Tag Archive for: building consumer trust

How Product PR Helps Consumer Brands Win in the Age of AI

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Key Takeaways

  • AI-driven discovery is reshaping consumer brand visibility
    In 2025, consumer buying journeys often begin with AI-powered search tools like voice assistants, smart summaries, and recommendation engines. These tools prioritize trusted, authoritative media coverage—making strategic PR essential for being found and recommended.

  • Modern PR builds trust through authenticity and relevance
    With distrust of traditional ads and fast-moving trends, consumer brands need PR that delivers genuine stories, credible media mentions, and adaptive messaging. This builds long-term credibility and connection across multiple channels where consumers engage.

  • Effective PR strategies must be AI-aware and digitally integrated
    Today’s consumer PR isn’t just about press hits—it’s about crafting consistent, structured narratives that resonate with both humans and AI. From media placements to blog content, everything should be written with search behavior, conversational AI, and algorithmic relevance in mind.

It’s becoming increasingly challenging for consumer brands to stand out. New products launch every day. Attention spans are shrinking. And the internet? It’s louder than ever. Even if your product is great, getting people to notice it is a different battle. That’s where a competent consumer PR agency comes in.

PR for consumer brands today is a multi-faceted strategy built on authentic storytelling, consistent visibility across platforms, and a clear understanding that audience behavior is constantly evolving. It’s not about splashy one-time hits or outdated playbooks. It’s about relevance, credibility, and being discoverable everywhere that matters.

To compete in crowded markets, brands must be present in all the right places. That means search engines, social feeds, influencer content, media coverage, and even AI-powered results. With attention spans shrinking and consumer trust harder to earn, how you approach PR can directly impact how (and if) people find and remember your brand.

In this post, we’ll break down the biggest challenges consumer brands face, how PR has evolved in the age of AI, and what to look for in a consumer PR agency that gets results. If visibility is the issue, we’re here to discuss solutions.

Why Is It So Hard for Consumer Brands to Compete Right Now?

Consumer brands face growing challenges: crowded markets, skeptical buyers, and rapid change. Here’s what they’re up against and how smart PR helps solve these issues.

1. Competitive Markets

Most product categories have more options than ever before. From skincare to kitchen gadgets, shoppers are overwhelmed by choices. Brands can easily get lost unless they communicate what makes them different.

A savvy consumer PR agency showcases your brand’s distinctive qualities and delivers that message to the right audience. It helps you cut through the noise and connect with people who care.

2. Lack of Trust

Buyers today are tired of traditional ads and influencer endorsements that feel rehearsed or insincere. They want genuine stories and honest connections instead.

Consumer PR agencies build that trust by securing credible media coverage, expert opinions, and authentic customer experiences. These third-party validations carry significantly more weight and help your brand appear genuine and relatable.

3. Fast-Moving Trends

Trends shift quickly, and social media shifts even faster. What’s popular this morning might be old news by the afternoon. Brands that can’t keep up risk falling behind or seeming out of touch.

Consumer PR teams stay flexible and responsive, tracking conversations and adapting messaging quickly. That strategy keeps your brand aligned with what your audience cares about at the moment.

4. AI-Driven Discovery

AI-powered tools, voice assistants, and short-form videos have transformed the way consumers discover products. Many buyers form their first impression of your website from AI-generated summaries or quick social content before visiting. Your brand’s visibility depends on being mentioned in trusted media and platforms that AI algorithms prioritize.

PR for AI search focuses on securing those crucial placements that enhance your brand’s visibility in this new environment. This shift in discovery raises an important question: Does public relations (PR) impact AI search? Let’s explore how PR and AI collaborate to get your brand noticed.

Why AI and AI-Driven Discovery Matter for Consumer Brands

AI is revolutionizing product discovery by making searches smarter and more personalized. Instead of simply typing keywords into a search engine, consumers now receive answers from AI-powered tools, such as voice assistants, smart snippets, and customized recommendations. These AI systems extract information from trusted, high-quality sources across the web to deliver quick and relevant results.

This shift means that being visible on traditional platforms is no longer enough for consumer brands. Your brand’s presence in AI-driven content, summaries, and voice responses has a significant impact on how easily potential buyers discover you. Understanding this discovery process is key for effective consumer PR agency in 2025.

