Creative agency Andpeople is urging brands to champion empathy as the industry navigates its way through the continually transforming global landscape.
The last twelve months has accelerated the need for brands to rethink their role in civil society, the relationship with their audience and the value they create. Brands are no longer just products or services, but an instrumental part of our life system and they have the means, agility and trust to create more change than government. Though, for the Sydney-based agency these are concepts which have rung true since its inception.
“In the beginning we felt like we were shouting against a brick wall; urging brands not to ignore these cultural moments and challenges but show up and genuinely care. Now it’s being played out through mass audience behavior across the globe, whether that’s #PayUp, Black Lives Matter or climate change. These are real life generational issues which consumers expect brands to understand and be part of the solution,” said Andpeople Managing Director, Andrew McDade.
With a portfolio including adidas, Reebok, P.E Nation and JD Sports to name a few, Andpeople is pushing for a shift in the engagement of consumers, namely, youth. The agency recognises that the next generation are breaking convention harder and faster than any other because they have the mindset and tools to invent the change they want.
Speaking on this, McDade reiterated Andpeople’s commitment to breaking conventional marketing tactics, and instead harnessing a value-driven approach to creativity and positioning itself at the forefront of this new era in brand marketing.
“At our core we’ve always challenged the status quo, driven by a belief that brands exist to create more value than they extract. Value that is measured via emotional metrics, not capitalist. The only way to achieve success and win commercially is to recalibrate the value you create.” he added.
Andpeople is offering brands the tools to confront this shift, unveiling a film which is a call to arms for brands looking to navigate this future. It showcases the agency’s commitment to having culture and community at the front and centre of youth creativity; as it has always done.
Challenging brands to:
Be more human
Be more transparent
Earn more trust
Collaborate more radically
Create more communities
Be more empathetic
Be more optimistic
Be more entertaining
Be more supportive
Inspire more imagination
Celebrate more creativity
Make the world better
Make us better
