Grit, Grace, and Generosity: Brand Leadership in a Time of Crisis

This is not another treatise by a marketer on how to survive the economic threat of Covid-19. It is about the deeper subject of understanding the emotions that shape human behavior and how purpose-driven brands can navigate a pandemic that threatens the very fabric of our society – a society that is also grappling with the harsh reality of systemic racism.

We have been thrust into an unfathomable crisis brought on by an invisible enemy. We try frantically to deal with the difficult notion of flattening the curve, aware that our actions at this moment in history will be testimony to how well we endured. Importantly, we are trying to flatten the ugly specter of racial discrimination that has plagued this country for centuries. In an environment where economic and societal equilibrium itself is at risk, marketers and brand managers are serious about their position on the front lines and helping frame a human-value-based standard that will define what brand building will look like going forward.

Examining what it means to be a purpose-driven brand in this tumultuous time requires widening the aperture through which brands across both the private and public sphere are viewed. Consumer sentiment research suggests that 62% of people believe that brands will play a ‘critical role’ in the fight against Covid-19. That puts a heavy responsibility on brands to deliver on this expectation—even at the possible sacrifice of short-term financial gain—to ensure the trust and loyalty of consumers long after this ordeal is over. The high stakes are underscored by the fact that 71% of consumers state that if a brand puts profit over people, the brand’s trust will be permanently lost.

Karestan Koenen, professor of psychiatric epidemiology at Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health, notes that extreme responses may result from people fearing their survival is threatened or that they need to take action to feel in control. This explains the hoarding phenomenon, for example, and people today are worried about the economy, their health and the plight of front-line health workers, according to the Ad Council’s recent research.

Such extreme responses need to be closely examined with the results from a special report by the Edelman Trust Barometer, released in June 2019, which showed that brand trust figured equally as a purchase consideration with quality, value, convenience and ingredients. That raises the prospect that branding could take on a different meaning going forward.

Before the pandemic, consumers felt in control as they satisfied their needs against the iconic Hierarchy of Needs enunciated by Abraham Maslow, rising from the basic physiological demands of food, water and warmth, through safety, relationships and ultimately to self-actualization. In Maslow’s terms, we have reverted almost overnight to the baseline safety and survival needs. 

This abrupt change has been stressful, with more than a third of Americans feeling anxious and tired.  

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

Today’s laser focus on survival and security has de-emphasized the other needs of love, belonging and self-esteem, and limited the opportunities to fulfill them. 

We are now faced with major mental health concerns, expressed by half of Americans and an accompanying hesitancy to make large purchases beyond the bare necessities because 79% say they’ve already been “at least a little” financially affected by the current health crisis. The associated desire by 74% to stay updated on all things Covid-19, a 51% increase in consumption of streaming entertainment content and a huge switch to remote work all suggest we are now living on an always-on digital stage.

In this Zoomified- reality, which brands will thrive?

Not just thrive economically, but thrive from a share of heart perspective where we see consumers embrace brands that embody compassion, empathy and an impetus to act. Taking authentic and visible actions is critically important, given that 50% of Americans believe brands are sharing meaningful messages, but not necessarily taking meaningful action.

To drive action, you need to ignite motivation through emotion. According to research company RMT, Maslow’s Hierarchy has to be reimagined to reflect the fact that consumer behavior has become more nuanced,  in addition the proliferation of big data and the escalation of media usage has reshaped our daily lives, especially in the face of Covid-19. The company recently conducted a big data experiment that empirically validated Maslow, but identified 15 motivational levels which, through the lens of a brand marketing perspective, could be reconfigured under a rubric of “Three Es”—Emotion, Ego and Experience. 

The relevance of the Three Es perspective was evident in the Budweiser's One Team ad, which was one of the most promising pitches released during the pandemic, based on consumer reaction. It captured several of these newly-revealed Maslovian levels through its expression of altruism and heroism. 

