Empathy the new key in consumer-brand relationship: The Lab
Seventy-five percent of Australian consumers think “it’s not good enough for brands to just make money; they need to do some good in the world”, according to The Lab’s latest report.
The report, The Age of Empathy, is a part of The Australia Project, a benchmark study that tracks the values of Australians.
As the nation shifts away from individual-oriented values such as “resilience” and “knowledge”, it picks up community-minded values such as “open-mindedness”, “companionship” and “loyalty”.
The report found that Australians value “honesty” the most, followed by “empathy” (whose importance is up 46% since 2017) as the turbulent socio-economic environment of pandemic living evolves.
It has also outlined the “four dimensions of empathy” for brands to better interact with Australian values.
- On my wavelength (reliability): brands need to show clients they understand them; this includes sustaining an ongoing dialogue, having your customers’ back, and displaying sensitivity and respect
- Feel the human-ness (emotional intensity): letting the vulnerability shine through by spotlighting untold stories and creating space for customers’ feelings
- No assumptions (judgement-free): showcasing open-mindedness and making space for customers to show the way
- Caring & kind (true support): offering comfort and respite, hands-on support and contributing to the wider socio, political and environmental world
Rebecca Brody
The Lab Insight & Strategy executive director, Rebecca Brody, said that brands need to show their authenticity in the face of changing societal values.
“The Age of Empathy pulls out industry-leading examples of real brands demonstrating the Four Dimensions of Empathy, from Apple overhauling its in-store experience to McDonald’s ‘Welcome to My World’ advertising campaign to Lego giving young people a voice at the COP26 climate change summit.
“Brands have long been expected to play their part and use their influence and platform to make a positive impact on society,”
“But the Australia Project shows consumers have never been more cynical than they are now.
“It’s no longer enough for a brand to simply show up or put in a token effort because consumers will call them out.”
The Age of Empathy was compiled using data extracted from The Australia Project’s benchmark study of 1500 Australians, eight Consumer Diaries, Lab AI Cultural Intelligence analysis of more than 150,000 online articles and 10 years of archived findings.
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