Situational Design: How Brands Can Become Empathetic Again

A one-size-fits-all approach to brand communication is no longer viable. Increasingly, people are coming to expect brands to exhibit sensitivity and empathy, as well as a genuine understanding of their individual needs and wishes. But cultural and individual circumstances differ depending on the context. How can brands adapt to them without forfeiting their recognizability and impact?

Every marketeer knows the pitfalls of the "Internet shitstorm" – an ill-considered tweet or a too-hasty Facebook post can lead to incalculable reactions on social media. And in many cases rightly so: brands are still paying far too little attention to the fact that people's sensitivities have changed. People are more critical. They are quick to challenge communication messages, and they expect a respectful dialog on equal footing – one that takes into account their respective cultural and social contexts. Brands that ignore these new expectations quickly appear arrogant and pompous, and harvest criticism.

The new big challenge for companies is therefore to reestablish their close connections with consumers – through empathetic brand communication and experiences that are relevant to their customers. To achieve this, they must learn to understand their target group better. Conventional approaches to segmentation are reaching their limits here. An example: two East German women, both over 60 years old, Protestant, high income, well known. Both are in their second marriages and both enjoy music. They have a lot in common – and yet they move in fundamentally different worlds of experience. Their names are Angela Merkel and Nina Hagen. Is it possible to appeal to the emotions of both women by communicating one and the same story? I don't think so. A more advantageous approach requires an understanding of the target group that detaches itself from the outdated socio-demographic viewpoint and looks at the context in which the respective person moves and acts.

The view on the context enables "situational design"

More than ever before, brand management needs to take individual situations into account and adapt to them. Each individual is guided by various emotional drivers – harmony, openness, creativity, adventure, dominance and discipline. These motivating factors vary depending on the individual's personality, but also depending on their current situation in life. And that may change several times in the course of a day. At the workplace, different drivers are relevant for one and the same person than after work in the family environment, at a night out in a pub or club, or on a mountain-climbing tour with friends. If brands want to reach these people in a highly individualized manner, they must know the different realms of experience – or situations – in which they move. Then they can target them with offers that are geared to their relevant needs and emotions. 

Companies that have managed to create the necessary flexibility in their brand presence have a clear advantage here. They can reach people faster, more individually and thus more relevantly. Individual relevance and the greatest possible flexibility are mutually dependent.  

Three steps to a hyperindividualized but consistent appearance 

To recognize people and their needs and properly react to them requires "situational design." That means greater involvement with the respective context, and a brand experience tailored to the situation at hand. 

Nike, for example, shows how this can work with its concept store in Oslo. The company resisted the attempt to transfer a proven design system "from the top down" to the newly opened location. Nike wasn't intrested in presenting the image of a brand that was the same all over the world. Rather, it commissioned a local design office to develop a typeface that would reflect the character of the brand and the location. The result is a typography based on the running track of the local Bislett Stadium. This font is a formative element in store design, used for all communication – and Nike is even so far as to use the typeface for the company name in its own logo. The result is a unique local presence that expresses a high degree of appreciation of and enhanced relevance for local buyers. 

Let me emphasize once again: Of course, the brand must continue to communicate consistently across the globe. The trick is combining flexibility with clear rules. Can any brand do that? In principle, yes. But there are prerequisites. If you want to be strong in any given situation, you have to allow flexibility. And to allow flexibility, you have to build strong brand codes that are so robust that people clearly associate them with the brand even in ever-changing contexts. 

Brands can achieve this by following three steps.

Step 1: Building strong brand personalities

Today, brands often serve global markets. They must deal with the fact that codes that work in their home market can be misunderstood in other markets. Colors and images often have different meanings; values are translated differently.

Brands must therefore first clearly define what they stand for – with all their imperfections. You need a clear brand personality, because just as with people, the basis for an authentic appearance is a strong personality. The brand's character traits are subsequently reflected in consistent brand behavior and appearance. And just as people adapt their behavior and appearance to the respective context, brands can react flexibly but authentically to different situations and cultural circumstances on the basis of a strong personality. 

Step 2: Define specific primary codes

However, individual communication and flexibility are only possible if there are some unalterable brand elements that must not be varied. We are talking here about the primary codes of a brand. They are everywhere and always visible, they distinguish the essence of the brand. The more distinctive these codes are, the more change is possible in other areas.   

What functions as a primary code must be individually defined and worked out for each brand. At Deutsche Bahn, for example, it is the logo that has been used in a similar form for around seventy years and is recognized by everyone in Germany. The characteristic lettering and the colors red and white are also highly recognizable. Coca-Cola, on the other hand, can be clearly classified worldwide by typography alone. No matter what message is set in the distinctive typeface or what color it is, we immediately recognize Coca-Cola. And speaking of color, do you catch yourself seeing magenta and immediately thinking of Telekom?  

Step 3: Think in bandwidths for secondary elements

Whereas brands rely on the strength of their primary codes, they gain flexibility in the use of secondary elements. These elements can be used react flexibly to different situations and contexts. How exactly this can be done still needs to be defined. It is a matter of refining the existing vocabulary and at the same time allowing it to be expanded continuously and flexibly. Every day, new touchpoints and communication channels are being added. In social media, "giffy" content is gaining in relevance, while augmented reality is suddenly playing a role on Snapchat. For applications like these, the brand vocabulary must be expanded for the given circumstances. Secondary elements of a brand become the playing field for the individual adaptation of communication to the cultural context and individual situation.  

The point is: Brands must become more empathetic and sensitive again. This can only succeed if the vocabulary of the brand can be adapted to the respective context. This requires a strong brand personality and clearly defined primary codes as a basis. Then a brand can authentically adapt its behavior while remaining consistent at the same time. This is the basic idea of "Situational Design."

In his guest article in issue 12/2019 of the trade magazine Markenartikel, Managing Partner Lukas Cottrell names three steps on the way to building a strong brand in a given situation. Here you can order the current issue.

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