Shifting your message from empathy to empowerment

Right now you’re running a campaign; it’s getting the CPC and the engagement that the KPIs were set for it, and all the while, something just seems to be missing from the whole campaign:

The story needs to change.

When running a campaign, a fantastic way of prolonging one is to change the story partway-through, to still keep the relevant message, but to shift it to something else that others can relate to.

Everyone loves a great story; the twists and turns of an arc and the eventual pay-off at the end. That’s what makes a great campaign; if the story requires to be changed, then so be it.

With some campaigns, it’s been part of the plan all along, while others decide to change the message when they feel as though it’s not driving enough engagement.

However, when it comes to a charity, the best method that we believe in at Distract is to empower a positive message throughout; to show understanding for the topic, and then tell a story to empower others to simply go for it.

This can be put across in multiple advertising ways:

• Posters
• Videos
• Podcasts
• Newsletters

The following are also great approaches to incorporate empathy into the story;

• Using emotion
• Encourage inspiration
• Understand the needs of the targeted audience

Of course, the end-game of this campaign is to bring awareness to the brand that is being marketed, so even though using empathy will be a great approach, using too much of it to hammer-home what the story is, could drive away potential customers, so there’s always a fine-line to balance it out.

It can be inspirationally-aimed to help relate to potential viewers and listeners; otherwise they may not relate to it at all.

This can then be followed by an important aspiration scene, whether that’s through a print-ad or a video.

When empowering the story, it’s usually at the end of the marketing message, like the slogan.

The below gives a great example into how empathy is construed, to the empowering message. Short, simple, and gets to the point.

Empowerment ultimately gives the audience a notion to *do* something. It empowers them to perhaps look at something differently or to perform a task in a different way to what they would have done previously. A campaign such as the above will give the same, consistent result, but if the campaign is repeated constantly, it could give the impression that it’s forced, and that it is simply a marketing campaign, not a campaign that wants to do good for its audience. The intended empathy and empowerment is wasted.

At Distract we aim for the best way to communicate a message that highlights the best attributes of the client; to communicate this through a campaign that relates to its target audience with the most engagement, through empathy and empowerment when needed. To make the businesses shine, and in the end, that’s all that matters.