By Robert Wheatley

Brands can help relieve the anxiety

Fact: Consumer spending accounts for a whopping 70% of the US economy, according to Standard & Poor’s Equity Research. So if consumers don’t spend, well, you get the picture.

The mechanisms that work to bring consumers closer to brands are founded on emotional cues and not analytical evaluation. So it makes sense that the economic crisis we face in some respects is an outcome of a pervasive gloominess that has infected the nation as a whole. Sure there are facts arrayed around us about bad judgment in financial markets and an outsized balloon in home values that needed a correction. But the “we’re-in-no-mood-to-spend” behavior is the thing that’s sending a chill through all levels of the economy.

The recent ABC News story ‘A Crisis of Consumer Confidence’ quotes Mark Zandi, chief economist for Moody’s Economy.com, about this enveloping sense of apprehension. He says: “Consumer’s have been spending beyond their income for 25 years, and they could do it because they could borrow.” He goes on to talk about the steamroll effect of consumer insecurity, “If you lose faith you’re in a recession. And if you panic you’re in a depression. And we’re somewhere in between recession and depression at this point – and that’s why it’s so important for policymakers to act very aggressively, boldly, consistently to shore up confidence.”

What can brands do to help replace uncertainty and uneasiness with something else that more closely resembles the pillars of warmth and happiness? Here are some ideas on relevant ways to reassess your current strategies:

Generally, what can your brand do to make life easier, better, more meaningful, secure and fulfilling? Is this a centerpiece of your communications platform?

Is this a time to help enable family time and interaction?

Should you focus on hearth and home as a welcome respite from the other “outside” concerns?

Is there a role for humor? Can laughter provide a form of emotional antidote?

Are you putting a focus on the things in life consumers can control?

Is it time to align your brand communications with a higher purpose, a strategic mission that works beyond the simple message of product feature and benefit?

Are you supporting the consumers’ desire to believe in, participate in activities and passions beyond the obvious elements of commerce?

What can you convey that says you understand the misgivings and want to help? Can you offer help in tangible, specific ways?

Should we honor helping others in the spirit of “we’re all in this together”?

Are there stories to tell of courage and perseverance that serve as a guide and reminder that the current condition will pass?