Wait, Does PR Impact AI Search?

Yes, absolutely! And it’s a bigger deal than many consumer brands realize. AI-powered search tools, such as Google’s Search Generative Experience (SGE),  voice assistants like Alexa and Siri, and chat-based search platforms, fundamentally change how people discover products online. These AI systems don’t just randomly pull results or rank pages solely by keyword density, as traditional SEO does. Instead, they prioritize trusted, authoritative, and widely cited sources when generating answers.

Your brand’s chances of showing up in AI-driven search results depend heavily on where and how often your brand is mentioned across respected media outlets, influential blogs, and trusted review sites. In other words, PR and media coverage directly influence AI’s perception of your brand’s credibility and relevance.

How Is This Different from Traditional SEO?

Traditional SEO focuses on elements such as keywords, backlinks, and site structure to help your website rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs). While these tactics still matter, AI search goes beyond that by:

  • Synthesizing information from multiple trusted sources instead of just listing pages
  • Delivering concise, conversational answers instead of a long list of links
  • Using contextual understanding of brands, products, and user intent
  • Prioritizing content that reflects a consistent, clear brand identity and narrative

As a result, simple keyword stuffing or backlink building is no longer enough. Your brand needs authentic, credible stories and widespread digital mentions that build a strong online reputation across platforms that AI scans.

What Does This Mean for PR and Content Strategy?

Great consumer PR agencies today don’t just secure media placements; they create strategic narratives that align with your brand’s purpose and values. This consistent storytelling helps AI systems understand what your brand stands for, your products or services, and the unique value you bring to consumers.

Here’s how PR helps brands thrive in the AI search era:

  • Building a strong digital footprint: Every high-quality media mention, interview, or feature strengthens your brand’s authority.
  • Crafting consistent messaging: Clear, repeated themes across press releases, blogs, social media, and influencer content make your brand easier for AI to recognize and categorize correctly.
  • Boosting third-party validation: When respected sources discuss your brand, AI interprets those signals as a vote of confidence, enhancing your chances of being recommended in voice searches or “answer” snippets.
  • Adapting content for conversational search: PR-driven content can be optimized to answer real user questions, making your brand more visible in AI’s natural-language responses.

What About Blogs and Digital Press Releases?

The shift to AI means your blog posts, digital press releases, and other content must be written with clear, authentic storytelling and focused on providing real value and answers to consumers’ questions. It’s less about keyword density and more about relevance, authority, and clarity.

This approach also encourages brands to:

  • Focus on rich, informative content that helps AI provide detailed answers
  • Use natural language that matches how people speak and ask questions
  • Leverage multimedia and structured data to make content easier for AI to interpret and rank

What Should You Look for in a Consumer PR Agency?

The way people discover and trust consumer brands has undergone a significant shift in 2025. Today’s environment is shaped by AI-powered search, short-form videos, and constantly changing algorithms. Traditional PR tactics alone no longer work. If your PR agency does not understand these new realities, your brand risks being overlooked.

Consumer PR agencies in 2025 manage your brand’s presence across multiple digital channels, including Google searches, social media, AI voice assistants, and review platforms. A modern consumer PR agency knows how to craft a strong, authentic brand story that resonates not only with people but also with AI systems that influence purchase decisions.

Here are the qualities that set a top consumer PR agency apart in 2025:

  • Experience working with consumer brands in today’s fast-changing digital world
  • Deep knowledge of how PR impacts SEO and AI-driven discovery
  • Strong relationships with both broad and niche media outlets your customers trust
  • Quick adaptability to evolving market trends, platform updates, and shifting consumer behavior
  • Transparent reporting clearly shows what is driving your brand’s growth
  • Messaging support to help craft consistent, credible brand stories

Without a consumer PR agency understanding how 2025 differs, your brand will not achieve the visibility or trust it needs to grow.

That is where Avaans Media can help. We specialize in consumer PR tailored for today’s digital-first world. To learn more about how we can help your brand stand out, visit Avaans here.

