When People Are Irrational We Rely on Brands to Be Rational
The CONVID-19 pandemic is getting personal! It has disrupted our way of life as we know it. It’s interfering with our professional lives as well as affecting how we interact, or do not interact, with the people closest to us. No wonder most of us are feeling quite emotional these days. We’re worried about our loved ones, our health, the society, the economy - an uncertain future.
EMOTIONAL DISTRESS DRIVES IRRATIONAL BEHAVIOUR
Under emotional distress human beings tend to become irrational and make unconscious decisions. Although we perceive ourselves as rational beings, real people like you and me, have trouble making rational decisions in situations where we experience anxiety and uncertainty.
A THREATENING SITUATION GROWS A NEED TO BE IN CONTROL
Our natural response to feeling a lack of control, is taking control; which is a behaviour that we’ve witnessed evolve over the last couple of weeks.
Despite being advised to avoid hoarding to prevent empty shelves, our gut tells us to gain control over a threatening situation by ensuring access to necessities for the foreseeable future. An irrational behaviour based on fear, that is driven by the government’s urge to isolate in combination with our disbelief in sufficient access to basic necessities, and the social pressure of witnessing other people panic buying.
PSYCHOLOGICAL REACTANCE
But not everyone is acting on the basis of being “better safe than sorry”. Some of us are challenging the experts’ and government’s advice due to the phenomenon of psychological reactance. Psychological reactance was introduced in 1966 by Jack Brehn, describing that when people’s freedom is threatened, some feel the urge to oppose the imposed restrictions.
According to the nudge theory, by Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein, some of us are also more willing to accept nudges from private institutions while having a lack oftrust in the government’s efforts to influence choice with the goal to improve our lives.
BRANDS CAN FORCE CHANGE OF BEHAVIOUR
However, reactance to official advice drives unfortunate behaviours that can challenge the fight against coronavirus as a united force.In an unprecedented disaster like this we therefore need brands to take responsibility to help us enforce rational behaviour among the broader public.
Fortunately, brands’ efforts to take responsibility are spreading as quickly as the virus itself. A number of grocery stores, such as Waitrose and Walmart, have implemented fair trading policies including limiting number of items per person and designating shopping times for seniors and others vulnerable to the virus.
Our client, Sainsbury’s, are urging their customers to consider thinking before they buy through compassionate on-shelf messaging to stem coronavirus shopping. In both New York and London, some grocery and drug stores limit the number of customers that can be in the stores at the same time. Joe & The Juice and Uber Eats are only accepting contactless payment forcing people to respect social distancing.
BRANDS ARE PERMITTED TO A VOICE
Yet, the challenge goes beyond physically enforcing behaviour. Fighting coronavirus is also a social contract of personal hygiene and self-isolation. Being urged by the Prime Minister to not see your mum on Mother’s Day and to keep distance from your elderly parents and grandparents is a challenging commitment. As emotional beings we therefore need brands to use their platforms to encourage and constantly remind us to take part in the collective effort. Because when brands that have a role in our lives use their voice, we listen.
McDonald’s have separated their golden arches to symbolise the act of social distancing, followed by Coca Cola putting huge spaces between their letters in combination with an urge for people to stay apart. Time Out Magazine has changed their name to Time In, while Nike argues that if you want to play for the world you need to play inside. Both for the purpose of urging people to stay home. Lush are inviting people into their store to wash their hands for free, while Dettol has created a TikTok hand wash challenge. The latter receiving more than 9 million views in just 4 days.
Non-retail brands are also taking the stage to move people. Our client, Arsenal, is now leveraging their strong influence to urge people to stay at home.
When emotions are high, tables need to turn between brands and consumers. In this period of uncertainty, brands must lead by example and become the rational voice. With such a strong connection with their audience, brands need to inspire us to make a difference now!