Page 23 - Grapevine May-June 2020

In The Winery

Marketing During a Crisis:

Tips to Pivot Your Marketing Messages

By: Susan DeMatei
R ecession Marketing Pro Tip: Understanding understanding and appealing to their emotional

consumer psychology and the underly-
needs you have a better chance of connecting with
ing emotions is critical when advertising
during a recession. and engaging them. This is not a novel approach.
Research shows that ad campaigns that focus on
emotional engagement tend to have a higher ROI
In the wine industry, we don’t typically analyze than ad campaigns focusing on rational messages
consumers’ psyches or emotions. We tend to think (such as low prices or special offers) even when
of our customers demographically – mid 40’s – times are not tough.
60’s, lives in New York, Texas, and Florida, HHI over
$150k, and the like. But in times of stress, demo- But how do you know what your consumers need
graphic segmentation may be less relevant than to hear right now? To guide us, I found an insightful
psychographic segmentations that take into con- study in the Harvard Business Review that looked at
sideration consumers’ behavioral reactions and the marketing successes and failures of dozens of com-
underlying emotions they are feeling at the time. panies during recessions from the 1970s – 2010.
HBR identified patterns in consumers’ behavior and
The coronavirus sanctions have created an under- resulting company strategies that either helped
current of fear, worry, and stress. People are look- them succeed or ultimately fail during a recession.
ing for stress relief and a temporary distraction. By Additionally, they strongly encourage companies to

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