How to Get PR for a New Consumer Product

Getting PR for a new consumer product in 2025 takes more than a good idea and a polished website. What works now is a strategic mix of timing, positioning, and digital relevance. Brands that succeed understand how media, influencers, and AI-driven search work together to shape the discovery process.

Here’s how to approach it like a pro:

  1. Lock in a Clear, Newsworthy Story

Every strong campaign begins with clarity. What problem does your product solve? Why now? A focused narrative rooted in relevance, trend alignment, or cultural insight makes it easier for media to say yes and for audiences to care.

  1. Identify the Right Media Targets

Skip the spray-and-pray approach. Create a concise, curated list that includes top-tier publications, vertical media in your industry, and niche creators who influence your target audience. Relevance always beats reach.

  1. Plan Your Launch in Layers

A proper PR timeline includes early influencer seeding, press preview outreach, a launch-day moment, and post-launch follow-ups. Anchor it with seasonal or trend-based tie-ins to create multiple news angles.

  1. Write Everything with Search and AI in Mind

AI is changing how people find products. That means your press releases, blog content, and product descriptions should be written for humans and machines. Prioritize clarity, consistency, and credibility. AI surfaces brands that appear in trusted publications and are described in structured and reliable ways.

  1. Work with a Consumer PR Agency That Gets the Current Environment

Your agency should be fluent in digital PR, media strategy, and search behavior. Look for firms that understand how consumer attention works today and can prove results through successful product launches, not empty promises.

Looking ahead, as AI continues to reshape discovery and decision-making, your PR strategy must be effective across all touchpoints. Strong messaging, media validation, and digital consistency are no longer extras. They are essential for visibility.

Final Thoughts

The way people find and trust consumer products is evolving quickly. AI search is influencing buying decisions earlier in the journey. Media preferences are shifting. And customers expect real value before they even land on a product page.

That’s exactly why PR matters more than ever—it brings together visibility, credibility, and connection. It ensures that your brand shows up in the right conversations, across the right channels, and in a way that feels consistent and trustworthy.

A strong consumer PR strategy in 2025 is about being present where discovery happens. Visibility can come from search engines, media coverage, short-form videos, and curated influencer communities. It supports not just awareness but trust and preference.

At Avaans Media, we help consumer brands stay ahead by combining earned media with AI-informed digital strategy. We focus on results, relationships, and storytelling that builds long-term visibility. If you’re planning a launch or looking to raise your brand’s profile in a meaningful way, please reach out to start a conversation. We are ready when you are.

 

 

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What is Reputation Management?

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Key Takeaways

  • Holistic Reputation Influence: Reputation management involves actively shaping how stakeholders perceive a company, encompassing everything from media coverage to third-party reviews. A positive reputation is crucial for a company’s overall success, especially for emerging brands without a long history of trust.
  • Role of PR in Reputation: Public relations plays a significant role in reputation management through media relations, content strategy, and crisis communication. PR helps build stakeholder confidence, manage crises effectively, and align purpose-driven initiatives with the company’s reputation.
  • Impact on Business Success: A strong reputation can differentiate a company in competitive markets, influence product pricing, and attract top talent. Trust established through reputation management can also mitigate the fallout from crises, underscoring its importance in overall business strategy.

What is reputation management? Reputation management is the art of influencing trust and reputation among stakeholders, such as customers, clients, investors, potential employees, or anyone else affecting a company’s success. Reputation management takes a holistic view of the company’s reputation, from the news on a brand’s Google search to third-party reviews or media coverage, a positive company reputation is its most valuable asset.

Why is a Positive Reputation Important?

Without a positive reputation, all other initiatives, from advertising to an IPO, will be less effective. This is even more true for emerging industries and ambitions brands than for publicly traded companies like Apple and Coca-Cola, which are always on the top brand list.  Why? Because those companies have a long history of trust and positive reputation, it takes more to take them down. But growing companies, who aren’t household names without decades of trust build up need to fight harder to gain and keep a positive reputation. 

 

What is PR’s Role in Reputation Management?

