Philadelphia is riding high this week, with the city’s second NFL championship in five years a very real possibility on Sunday. But the Eagles are using the spotlight of Super Bowl week to draw attention to the darker side of Philly—its escalating gun violence, which to many has become a true crisis. Read More.
Below is an except from an article written for Muse by CLIO in September 2021 by our founder Brian Anderson.
As a kid, I was always wondering about the lives of others. Where they were going, what they were doing, what they were eating, what made their lives easy or hard. I can actually pinpoint one specific night when I couldn't fall asleep, as I lay in bed and looked out at the sky; I could really see all of the stars and I remember wondering what the other kids my age were doing at that exact same moment in time. All of these different kids around the world, just staring up at the same sky.
Below is an except from an article written for The Philadelphia Inquirer in October 2020, featuring our colleague Wick Vipond! This piece was written by staff writer Elizabeth Wellington.
COVID-19 didn’t just take the lives of our loved ones. It’s changed how we think about our future. We still want to live our best lives, but now many of us have to rethink our paths to getting there. Our aspirations or ultimate goals still include joy, happiness, contentment, being the best at what we do, and living a full life. But the careers, the jobs, the education, the paths we take to get there are forever changed.
Below is an except from an article originally posted on phillymag.com in October 2020, featuring our founder, Brian Anderson! This piece was written by staff writer Ashley Primis.
From workout apps to Zoom classes, here's what some Philadelphians are relying on for wellness throughout the pandemic.
Below is an except from an article originally posted on inman.com in September 2020, written by staff writer Andrea V. Brambila.
Zillow and independent marketing agency The Perception offer their thoughts on a new Zillow advertisement that acknowledges the changing face of 'home'
What makes a video ad compelling? On Aug. 27, real estate giant Zillow released a 30-second ad as part of its “Ready for a Change” marketing campaign that aims to help people imagine the possibilities a move can bring amid a pandemic that has redefined what “home” means.
The ad is from the perspective of someone driving down a street and encountering all kinds of home types and environments. A children’s song by Malvina Reynolds, “Place To Be,” follows the driver along singing “Everybody has a place to go, everybody wants a place to be.” The message at the end is: “When you’re ready for a change, we’re ready to help.”
To dissect the ad from a marketing standpoint, Inman reached out to Philadelphia-based creative marketing agency The Perception for a third-party take and also reached out to Zillow for their take.
Their thoughts are below:
Wick Vipond, senior vice president of agency partnerships, The Perception:
First, I really like this ad. The COVID-19 pandemic has largely relegated us all to our homes and put a magnifying glass on how well our current living situations accommodate our lifestyle. With so many companies committing to remote working scenarios post pandemic, many of us now have the ability to capitalize on that outcome and move across town, across the state, or even across the country.
Alissa Reiter, vice president of brand, Zillow:
The coronavirus pandemic has reshaped what people want and need in a home. We’re in a moment where people across the country are considering upsizing, downsizing, moving closer to family, rethinking where and how they want to live — sparking a trend dubbed the Great Reshuffling. More than ever, people are envisioning their next chapter, driving traffic to for-sale listings on Zillow 36 percent higher than this time last year.
After its steady upward trend, telemedicine has become a welcome inevitability. The recent pandemic has exposed the convenience and availability of virtual access to medical expertise as a viable option for an entire nation of patients.
With the ability to accommodate both necessity and convenience, telemedicine will continue to see innovations that bring it to new heights. Over half of the hospitals in the US already offer some form of virtual medicine both within and outside their walls. As the market crowds to rural and specialized options, it will be all the more important to effectively position these services to display their value and capabilities. As another intangible, digital product, the marketing will have a direct impact on perception. Customers need to see the human side of working with a doctor through a screen.
Healthcare providers, insurers, and employers are working to incorporate telemedicine across their practices and plans. But benefits to the industry aside, we know that patient adoption is what makes or breaks success. With this in mind, gaining traction in the hearts and minds of consumer means marketing needs to touch on their base needs and offer immediate solutions. To do so, here are a few tips to drive trial of new telemedicine programs.
- Know your audience intimately. Build a new patient journey analysis to refresh your marketing touchpoints. Developing personas based on geographical and demographic data helps put a face and a name to your audience. It allows you to craft work that speaks to a person, not a crowd. You can target audiences more effectively with tailored messaging. Execute work to meet them at those touchpoints with benefits-focused content.
- Make the service user-friendly and easy to access. As a digital product, your marketing will primarily live online. Broadcast the availability of the service through display ads and through owned channels. Your website should have a two-click maximum to an appointment scheduler while also directing questions to a digital repository with guides and FAQs before requiring employee intervention. Your patients can only troubleshoot to a point and may want to simply talk to someone about this new virtual approach. Try to always have a human on the other line available to chat.
- Indoctrinate staff through internal promotion. Educate and train your staff, doctors, providers, and volunteers on the service offerings and benefits of your program. Give them the tools they need to understand and communicate the innovations your brand is making to enhance patient experience. As the front lines of promotion, these folks can deliver patients to your services with a friendly face and a helping hand.
