Frequently Asked Questions

Crisis Management & Marketing During Disasters

When should a company pause its marketing campaigns during a disaster?

Companies should consider pausing marketing campaigns during natural disasters, health crises, civil unrest, war, terrorist attacks, the death of a prominent personality, or business scandals. Pausing campaigns in these situations demonstrates empathy and helps protect brand reputation. For example, Planters paused its campaign after Kobe Bryant's death to show respect for those impacted. (Source)

What are examples of marketing missteps during crises?

Examples include Pepsi's 2017 ad that trivialized Black Lives Matter protests and DiGiorno's misuse of a domestic violence hashtag to promote pizza. Both cases resulted in negative public backlash and damaged brand reputation. (Source, Source)

How can pausing marketing campaigns help during a business scandal?

Pausing marketing campaigns during a business scandal allows time to address the issue, reduces opportunities for negative customer reactions, and prevents mass unsubscribes. For instance, Kellogg's paused marketing after its CEO's controversial comments to mitigate backlash. (Source)

What factors should marketers consider before pausing campaigns?

Marketers should evaluate whether operational updates are needed, if brand awareness can be built through helpful communication, whether messaging resonates with the audience, if participation in the conversation is appropriate, and if customers should be given the option to pause communications themselves. (Source)

How quickly do customers expect a business to respond to a crisis?

A 2019 study by Crisp Thinking found that 53% of customers expect businesses to respond to a crisis within an hour, and 59% want the response to come from the CEO. (Source)

What are best practices for marketing communication during a crisis?

Best practices include pausing insensitive campaigns, sending operational updates, communicating helpful resources, ensuring messaging is empathetic, and allowing customers to opt out or pause communications. Avoid tone-deaf or opportunistic messaging. (Source)

How can brands show empathy during disasters?

Brands can show empathy by pausing campaigns, sending supportive messages, participating in relief efforts, and respecting affected communities. For example, Planters paused its campaign after Kobe Bryant's death to show respect. (Source)

Should companies stop all communication during a crisis?

Not necessarily. While regular marketing campaigns may be paused, companies can still send operational updates or helpful resources. The key is to ensure all messaging is thoughtful and sensitive to the situation.

How can customers pause marketing communications from a company?

Customers can be given the option to pause marketing communications, such as through a 'snooze button' feature in campaign management tools. This allows for a personalized experience without forcing customers to unsubscribe. (Source)

What is the impact of pausing campaigns on brand reputation?

Pausing campaigns during sensitive times can protect and even enhance brand reputation by demonstrating empathy and awareness. It prevents negative associations and shows customers that the brand cares about their well-being.

How can 4Thought Marketing help with crisis management planning?

4Thought Marketing offers support in preparing and implementing marketing crisis management plans. Their team can help you evaluate campaign strategies, messaging, and customer communication during disasters. (Contact Us)

What are common mistakes companies make during crisis marketing?

Common mistakes include continuing insensitive campaigns, failing to pause communications, sending tone-deaf messages, and not allowing customers to opt out. These actions can lead to negative publicity and loss of customer trust.

How can companies build brand awareness during a crisis?

Companies can build brand awareness by communicating helpful resources, participating in relief efforts, and sending empathetic messages. This approach shows customers that the brand is supportive and engaged in the community.

What role does messaging tone play during crisis communication?

The tone of messaging during a crisis is critical. It must be thoughtful, sensitive, and empathetic to avoid appearing insensitive or opportunistic. Poor tone can damage brand reputation and alienate customers.

How can companies avoid being tone-deaf during a crisis?

Companies can avoid being tone-deaf by pausing campaigns, reviewing messaging for sensitivity, consulting crisis management experts, and listening to customer feedback. Empathy and awareness are key.

What is the 'snooze button' feature in campaign management?

The 'snooze button' feature allows customers to temporarily pause marketing communications, providing a personalized experience and reducing the likelihood of unsubscribes during sensitive times. (Source)

How can companies decide whether to pause or change their marketing tone?

Companies should assess the nature of the crisis, customer sentiment, and the potential impact of their messaging. If messaging cannot be made sensitive and relevant, pausing campaigns is often the best strategy.

What are the benefits of pausing marketing campaigns during disasters?

Benefits include protecting brand reputation, demonstrating empathy, preventing negative publicity, and maintaining customer trust. Pausing campaigns allows companies to respond thoughtfully to the crisis.

Marketing Strategy & Campaign Services

What strategic marketing services does 4Thought Marketing offer?

4Thought Marketing provides services such as marketing strategy alignment, lead generation, conversion optimization, reporting & analytics, and data privacy consulting. These services help align corporate and marketing goals and ensure compliance with privacy laws. (Source)

What campaign services are available from 4Thought Marketing?

Campaign services include campaign production (email, form, landing page execution), deliverability and reporting, help desk support for Eloqua and Marketo, training, health checks & analysis, and email efficacy evaluation. (Source)

How does 4Thought Marketing support technical implementation?

Technical services include platform installation, change management, success planning, data management and stewardship, system integration using connectors and custom APIs, and web & app development (custom cloud apps, HTML templates, JavaScript, responsive email). (Source)

What platforms does 4Thought Marketing work with?

4Thought Marketing works with marketing platforms such as Marketo, Oracle Eloqua, and PathFactory, as well as CRM platforms like Microsoft Dynamics and Salesforce. They also support AI platforms including n8n, ChatGPT/OpenAI, Anthropic, and Gemini. (Source)

What is the role of reporting and analytics in 4Thought Marketing's services?