Some might say PR is reputation management, but that’s not quite true. There are a few different departments that could be involved in reputation management. The branding team has a role to play in reputation and trust because branding is more than logos and packaging. A great, well-tended-to brand evokes feelings and allows the target audience to know exactly where you fit in their lives. Product development is another vertical that touches on reputation management. If you launch a product that is deeply flawed or offensive, that will impact your company’s reputation. So, what does PR do for reputation management? This could include:

  • Media Coverage & Media Relations
    Proactive media coverage, whether it be thought leadership for executives or consumer product PR, helps stakeholders gain confidence in the company. After all, fewer than 1% of companies ever receive PR coverage, so if your company is in the media, that’s a significant differentiator. One thing that universally stands out as the responsibility of PR is media relations. PR professionals understand how to talk to the media, whether that means proactive pitching or responding to media inquiries.
  • Content Strategy
    The content strategy could intersect with SEO campaigns, including paid placements or buzzy videos used in presentations, internally and externally.
  • Purpose-Driven Initiatives
    Purpose-driven campaigns and initiatives, from the inside out, can be a collaborative effort between branding and public relations. Both teams are vested in ensuring that any CSG program matches the company’s reputation and that stakeholders, from employees to investors to customers, receive the campaign positively.
  • Crisis Communication
    PR will almost certainly take the lead on creating a crisis communication plan, which every company should have and managing a crisis, should it reach the level of stakeholder awareness. Having a PR team who knows the key media players, and understands how to communicate with them can be the difference between a brand-impacting crisis and a hiccup.
  • Social Media
    From influencers to social media posts, PR often directs social media campaigns to coincide with PR campaigns. But social media may also involve advertising, which traditionally isn’t the purview of PR.

How Important is Company Reputation?

How Reputation Impacts Product Pricing

The more competitive your space, the more important your reputation. If your product is essentially the same as its competitors -iPhone vs. Google phone, for example, or Coca-Cola vs. Pepsi – then PR and reputation management are often differentiators for brands. If you want your company to be the premier one within your vertical, your reputation must match your goals.

Pre-IPO Reputation Management

Whether you’re gearing up for an IPO, or already publicly traded, the value of a company. In fact, according to executives, up to 63% of a company’s value is its reputation.  The fact is, current and future investors have a vested interest in your company’s reputation. Pre-IPO PR can be the difference between a lackluster IPO and an over subscribed one.

 

How Your Reputation Impacts a Crisis

The more your stakeholders trust you, the more likely they are not to overreact to a crisis like a product recall or a careless executive statement. Emerging from a crisis without significant damage has multiple inputs, but there’s no doubt that a positive reputation makes it easier. I call this the trust bucket. When your trust bucket is overflowing, and a crisis takes it down an inch from the top, that’s a whole different scenario than if your trust bucket only had an inch of trust to start. There’s really no substitute for brand trust.

 

Attracting Outstanding Team Members

There’s nothing more frustrating than hiring for a role and receiving dozens of resumes from less-than-attractive candidates. If your company has a good reputation, it will always have access to both active and passive candidates, rather than wasting hours of human resources time. Not only do the best people want to work at the company with the best reputation, they are also most likely to help spread the news without you asking. Let’s face it – employees who care about your company’s reputation are its most valuable employees.

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Social Media Influencers: When To Disclose

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Key Takeaways

  • Updated FTC Guidelines: The FTC has clarified its regulations on influencer marketing and consumer reviews, emphasizing the importance of transparent practices to maintain consumer trust. This includes addressing issues like incentivized reviews, fake negative reviews, and the responsibilities of brands and influencers in ensuring clear disclosure.
  • Clear Disclosure Required: Influencers and brands must disclose any material relationships, such as sponsorships, in a “clear and conspicuous” manner. The FTC has indicated that built-in platform disclosure tools may not suffice, and all parties involved in creating or presenting ads share liability for misleading content.
  • Trust is Crucial: Maintaining consumer trust is essential for the future of influencer marketing. Brands and influencers should embrace transparency rather than avoid it, as failure to do so could lead to erosion of trust, ultimately impacting the effectiveness of native advertising.

Updated FTC Guidance on Influencer Marketing Disclosure

Updated July 13, 2023

 

The FTC’s job is to preserve consumer trust. When the FTC adds clarity to its regulations, the purpose is usually to make the guidelines more clear, and therefore easier to follow.