 That many Americans are trying to stay positive, expressing feelings of gratitude (53%) and hope (38%), reminds us that brands can only effectively connect with consumers when they are on the same emotional wavelength.

 Three Es of Motivation 

Activism-inspired messaging is often tied to brand purpose, which has increasingly become part of the marketing playbook ever since Dove launched its Campaign for Real Beauty almost 15 years ago. That ground-breaking work was inspired by the insight that only 2 percent of the women considered themselves beautiful, and it was followed by other brand purpose classics such as P&G’s Always “Like a Girl” and State Street’s Fearless Girl.

In the pre-Covid-19 days, when customers were not making decisions solely on basic survival needs, they were asking what the brand did and what it stood for. Purpose mattered. But scrutiny of a brand’s authenticity has now exploded with the force of heightened expectations, as 98% of Americans expect brands to take some form of action during the pandemic, especially by providing financial support.

 Purpose has been elevated to code red.

We have thus moved from purpose as usual to purpose as crucial. Purpose has taken on new meaning, up to and including saving lives. But purposeful execution comes with large responsibilities and calls for resonant leadership—a mandate that brands both large and small should respond to with the essential qualities of grit, grace and generosity. 

Three Gs Framework

The power of grit, as the first of the Three Gs, has been addressed by psychologist  Angela Duckworth. She says that grit requires both passion and perseverance—two qualities that do not rely on innate talent, but on resilience and single-mindedness. 

From her own experiences, Duckworth reminds us that though she was, as her father constantly reminded her, “no genius,” she possessed a steadfast never give up mindset that propelled her to academic excellence. Her TED talk on grit has been viewed by over 10 million people, and she is a highly sought-after international speaker.

Grit is often associated with a sense of purpose, a link that is wonderfully illustrated by the anecdote of President John F. Kennedy’s first visit to NASA headquarters, in 1961. 

While touring the facility, he introduced himself to a janitor who was mopping the floor and asked him what he did at NASA. The janitor responded: “Mr. President, I'm helping put a man on the moon.”  

Purpose is the sense that we are part of something bigger than ourselves, that we are needed, that we have something better ahead we are striving for. Grit propels us closer toward purpose.

But having grit and staying firm to purpose are not sufficient for success. Brand leaders must know how to get things done—with people, through people and for people. Grace, in the context of humility and leadership, is about diplomacy, forming effective coalitions and seamlessly getting buy-in from competing stakeholders. Inspired by historical leaders, we are reminded how Abraham Lincoln showed grace under pressure by including political foes in his cabinet. Lincoln’s political genius was evident in his strong understanding of human relations. He followed a simple premise: If you treat people fairly, you are going to have them as allies. In the battle against Covid-19, we must remember that the key to giving brands meaning is to give people meaning.   

We need to elevate our quest from brand-building to people-building at a time when the daily toll on lives, jobs and health has struck at the heart of consumer confidence. People-building requires sensitivity, empathy, compassion, kindness, honesty— and above all, unconditional generosity. Today we need to keep in mind that people are hurting, their spirits broken and their hopes dashed. A brand needs to demonstrate that it aligns with what people are crying out for—safety, security and solid facts.

This is a call for leadership at the highest level of emotional intelligence, where the leader brings both emotional self-regulation and empathy to how others are feeling. According to Howard Gardner, Professor of Cognition, Education and Psychology at Harvard, emotional intelligence is the ability to understand other people, what motivates them and how to work cooperatively with them. Emotional intelligence opens hearts and minds, sparking compassionate generosity as the turmoil people face becomes painfully apparent.   

Generosity (as an action) is more visible as a brand trait than grit and grace. Faced with the urgency of the pandemic, the more unconditional the giving, the more enduring the impact on brand equity and, more importantly, on human life. As the global death toll of reaches unimaginable numbers, the race for a cure has resulted in more than 90 vaccines being developed by research teams in companies and universities across the world. 

