Consumers have high expectations of brands, and those brands need to do the work in order to gain consumer trust. Transparency, honesty and authenticity are three pillars brands need to consider now more than ever.
John Osborn is the CEO of OMD USA and a pioneer in the creative world, having spent 25 years of his career on the creative side at BBDO. He joined me on this episode of Conversation Nation to discuss emerging digital platforms and how the pandemic has impacted brand advertising.
During our chat, John and I discussed conversational media at length. With many years of creative work under his belt, John recognizes how this emerging medium is a natural way for brands to reach consumers where they are all the time in messaging. In knowing how innately personal messaging is, conversational media allows brands to enter chat in a way that’s privacy-safe and authentic. John further describes conversational media as a “new form of an experience,” which he notes is something people are craving—especially post-pandemic.
Speaking of the pandemic, John believes that although emerging platforms weren’t born out of it, the events of the past year and a half did cause a rapid intensification of testing and learning. Brands were willing to try out new advertising approaches in order to get messaging out there when people were socially distanced.
At Holler, we definitely experienced a demand for our product during this time. In search of unique ways to reach people, brands were able to enter digital chats and payments during a time when message volume was at a record high. The speed at which advertising priorities shifted during the pandemic set expectations for how quickly brands will be able to innovate in years to come.
Here are some key takeaways from my conversation with John on how brands are connecting with consumers in new ways;
- Transparency. Honesty. Authenticity. Brands need to have all of these.
- People are craving experiences, both digitally and physically. Brands have the opportunity to stand out by making experiences memorable.
- Content is king and context is queen. Context will play a significant role in how brands approach advertising from now on.
John is a media pioneer with a unique perspective, both from a leadership angle and from a creative standpoint. Don’t miss this episode.
