During the Coronavirus pandemic, I’ve seen several occasions where a company’s messaging has missed the mark. However, the truth of the matter is this: during a life and death crisis, there is no room for problematic messages.
As the world adjusts to a “new normal,” where going against the proper etiquette of social distancing, mask wearing, and the hoarding of items during a production shortage cause uproars and companies getting “canceled,” it’s paramount your message says what you mean, and you mean what you say.
Businesses need to say what they mean and mean what they say during the #pandemic. Share on XA killer message
Suffering from three months of isolation and desperate for some sense of normalcy, my family and I went on vacation to Minneapolis, MN. It was mid-July and hot as hell. After some debate, we decided to go out and get ice cream.
We donned our masks and drove off. When we got to the store I noticed something unsettling.
It was the sign on the door: We Encourage You to Wear a Mask.
Do you get why I was unsettled?
Just as I feared – no one (other than the employees) were wearing masks. And I knew why: the message doesn’t clearly say what the company wants. And based on everyone’s non-mask wearing, the company didn’t mean what they said.
Now’s not the time to be nice
In a Psychology Today article, Beverly D. Flaxington states, our culture values “niceness” over truth in many cases because marketers and PR reps (or companies) fear that what they do or say may, to some, be viewed as hurtful, thus painting them the problem, not the solution – resulting in consumers running off to tell the rest of the world how terrible they are.
Marketers and PR reps respond with fear-based language – language that doesn’t say what they mean, nor does it mean what they say. Instead, they try to appease everyone. And it’s dangerous during these times.
Take, for example, how the ice cream store uses “encourage” in its message. Encourage doesn’t force anyone to wear a mask (check the box that appeases people who don’t want to wear a mask). And, at the same time, it sounds the store wants people to wear masks because that is the right thing to do during a pandemic (check the box that appeases the consumers wanting mask-wearing).
The problem with this type of message during a pandemic is that it’s dangerous, and someone will die because of it.
Piercing Pagoda’s message is absolutely the correct way to say what you mean. Here’s a picture of their sign. I took it while visiting the mall:
Sticks and stones…
The CDC continues to state masks are for the protection of others (those around you), not you. Therefore, the ice cream store jeopardized the health of their employees as well as every patron because they “encouraged” mask wearing.
As it turns out, words will hurt us.
The new normal doesn’t allow marketers and PR reps the words to appease everyone – or the luxury of worrying about offending some tiny group who will cancel you. Stop using words like encourage or appreciate when you mean require or must.
The #newnormal doesn’t allow marketers and PR reps the words to appease everyone. Share on XYour words and messages have more meaning than ever. What you say will either save a life or put us all in danger.