This is an important announcement if you use influencer marketing or consumer reviews.

The updated FTC guidance covers:

1) articulating a new principle regarding procuring, suppressing, boosting, organizing, publishing, upvoting, down voting, or editing consumer reviews so as to distort what consumers think of a product; 2) addressing incentivized reviews, reviews by employees and fake negative reviews of a competitor; 3) adding a definition of “clear and conspicuous” and saying that a platform’s built-in disclosure tool might not be an adequate disclosure; 4) changing the definition of “endorsements” to clarify the extent to which it includes fake reviews, virtual influencers, and tags in social media; 5) better explaining the potential liability of advertisers, endorsers, and intermediaries; and 6) highlighting that child-directed advertising is of special concern.

 

 

You can read about the announcement here:

FTC updated guidance on deceptive reviews 

 

July 18, 2025:

Because of continuing conversations with colleagues, brands, and influencers, I wanted to put some guidelines together for based on the FTC’s native advertising guidelines or influencer disclosure.

The FTC has shot some arrows over the bow in the last several years regarding native advertising disclosure, including calling out Warner Bros. and Lord and Taylor.

In both cases, the brand was held liable, not the influencers or content creators, strongly signaling that it’s the brand’s responsibility to ensure disclosure. But, the FTC native advertising guidelines make it clear: ” …the FTC has taken action against other parties who helped create deceptive advertising content – for example, ad agencies and operators of affiliate advertising networks.  Everyone who participates directly or indirectly in creating or presenting native ads should make sure that ads don’t mislead consumers about their commercial nature.”

Basically, no one is off the hook.

As if by magic, the FTC slapped 45 celebrity influencers with warning letters but didn’t forget to include their agents and the brands – in total 90 letters were issued about the FTC native advertising guidelines. More recently, in October 2023, the FTC fined Bountiful Company for “review hijacking” – manipulating Amazon reviews by repurposing positive reviews from other products. In early 2024, the FTC issues warning letters to over a dozen influencers promoting health products on TikTok. It’s safe to say this isn’t going away. It’s always been best practice, but if you didn’t take it seriously before, it’s time to do so now.

My view is this: disclosure and transparency are good for all.

A brand should have no shame about showcasing its products and experiences in a real life scenario. Influencers shouldn’t have shame either, because working with a brand is a badge of honor. It’s a real compliment to a community that a brand values their eyeballs. If you’re ashamed of working with a particular brand or influencer, perhaps you’re working with the wrong partner.

Often times when I have conversations about disclosure with brands and influencers, I get questions like “what if…we do….”

Whether you are a brand or an influencer, if you’re asking questions about how to get around these guidelines, you’re on the wrong track. The guidelines make it very clear: make it obvious to an uneducated viewer that there is a material relationship (basically, anything which might effect the outcome of the endorsement). Influencers are often concerned about “selling out” their community. As an influencer, if you’re making a living from your community with native advertising and you’re not disclosing those relationships, you’re REALLY selling them out.

The Edelman Trust Barometer makes it clear: trust is in crisis. 

Establishing trust and adhering to guidelines is necessary for native advertising and influencer relations to continue. If trust is eroded the FTC guidelines won’t be at fault for the collapse of social native advertising.

So here are the guidelines based on reading hundreds of pages including all of the FTC links provided below.

When do social media influencers need to disclose a relationship with a brand?

Always.

Does this apply to me?

Yes.

Why does it matter?

The FTC says it does.
Consumer trust is important to all of us. 

How do I disclose?

Make it “clear and conspicuous” and leave no doubt.

If you want to read through the FTC’s own words on this:

FTC Native Advertising Guideline Resources

.com Disclosures (2013)

Native Advertising: A Guide For Business

FTC Endorsement Guidelines: What People Are Asking (2015)

The Lord & Taylor Disclosure Case-FTC Blog (2015)

The Warner Bros Disclosure Case-FTC Blog (2015)

Enforcement Policy Statement On Deceptively Formatted Ads (2015)

 

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How to Inspire Advocates and Influencers in Your Marketing

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Key Takeaways

  • Know when to use lures vs. rewards in influencer marketing: Lures create reciprocity and are most effective with advocates, while rewards create expectations and are better suited for influencers. Misusing them can weaken engagement and long-term loyalty.
  • Experiences drive stronger engagement than discounts: Today’s consumers value time, access, and meaningful experiences over material incentives. Brands that align offers with what audiences truly value build deeper trust and stronger relationships.
  • Overemphasizing monetary value reduces impact: When incentives feel transactional, they lose emotional resonance. Focus instead on community, recognition, and exclusivity to maintain goodwill and authentic engagement.

