The pandemic changed the perception of several hitherto consolidated activities; and as everything that impacts people's worldview directly affects marketing, its changes could not be different. In 2022, the need for brands to talk to their consumers in a present and responsible way has become urgent, to be involved in the has on a daily basis is to elevate the marketing experience to people's way of life.
One of the main practices used by brands to win over their public is experience marketing: it triggers stimuli in the public, facilitating an approach with the brand that goes beyond the knowledge of a product, service, or discount. The experience may be as much related to the way the product is used as to the sensation and status acquired when using it. There are brands, such as Apple, that have earned their fame due to the quality of their products, also added to the user experience of their users. Moreover, thinking about the consumer's entire buying journey, the right moments for impact, the construction of the brand image, and even the strengthening of the desire for the product say a lot about the way the company relates to its audience.
The current market concern with ESG and more socially and environmentally careful positioning are, in fact, reflections of what is being considered and demanded by new consumers when choosing a company to buy from. Social responsibility is no longer an agenda related only to philanthropy in organizations; nowadays it says a lot about corporate positioning, stakeholders, and also about society's purchasing decision. Consumers are more demanding and expect brands to adopt an attitude of humanizing customer service and worry about environmental preservation, for example.
This is where cause marketing arises, an advertising of companies and/or products that relates them to social causes and environmental issues, aiming to promote the brand and its culture.
According to a 2019 Ipsos survey, 77% of Brazilians are totally in favor of cause marketing and 49% consider it efficient to make a company socially responsible. Among the main factors that motivate adherence to a cause, 66% of the Brazilian population believes it must be aligned with the company's values. With the growing concern about ESG causes, there is a lot of talk about ESG Marketing, mainly concerned with environmental causes during the advertising strategies themselves, not only of the product or service. For example: more conscious choices regarding the ads broadcasted, the platforms chosen, the expenses and actions.
And what are the new consumers like? A Morgan Stanley Institute survey says that 86% of Millennials are interested in sustainable investments, and that both Millennials and Generation Z evaluate the values of brands and their impacts beyond the quality of their products or services.
Therefore, to plan marketing today, it is necessary to think far beyond how to convince the consumer to use your product; choose your brand or your service, all aspects of the purchase journey moment, the moment of the day, the experience, the concern with ESG are also part of a conscious marketing, which wins customers and engages brands. Today, consumers choose which brands they will consume based on an analysis of the company itself and not just the quality of its products, and companies need to be attentive to issues that are more indirect or intrinsic to the company's final delivery.