- Integrate reviews and ratings. integrating reviews into marketing gives customers access to honest, unbiased, peer-to-peer insights on your telemedicine capabilities. It also allows for quick upfront evaluation of your services and promotes the type of transparency that builds consumer trust and loyalty. It can give your patients peace-of-mind that they’ll be working with skilled experts that will make the telemedicine experience seamless and convenient while also providing relevant feedback to help better the practice.
- Take a human approach. A major barrier for virtual medicine is it can often feel impersonal. People, rightfully so, have concerns about privacy and security when discussing their health over the internet. They also need the assurance that the person on the other end has their full attention and interest. There are inherent trust issues with misdiagnosis. Your marketing needs to lead with the safety and effectiveness of your telemedicine services. Advertise how comfortable your staff is working virtually using testimonials and interviews from doctors and patients. Make sure your audience knows there’s a human on the other side.
Growth and innovation will continue to enrich telemedicine. Accessibility and integration will become even more seamless. In the end, the convenience of clicking a button needs to be met with a human “touch” to allow patients to put their trust in your brand. This personalized approach will be critical to its evolution and it’s something we’re looking forward to continue to explore with our partners.
The Perception's Brian Anderson sat down with Metro Philly to provide winning advice to business owners navigating our changing landscape. Sharing some of his own ups and downs, Brian provides four key implementations to employ a people-focused model as the world begins to open back up.
It’s time to rip the band-aid off: The U.S. economy is in recession following an incredible decade of growth. The National Association of Business Economics predicts a sharp, short slow down with the hope of a year-end bounce back.
However, while spending slows during times of economic unrest, people don’t stop listening to the brands around them. Our consumer-driven culture looks to trusted brands for a sense of relief and stability. Brands that recognize this and continue to communicate strengthen their bonds and better benefit from the eventual bounce back. As the old adage goes, “When times are good you should advertise. When times are bad you must advertise.”
As marketers, we need to bring this inspiration to how we’re helping brands communicating with people. At The Perception we see a lot of inspiration ahead for brands seeking to drive growth.
You Can Have A Louder Voice
Historically, the average ad spend drop is around 13%. While the floor doesn’t necessarily fall out from under us, 13% is a huge number and has a major impact on what people hear and see. As always, fortune favors the bold. A quieter market presents an incredible opportunity to win interest by simply increasing your share-of-voice. That said, be aware of how a crisis can shift preferred communications channels.
This brings us to our next point.
Your Ad Dollars Stretch Further
The cost of advertising, like most other things, drops during recessions. If you’ve been able to salvage your brand’s ad budget, you’re entering a buyer’s market. According to Gayle Troberman, EVP and CMO of iHeartMedia, “Right now, you will probably never get more affordable media with higher consumer engagement…[Consumers] are seeking out more information and content and they’re paying more attention.” Understanding this, there are a couple of considerations to keep in mind.
The first is to lean into your owned channels and partnerships. These are the roots of your brand communications and will keep you grounded and secure as you go forth and be bold. People will return to your owned channels as a source of truth. And they will look to partnerships as an indication of the company your brand keeps. We’ve seen the strength of partnerships large and small, from MasterCard, the Gates Foundation, and Wellcome committing up to $125 million in seed funding for a COVID-19 Therapeutics Accelerator to Lokal Artisan Foods and The Better Box sharing facilities to retain small business viability.
The next consideration is important—if you’re fortunate to have a budget for paid media choose the right medium for your brand. Brands are all different, but each shares the need to be trusted. Times of crisis can bring that trust into question, so focusing on the channels that are, on average, more credible than others can be fruitful. (As the grandparents of mass media, radio and newspaper brands tend to lead the pack.) Keep in mind how these channels fit for your brand. Some may work better for financial or healthcare brands but less for, say, a beer brand.
Our third consideration is not to overthink it. Focus on agility. Act, have an impact, and learn. It will allow you to build long term value while it’s cheap.
You Control A Fresh Brand Narrative
The goal for brands is to ultimately establish an image of stability, responsibility, and category authority in the minds of its audiences. Crises can shake up how people view consumerism and preferences can change during that shift our collective zeitgeist. Even if a brand has solidified an image, there is still power in change. Successful companies modify their messaging to highlight what connects people with the humanity in their brands. People in turn look for comfort and safety from the products and services they bring into their lives. Approaching them with a little empathy goes a long way.
To sum up, rally your team now to continue your brand’s marketing efforts. Plan ahead and make sure your stakeholders are prepared to retain your ad budget in order to put it to good use. Now is not the time to restrict your marketing, but to grab hold of an opportunity to adjust its approach appropriately. Act smartly, boldly, and don’t fear what comes next. By adapting and staying active you can fortify your customer relationships and become a rallying point for category consumers when the economy makes its upward turn.
Our founder, Brian was asked by Philadelphia Magazine to share some expert guidance on how brands should communicate during a crisis. Timely content that we hope can help businesses in the Greater Philadelphia community and beyond. Have a look at what he shared!
Take a look at your email. Is it just us, or does it feel odd to see so many brands giving their take on COVID-19? Brands large and small seem to all be jumping on the bandwagon to share how they are reacting to this pandemic.
ALTOGETHER HUMAN
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