthpieces. Therefore, a great focus is also on how businesses are communicating internally with their people and how they are able to support this with considerable actions.

Sharma added to this thought, “Last year saw the maximum number of resignations from companies across sectors indicating how people no longer want to work with organisations that do not support and respect them. It has really prompted the industry to not only be more empathetic towards their employees in communication, but also in following through their promises.”

Charturvedi noted that all this is having an impact on how consumers perceive the brands as well. “Though we are a price-sensitive market, research shows that 64% of customers in India want to associate with brands that have shared values. So, it’s no longer only about sales but engagement as well. Companies are expected to look at critical matters and take a stand against global warming or pollution.”

They all opined that the brands are actively following this protocol now and taking coercive measures to fit in the new normal where they sell more than just products. The panel rounded up with emphasising on the need of creating effective, humane, and creative content & communication strategies that are followed by viable actions.