What's the new language of winning?

Society is changing dramatically. If you want to keep it up, you need to change too. Dragon Rouge's Head of Voice, Bee Pahnke, looks at what winning sounds like to people today.

“The number one anti-dandruff shampoo”
“5x winner of best agency”
“Faster than the leading competitor”

Not so long ago, this is what winning looked like. Competitive, boastful, gloating statements plastered across every advert, every front-of-pack, every touchpoint. (Remember the early days of the internet, when everyone proudly showed visitor hit-counts on their shiny new homepages, just to prove people were clicking?)

It worked.

We were suckered in. Beating competitors and winning competitions showed you were the best – and for many people, if a product or brand was good enough to be the favourite of 500 other consumers, then it was good enough for them.

Quantitative winning was seductive. Being “the best” was sexy. And the aggressive tone of voice that went with these competitive claims worked to stun people into buying the brand. It tapped into the innate fear we all have of not being a part of the crowd.

As one sage marketeer once said – 50 million Elvis fans can’t be wrong.

But these days, people are harder to win over

In a recent survey, only 19% of Gen Zs said they admired someone or something because of a mass following. Big numbers don’t have the seductive sway they used to – in fact, they can even turn people off.

In the same survey, 23% of Gen Zs said exclusivity would make them more likely to promote their favourite brand.

By 2020, 40% of all consumers will be Gen Z.

But this trend isn’t all about them. Millennials are turning away from competitive advertising, too. Instead, they prefer to shop by word of mouth – from either friends or family, or even the influencers they feel connected to.

After all, they don’t know those thousands of other customers you’re talking about. But they do feel like they know the vlogger they tune into every week.

It’s not just about consumers, either. This behaviour-shift is directly affecting the creative industries, too

In times gone by, an agency’s chance to pitch was heavily influenced by their reputation. How many clients are they working with? How many awards are in their trophy case? Nowadays, that’s not enough.

Big businesses are demanding to know what agencies are doing for diversity, sustainability and their community. They want to know about an agency’s values, their CSR initiatives and their commitments to the wider world. And if you don’t have the credentials to back up your values, then it doesn’t matter how many awards you’ve won or what your yearly turnover is – you won’t be invited to pitch.

But it goes even further still

Those same demographics that are changing their buying behaviour and the attitudes of big companies are the same ones forging career paths. By 2020, the global workforce will be dominated by millennials. The craving to contribute to something bigger than themselves and bigger than an individual organisation goes into decisions about employment too. The very best minds and the future talent of our industry have more choice for work than ever before. If you want to win the best talent, you need to pay attention to these cultural changes too.

If big numbers and competitive gloating doesn’t win the hearts of consumers, clients or talent any more – what does?

We’re all looking for a connection. To feel like a brand, an agency or a workplace aligns with our own values. We’re looking for something more meaningful than a boast. We’re searching for authenticity. 81% of millennials expect their favourite brands to be doing good in the world – and to be talking about it.

Consumers across all age groups are now willing to spend more on products that come from sustainable brands. A brand purpose beyond profit is a requirement today. We may criticise younger generations and modern-day life for enabling snap-decisions and an ‘I-want-it-now’ attitude, but the truth is, we’re more discerning than ever.

Tess Daly in The Isle of Paradise's campaign

So what does winning sound like today?

Warmth
People connect with people. Not cold, robotic, faceless corporations. It’s a trope you’ve heard a thousand times before, but now more than ever it’s important to put the human back into your writing. Talk to people, not stakeholders. See individuals, not demographics. Use colloquialisms, contractions, and the words real people use.

Humility
None of us are perfect – Millennials and Gen Zs understand that. They appreciate honesty and self-awareness. So talk about what you’re trying to do, the ways it worked and the times it didn’t. It makes you relatable. It’s refreshing.

Ambition
Talk about the goals you’re heading towards and describe the active steps you’re taking to get there. That sense of drive and purpose shows people what you really care about. It builds the impression of an organisation who walks the walk.

It’s not just what you say, it’s where you say it.

Your ad campaign or homepage may be the springboard to hook your audience in and set the tone – but those high-profile spots are also where your audience are at their most sceptical and distrusting. As one Gen Z consumer said, “Nobody’s going to buy a product from a corporation who you know is just out for the money.” So instead, look to the nooks and crannies. The devil’s in the details – so look for the opportunities in the places we don’t normally think people are looking. Put warmth in your privacy policies, live your values through your recycling instructions, show your personality on your contact page and your business cards.

That’s how you build connections and create change.

Paying attention to these spots and writing with warmth, humility and ambition will not only attract today’s customers. It will bring in the best workforce, to breed a culture of authenticity and trust within your business. Which will in turn go into every interaction with your clients or customers. That’s how you win today.

This article was taken from issue 2 of Marketing Society members-only publication EMPOWER. Find out more here and see past articles here (please note some articles are open to the public and some are for members only.)