The Urgency of a Unique and Authentic Pivot Message

These are unprecedented times. We’re all in this together. We’re here for you.

If you’ve had the TV on in the past few months, you’ve heard these messages. Repeatedly. They started to run together after a while because they’re nearly identical.

What’s worse than being same-y is that some of these messages are empty. They’re words without action. Nothing more than “virtue signaling” – the modern habit of expressing sentiments that indicate one (or one’s company) has virtue merely by announcing disgust or approval for a certain cultural happening.

This signaling doesn’t say what you’ve done toward fixing the issue – just that you’re for or against something. It’s not necessarily wrong to signal your virtue. It’s just not enough.

Say something original.

The instinct to address these “unprecedented” times in your marketing is the right one. However, your message should say something unique. It should tell the reader or audience specifically what your company is doing to address these unprecedented times.

If your organization isn’t addressing them, you still need to be careful. For-profit companies particularly do. I still see ads for restaurants that aren’t even open or ads showing throngs of people gathered somewhere – clearly created in and for the pre-COVID era.

On the other hand, I recently saw a commercial for a pizza chain that included this message: “No one touches the pizza after it comes out of the oven.”

Bravo! That’s timely and shows that this company is revamping its business and its messaging.

A pivot message will resonate if it’s:

? Specific. The message should be specific to your company. It’s not enough to generalize. “We’re all in this together” is vapid if you don’t say how we’re in it together or what you’re doing to help individuals or the greater good.

? Truthful. We were already dealing with a pandemic (and the communications challenges inherent in that) when another, equally urgent and long overdue movement happened. Companies rightly felt the need to respond to the uprisings (and I mean that in the best sense of the word) surrounding George Floyd’s murder.

But if you haven’t done any of the necessary work to ensure diversity in all the ranks, but especially the upper ranks of your company, then your statement may seem insincere. You can’t co-opt a slogan if you can’t prove how you support it.

Better to own up to what you haven’t done and then do whatever you should’ve done. Better to say, “Our eyes have been opened” than to hop onboard a movement without actually taking any action.

One more thought on truth-telling: People are afraid now – and have reason to be. The COVID numbers are going in the wrong direction. Because we read and listen with our emotions, don’t stoke fear, but don’t ignore it, either. Companies can lessen the emotional blowback of their messaging by letting people know what they can do to protect themselves. If people can take action to mitigate risks, they’ll feel better.

? Shows action. Real action, I mean. Don’t say you plan to form a task force to study how you can be a better ally. That’s not enough. It’s better to publicly acknowledge the work you have ahead of you and – when you have something concrete to share – let your audience know how you’ve changed.

? Timed correctly. Communicating early in a crisis is key. But during a national crisis, don’t make the mistake of communicating early and often. We’re saturated with messages now – most of which sound redundant. Be careful not to wear people out. They’ll tune you out.

? In tune with the times. Recognize that we’re all being asked for money now. A plea for donations should be accompanied by a message about what the money’s needed for. If it’s being used for something related to COVID-19 – ensuring schoolchildren get lunch even if school isn’t in session, for instance – that’s likely to generate a bigger response than an appeal to donate to the general fund.

Your pivot statement should be in writing (like a mission statement) and circulated to all your employees before it’s made public.

Here’s an example of a pivot statement for a college or university: To retain students for this coming academic year, we will provide informative, clear and encouraging content in various formats to instill our students, faculty, staff and other stakeholders with confidence about how we’re addressing COVID-19.

Land somewhere.

Lastly, your pivot message needs to land somewhere. If you never land, you’re just spinning.

The federal government’s response to COVID has been one of pivoting and repivoting and never quite landing. The result is unclear and sometimes contradictory messaging.

When you pivot, you should turn and land, facing in a new direction.