With the world working from home, any small technical glitch on the part of brands is bound to get noticed and generate a considerable response. Today, as Gmail went down for a few minutes, users faced issues while logging in. They found it difficult to send emails and attach files. Though Google fixed the issue in a couple of hours, the lapse caused several rounds of conversations on social media platforms. To leverage the popular sentiments around Gmail servers being down, several brand creatives flooded social media and were widely shared for their subtleness and innovation in communication, within such a short time.
Brands have essentially incorporated human touch in their communication strategies which results in a lot of people engaging with their content. Behind every ad creative, are a bunch of humans working as communication innovators. They not just ensure that their existing customers relate to their content, but also the ones who haven’t used their products of late.
MakeMyTrip was absolutely spot on when they made use of the situation to talk about their offerings. With travel being suspended, Goa plans have been out of the picture which was correlated to Gmail being down. This exemplifies how one can innovate and communicate in a scenario which at first might seem irrelevant to the brand.
Fevicol was hailed across all social media platforms because of its legitimate and ultra-fine tweet on the Gmail fiasco. By saying, “We’ve never had a problem with attachments”, Fevicol drew attention to their infamous tagline ‘Fevicol ka mazboot jod’. If innovation in communication is the point of discussion, then Fevicol has always remained ahead of the crowd.
When other brands tried to seek attention to their product offerings while leveraging on the situation, Tata Cliq captured the current mood of the consumer. “Seems like nobody wants to have any attachments with 2020” was well-received because it addressed the concern and outlook of people in the present situation. With lockdown and restrictions at place, this message succinctly encapsulated the consumer emotion.
Innovation in communication becomes essential in crisis situations. Brands capitalizing on different situations while communicating ‘as humans, to humans’ has a huge role to play in maintaining brand identity and keeping up with brand recall. It is astounding to see how humans as communication innovators has been readily adopted by brands, as it is clearly understood as to how building an emotional connection with customers is the key to brand loyalty.