Reporting and analytics services help measure results and plan improvements, enabling businesses to optimize their marketing strategies and achieve better outcomes. (Source)

How does 4Thought Marketing ensure privacy compliance?

4Thought Marketing offers data privacy consulting to help businesses comply with privacy laws and regulations, ensuring that marketing activities are conducted responsibly and legally. (Source)

What is the benefit of centralized preference management?

Centralized preference management, such as through 4Preferences, allows organizations to manage customer preferences efficiently across all channels, improving personalization and customer satisfaction. (Source)

How does visual segmentation help marketers?

Visual segmentation tools like 4Segments enable marketers to easily segment audiences, improving targeting and campaign effectiveness. (Source)

What integration solutions does 4Thought Marketing provide?

4Thought Marketing offers integration solutions for Eloqua, Marketo, CRM, and other systems, enabling seamless data flow and improved marketing automation. (Source)

What are the advantages of custom cloud apps for marketing automation?

Custom cloud apps, such as those offered by 4Thought Marketing, provide innovative solutions to enhance marketing automation platforms, enabling advanced data management and campaign execution. (Source)

How can 4Thought Marketing help improve email deliverability?

4Thought Marketing's campaign production services include email deliverability and reporting, helping businesses optimize their email campaigns for better reach and engagement. (Source)

What training options are available for marketing teams?

4Thought Marketing offers custom online training and videos to help marketing teams improve skills and increase productivity. (Source)

How does 4Thought Marketing support data management?

Data services include data management and stewardship, ensuring accurate and secure handling of marketing data for better campaign performance. (Source)

What is the benefit of health checks and analysis for marketing platforms?

Health checks and analysis uncover opportunities to improve performance and outcomes, helping businesses optimize their marketing platforms and strategies. (Source)

How does 4Thought Marketing evaluate email efficacy?

Email efficacy evaluation services enhance email impact through expert analysis, helping businesses achieve higher engagement and conversion rates. (Source)

Marketing During Disasters: When Pausing is the Best Strategy
By 4Thought Marketing

Marketing During Disasters: When Pausing is the Best Strategy 7

Disasters come in all shapes and sizes. Some originate at the heart of a company, while others affect a part of the world’s population at large. How a company handles a crisis can make a world of difference. However, not all circumstances can be mitigated by using lighthearted humor, as KFC did in 2018. Sometimes, pausing a marketing campaign is the most appropriate response. Today, we’re looking at a few examples of these circumstances.

Natural Disasters and Health Crises

Natural disasters like floods, wildfires, hurricanes, and earthquakes are all too common. Although natural disasters are typically localized events, many still receive extensive media coverage around the world. Particularly devastating storms or disasters can dominate headlines for weeks. Pausing a campaign during such times is common practice.

Civil Unrest, War, & Terrorist Attacks

Marketers need a large amount of optimism. However, uncertain times often mean taking a hard look at your campaigns and evaluating how they can affect your brand’s image. A little bit of homework may reveal that you need to hit pause. Pepsi discovered this the hard way in 2017, when the company released an ad that many viewers felt trivialized the ongoing Black Lives Matter protests.

Death of A Prominent Personality

The death of a leader can deeply affect the public. Pausing marketing campaigns to the affected community displays respect and empathy.

One excellent example comes from Planters. In early 2020, the company planned to “kill off” its mascot, Mr. Peanut. But when news broke of Kobe Bryant’s death, Planters immediately stopped sharing the ad in paid social media posts, saying they wanted to respect “those impacted by this tragedy”. (The planned TV spot still aired once during the Super Bowl.)

Business Scandals & Brand Crises

When bad press surrounds your business, all marketing needs to stop immediately until the issue has been addressed. And for a recent example of bad press, look no further than Kellogg’s, whose CEO suggested in early 2024 that low-income families could handle rising food costs by just buying more cereal. Unsurprisingly, the backlash was sharp and immediate.

A 2019 study by Crisp Thinking found that 53% of customers expected businesses to respond to a crisis within an hour and 59% stated that they wanted the response to come from the CEO. Following a corporate misstep, hitting the pause button on your marketing campaigns can give you some breathing space to fix your mistake. Additionally, it can reduce opportunities for customers to spread negativity via social media and unsubscribe from your mailing list.

The Decision-Making Process: To Pause Completely or Change Your Tone

The scenarios described above certainly warrant a pause to your planned marketing campaigns. However, they may not necessarily mean stopping all communication with your clientele either. These few questions can help you decide which path to choose:

  • Do you need to send update messages? For example, are there changes to your operational hours or delivery times because of the crisis?
  • Can you build brand awareness while helping your customers? Although regular marketing campaigns may be paused, you can still communicate with your customers by letting them know you’re here to help. For example, if your brand is actively involved with relief efforts in the area, you can direct customers to resources where they can get help or encourage them to donate to the efforts.
  • Does your copy resonate? The last thing you want is for your brand to come across as insensitive or tone-deaf.  Any messaging during a crisis needs to be thoughtful and sensitive. (Quite a few companies learned this the hard way during the infamous era of COVID-themed commercials.)
  • Should you be a part of the conversation at all? There may be situations when a product shouldn’t be flaunted at all. While not exactly an ad, DiGiorno’s hijacking of a domestic violence hashtag to promote pizza is a good example of what not to do.
  • Is it easier to let your customers choose to take a break? Consider giving your customers the power to hit the snooze button on your marketing campaigns. This allows you to give them a highly personalized experience without your customers unsubscribing due to frustration.

If you need help preparing a marketing crisis management plan or implementing one, contact our team at 4Thought Marketing today!

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