Interview with John Gerzema, Chief Insight Officer, Young & Rubicam, Author of The Brand Bubble
John's presentation at SES New York blew me away. He's brilliant, yet accessible. Here's my take and then you can watch the video interview. Definitely happy that we got to interview him – another big day for Indianapolis social media!
There's a lot of doom and gloom around us at the moment. Turn on any media channel to experience this. Yet amidst all of this, there are a lot of brands that are doing a great job connecting with empathy. This is one of the big opportunities for brands today – to "give them examples", to show their stakeholders and customers that they are trustworthy and "that they've got their back".
Consumers are looking for empowerment and social media has a huge role to play. There is a decline in Maslow's hierarchy of needs. We, consumers, are being knocked down from self actualization (Just Do It, Think Different) to a place that is a little more basic, more authentic and definitely more social. These parts are about co-dependency, connecting with each other, and helping each other
Social media trends are coming headlong into a positive collision with consumer values.
AIG and the financial scandals are causing consumers reevaluating who they trust. They're interested more and more in ethical companies and companies that they can trust.
This represents an opportunity for marketers with integrity to connect with consumers based on trust using empathy and giving their customers something real they can believe in.
You can find out more about about John Gerzema and his book at here .
Now, what do you think? Do you think you place a greater emphasis on trust? Is there a great opportunity for brands based on building trust?