Marketing to influencers and advocates has become a cornerstone of modern brand strategy, fueled by social media. But anyone who has built a consumer campaign knows it’s not as simple as it looks.

Done well, it builds momentum, credibility, and reach. Done wrong, it can quietly erode trust and undermine long-term brand equity.

The reason is simple: advocates and influencers are motivated by very different drivers.

In my previous post on Captivation Motivations, I touched on the psychology behind what drives fast decisions—the split-second choices to click, follow, share, or buy. But two of the most powerful drivers deserve a deeper look: lures and rewards.

If you’re running campaigns, launching promotions, or building influencer relationships, understanding this distinction will directly impact your results.

The Psychology Behind Lures and Rewards

Think about the last time someone picked up the tab for lunch. You probably responded with, “I’ve got the next one,” without thinking twice.

That instinct is not accidental. It’s hardwired.

Humans are wired for reciprocity. When someone gives us something of value—time, attention, or access—we feel compelled to give something back.

This is the foundation of a lure.

Try this in your next campaign: ask users to engage after they receive something (even something small, like access or entry), rather than before. You’ll typically see higher conversion and longer engagement.

Why? Because lures trigger reciprocity.

One classic example: nonprofits that send unsolicited mailing labels consistently increase donation rates—often doubling them. The value of the gift is minimal, but the psychological impact is significant.

This same principle sits at the core of effective content marketing.

Why You Should Be Careful “Rewarding” Advocates

Here’s where many brands get it wrong.

Lures and rewards are not interchangeable.

Lures are given freely, without expectation. They build goodwill and trigger reciprocity.

Rewards, on the other hand, are conditional: “Do this, get that.”

Rewards don’t build reciprocity—they build expectation.

They can be effective, especially for expanding reach or activating new audiences. But they operate differently. Rewards create behavior patterns, not emotional connection.

And here’s the risk: if you start rewarding people who are already advocating for your brand, you can actually decrease their motivation.

When intrinsic motivation becomes transactional, engagement drops.

This is where brands need to be disciplined. Use rewards to incentivize new behavior. Use lures to nurture existing relationships.

And don’t confuse the two.

Someone participating for a reward is not necessarily an advocate.

Time and Experience: The Real Drivers of Value

If your goal is to build stronger engagement and long-term loyalty, you need to look beyond discounts, coupons, and giveaways.

People inherently value time and experiences more than material items.

That insight comes from how our brain is wired. The majority of our decision-making happens in the “older” part of the brain—the part that prioritizes meaning, connection, and experience.

This is why experiential marketing consistently outperforms transactional incentives.

But there’s a catch: you have to truly understand your audience.

What you think your customer values may not align with what they actually value.

For some audiences, it’s access. For others, it’s recognition, community, or mastery.

In fact, the same psychological triggers we discussed in information-seeking behavior—including dopamine-driven curiosity and skill-building—can also function as powerful rewards.

The key is alignment. When your offer matches what your audience truly values, engagement follows.

Why Monetary Framing Undermines Engagement

Here’s where brands unintentionally weaken their own strategy.

Overemphasizing the monetary value of an offer reduces its perceived value.

When you attach a price tag to an experience, people start evaluating it transactionally instead of emotionally.

Think of it this way: if you host an incredible dinner but spend the entire evening talking about how much everything cost, the experience becomes about money—not connection.

The same applies to marketing.

When lures or rewards feel overly transactional, they lose their ability to generate goodwill and reciprocity.

This is part of the power of consumer PR—it builds trust and goodwill without forcing a transactional exchange, especially with journalists, influencers, and advocates.

