Targeting COVID Fears: Good or Bad for Business?

These have been anxious times. In May 2019, I told VOX that a concern with crime reflected the general level of discord and comfort societally. Here we are two years later dealing with the aftermath of a contentious election, 14 months of social isolation, kids homeschooling, the politicization of masks and vaccines, and slow but unsteady movement to reengagement not to mention the trauma for those who suffered personal loss. With all these things to worry about, did our concerns over crime and other bad things rise? Did we feel compelled to download the Citizen app or buy insurance? Brands who take advantage of fear to drive short-term sales will regret it in the long run–unless they weren’t planning on having one.

Products like security systems and crime apps are supposed to give users peace of mind. But worry as we might, COVID created opposing pressures.  Many people have been feeling financial pressure, so in spite of perceived vulnerability, they were unlikely to invest in costly security systems and cameras.  Who needs a camera when we’re home anyway? However, the level of fear and helplessness compounded with the underlying anger and fundamental disagreements about the pandemic can motivate people to trust others less and watch them more because those emotions increase distrust.  With all that free time, crime-watching can become a cheap form of entertainment.  Unfortunately, a steady diet of crime can cause people to think the world is more dangerous than it really is.

Breeding fear is good for business when you sell security systems or run for public office. Brands have more flexibility than politicians, though. They can take a longer view and focus on the well-being of their customers. Encouraging people to distrust their world and spy on their neighbors is not keeping people safe. It’s taking advantage of kneejerk fear reactions rather than building strengths and competence. Since consumers build brand relationships over time, investing in the well-being of your customers, rather than cash in the drawer today, can pay longer-term dividends because it creates trust and, let’s face it, nobody sticks around with people (or things) that make them feel bad.

That perception is all in the story behind the service.  Brands can empower people by giving them tools to meet challenges or they can scare them into buying their product as a solution.  The positive, empowering approach frames products and services, like security systems and insurance, as tools the consumer can use to be a good caretaker. The negative, fear-based approach tells the consumers that they are inadequate and their loved ones are in danger. That didn’t work well for Nationwide Insurance. Their 2015 Superbowl ad called Make Safe Happen featured a young boy telling you he’s dead because of a household accident.  This was clearly over the top and social media told them so. However, more subtle versions of ads like this happen all the time–ads that create need out of anxiety.

The results? Reinforcement of strengths and values has a positive impact on emotion, self-competence, trust, and well-being. Positive emotions can build over time.  Trust, in particular, creates its own cognitive bias about a brand’s image, increasing perceptions of quality and value (Afsar, 2014).

Reinforcing fear, by contrast, gets some initial attention because humans are hardwired to scan for danger. But fear messaging can have long-term negative effects, making us all feel like the world is unsafe. There’s research behind this phenomenon. When media consumers are exposed to violence and fear, they can develop a cognitive bias or belief that the world is a far worse and dangerous place than it actually is, which psychologist George Gerbner called Mean World Syndrome (Gerbner & Gross, 1976). Ads based on fear increase the perceptions that something bad can happy to you personally, amplifying negative emotions. Fear, stress, anxiety, and uncertainty can trigger the fight or flight response which impacts your information processing ability by sending your blood to your legs to run, rather than your head to think. Negative emotions can diminish creativity, productivity, and resilience and as if that wasn’t enough, undermine feelings of confidence and agency and, worst of all for a brand, damage trust.

Brand-consumer relationships in many ways are not all that different from relationships between people. Trust goes in a second and takes months, if not years, to repair. Not a great brand strategy.

References

Afsar, B. (2014). Effect of perceived Price, Brand Image, perceived Quality and Trust on Consumer’s buying Preferences. Journal of Economics and Business Research(1), 7-20.

Gerbner, G., & Gross, L. (1976). Living with television: The violence profile. Journal of Communication, 26(76).

Photo by Alexandra Gorn/Unsplash