The most effective strategies focus on value that feels personal, meaningful, and experience-driven—not financial.

The Bottom Line for Influencer and Advocate Marketing

If there’s one takeaway, it’s this:

Use rewards for influencers. Use lures for advocates.

Influencers operate within a value exchange model. Advocates operate from belief and alignment.

Understanding that difference—and building your strategy accordingly—is what separates campaigns that perform from those that fall flat.

Have you seen a campaign where rewards or lures backfired? Those are often the most instructive examples. Share them with me—I’m always interested in how these strategies play out in the real world.

About the Captivation Motivations

The Captivation Motivations are rooted in the oldest, most developed part of the brain—the part responsible for instinctive decision-making.

While I didn’t create these motivations, I’ve been studying and applying them since 2008—testing how they influence behavior across PR, marketing, and brand strategy.

These are not trends. They are fundamental human drivers. While the triggers may evolve in a modern, digital world, the underlying motivations remain the same—and they continue to shape how people engage, decide, and act.

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3 Pitfalls to Purpose Driven Communication

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Key Takeaways
  • Be Transparent and Clear: Brands should communicate their sustainability efforts using plain language, sharing specific goals and progress in an honest way. This transparency helps build trust and allows consumers to understand the complexities involved in achieving sustainability.
  • Celebrate Accessible Actions: Focus on small, actionable changes that everyone can adopt, such as reusing products. Highlighting these accessible practices empowers consumers and fosters a sense of involvement in sustainability efforts.
  • Avoid Negative Messaging: Dire warnings about environmental destruction can be disempowering and ineffective. Instead, use positive imagery and messages that showcase successful sustainability efforts, which can motivate consumers to engage with purpose-driven initiatives.

Recently, Google polled 3,000 Americans to find out how they responded to sustainability messaging. As more brands make efforts to become more sustainable or even start any sort of purpose-driven communications,  these four tips will help you communicate purpose-driven messaging effectively. 

Today’s consumers are smarter about messaging. Millennials, the first digitally native generation, are grown-ups, and have their own kids. Gen X (now called Zoomers), see right through greenwashing. They can smell inauthenticity and they actively bristle at brands leveraging purpose-driven messaging to improve their own reputations. And they are right to be skeptical. According to a Google study global survey of top-level executives 59% admitted to overstating — or inaccurately representing — their sustainability activities. Whoa. That’s not a trust-first strategy at all.

So how can well-meaning brands celebrate purpose-driven messaging like sustainability, and awareness days like Earth Day, without alienating their customers?

Communicate Sustainable Efforts with Plain Language

Purpose-driven messaging is nuanced, but sustainability messaging is quite difficult because sometimes an effort to be sustainable has unintended, non-sustainable results. Yet, it’s important to be clear and honest when discussing your company’s efforts.

One way to do this is to share your sustainability goals and roadmap and be candid about your yearly progress. An annual purpose-driven progress report that is open and available on your website allows your customers to come on the journey with you. And explaining how to you took action and the implications helps consumers understand the complications.

Let me tell you a story. Many years ago, I had a client who created disposable compostable plates and utensils. Before we could even get into messaging, I had to take a mini science lesson because compostable can be problematic due to chemicals used to breakdown items like this, yet using products like this is still better than using plastic that ends up in the landfill, right?

Everyone agreed that anything misleading would destroy trust. We landed on a simple outcome everyone can understand: less plastic is better. And this was a fantastic choice because everyone can clearly understand that we have a plastic problem, and it creates an awareness of a bigger issue that the brand is trying to tackle.  Today if I had that client, we would dig deeper and be even more transparent, but this was 2009, and we were barely scratching the surface of how complicated “sustainable” really is to achieve.

Simple is better. Honest is better. Transparent is better. 

 

Celebrate The Accessible

What creates change? From a sustainable messaging standpoint, we’re past awareness. In 2009, Harvard Business Review study found cost is one key reason people don’t adopt sustainable practices. Things like EVs and solar panels are financially inaccessible, to say nothing of the fact that the nations 44 million renters can’t do either of these things.

But what is one thing everyone can do? Reuse. That’s something to celebrate, and it’s accessible to millions of people. Folgers recently did a commercial about reusing its glass jars; I like this because I think it’s on-point to their consumer. The ad incorporated a touch of nostalgia which was effective too. On the flip side, in a recent AdAge podcast, some creatives slightly skewered the video by asking, “What about the plastic lid?” which I think misses the point. The point is: when you remind your customers of the accessible ways they can make a difference, it empowers them.

Focus on small, actionable, concrete actions that you can celebrate alongside your customers. 

Dire Threats Aren’t Effective

“When asked to describe “actions or attitudes that could make people feel bad about their impact on the environment,” many U.S. survey respondents pointed to images of landscapes ruined by trash, fires, or pollution, while some pointed to images of animal suffering.”

Not only does messaging like this put the consumer in a terrible position, it’s disempowering. This kind of messaging is increasingly ineffective because consumers have had it with feeling bad about a gigantic problem that they, as an individual, can’t personally solve alone. And why is the burden even on the consumer all the time anyway? What is the business doing internally?

Instead, focus on positive outcomes. Before and after pictures of rooftop gardens, clean parks, these are all uplifting images that send a positive, impactful message. 

Use Educated Consumers to Your Advantage

Sustainability has become political. It’s that simple. For example, according to Harvard Business Review:

“Republicans were less likely to buy a compact fluorescent light bulb that they knew was more energy-efficient than an incandescent bulb when it was labeled “Protect the Environment” than when that label was missing.”

Most consumers who want a sustainable bulb know incandescent bulbs are more sustainable. But instead of pointing to the environmental benefits, labeling incandescent bulbs as more energy efficient is effective for a wider range of consumers. Everyone can see the benefits of saving energy, whether for sustainability or economic benefit.

Without a plan and consideration for the pitfalls, purpose-driven communication can do more damage than good. For more recommendations, download our Purpose-Driven Guide, which provides an internal roadmap to avoiding the typical challenges of communicating purpose-driven messages.

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Your Social Media Marketing Plan – Is The Goal Trust or Action?

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Key Takeaways

  • Build Trust Through Authenticity: Utilize social media to cultivate trust among your audience by sharing genuine content that resonates with their values and interests, while being mindful of the motivations that drive them to take action.
  • Leverage Word of Mouth: Encourage sharing among your community, as recommendations from trusted sources significantly influence consumer behavior. Understanding what prompts people to share is crucial for maximizing your reach and credibility.
  • Be Purposeful in Messaging: Every social media post should have a clear objective—whether it’s to build trust or inspire action. Tailor your content accordingly to enhance engagement and effectively meet your marketing goals.

Bet your starting to think about next year’s social media marketing plan. And as importantly, where will social media marketing fall into the mix? Will there be more? Less? The latest Advertising Trust report from Neilsen may offer some insights to help you in your planning process.

One of the strongest reasons to increase your social media is the the number one source of consumer trust and action is “Recommendations from people I know”.  Trust and action are often hand in hand, and we can’t discount the value of trust, but its also hard to measure. However, what creates trust and what creates action can be different. For example, consumers report that humorous ads resonate most with them. We know that humor is a powerful tool, especially in social media. It might be more powerful than cats, dare I say <GASP>. However, humor is rarely what makes people take ACTION.

The action taking piece is the one I’m always most interested in looking at more closely. And its really no surprise that word of mouth leads the pack. Ads on social networks have a lower trust score than they do action score. That’s actually true for several advertising types. With respect to social media, there are two key take aways:
1)  Use social to build trust and be very aware of what motivations exist for taking action.
2) The power of your tribe: when they share what you’ve got, its a more credible source. So be very aware of what and why people share on social. Tribes deeply impact our actions.

Now, the challenge with a report like this is that these results are all self-reported. The challenge with self-reporting is that people don’t always really know why they do what they do. I know, YOU always know why you do what you do. Or do you? Your motivations may not always be clear even to you. That’s why I started Captivation Motivation Training. 

Just remember, what type of message you use impacts trust and action. Decide what you’re trying to establish in every single post. Be purposeful in your social media practice and you’ll find that you can actually be more human.

 

 

 

PS: If you’d like to download the Neilsen Report for yourself: click here

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