Three Gs in Action

J&J’s Race Against Time

Johnson & Johnson is no stranger to health crisis situations. From the 1918 Spanish Flu to the Covid-19 pandemic, J&J has championed the needs of front-line health workers, most recently adding $50 million to its $250 million commitment to in cash grants, personal protective equipment, employee donations, volunteering and J&J product donations. From its beginnings in 1886, the three Johnson brothers worked tirelessly to create a line of ready-to-use surgical dressings to treat soldiers in the Spanish-American War. That same dedication led J&J to introduce a new Ebola vaccine in eastern Congo last November.

Alex Gorsky, J&J chief executive, calls the Covid-19 vaccine a “moonshot” and a race against time if the typical five- to seven-year time frame is condensed to that many months. J&J has had to work seamlessly and gracefully with stakeholders in the crowded race to launch an effective vaccine. These include J&J lab leaders, research institutions, the Department of Health and Human Services and the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, which has committed $456 million to the J&J effort. J&J will commit a roughly equal amount, expecting to start human trials on a promising vaccine candidate in September and projects full global access to one billion doses using a non-profit approach.

Demonstrating grit, grace and generosity, J&J is not only living its Credo, but could potentially emerge as the company identified with helping defeat Covid-19 across the world.

Unilever: Feeding hope, saving lives

Formed in 1929 at the start of the Great Depression, Unilever understands the essential role consumer sentiment plays in uncovering the emotional needs behind brand affinity, in both predictable and unpredictable times.

Purpose and helping people survive hard times has been the core of the Anglo-Dutch company’s culture. During the 1941 Blitz, Lifebuoy soap provided a free emergency washing service to Londoners, and “Lifebuoy vans equipped with hot showers, soap and towels visited bomb-struck areas of the capital to offer much-needed mobile washing facilities,” according to company historians. Fast forward 80 years and the company has joined forces with the U.K. government’s Department for International Development to raise awareness and change behavior during the Covid-19 pandemic, targeting a billion people worldwide with a $125 million handwashing campaign.

Alan Jope, Unilever’s chief executive, reminds us that grit at a time of pandemic is not about big strategic moves like M&A, but on-the ground, day-to-day operations and using “operational brains” to ensure HR, supply-chain and production are operating flawlessly. That includes using empathy and transparency to connect with the needs of all stakeholders. Unilever has taken a 360-degree multi-stakeholder approach as it gracefully manages the crisis, with Jope emphasizing support not only to consumers and employees but also to vendors, pledging $549 million to help vulnerable small- and medium-sized suppliers.

To spark generosity among its employees, the United for America initiative showcased a national Day of Service on May 21, where the company dedicated its workforce to the community and donated all the products it manufactured that day or similar or equal value to those impacted by Covid-19. It partnered with Feeding America to support a national network of foodbanks to distribute these products to Americans in need.

As one of the world’s biggest consumer-goods companies, it has been on the front line of the Covid-19 outbreak—it sells food, hygiene products and essential staples to 2.5 billion customers in 190 countries. The continuous supply of its products and Jope’s decisive leadership have unquestionably made a difference.

Cuomo & Ardern: Fireside calm in a crisis

One state and one country, nine thousand miles apart. New York is home to the world’s mega metropolis, a financial, cultural and commercial center, with eight million inhabitants. New Zealand is an archipelago of 600 islands in the south western Pacific,—the small country at the bottom of the world. 

They share one thing in common—each has a leader who displays the perfect combination of emotion, empathy and wisdom. The key lesson brands can take from these political leaders is the fine art of persuasive communications and the skill of building relationships based on trust.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s daily press briefing has become a lesson in crisis leadership, as his simple and authoritative communication style not only calms New Yorkers, but gets them to follow his orders. 

Jacinda Ardern, New Zealand’s Prime Minister, showed courageous leadership as she carefully heeded scientific advice early on and prioritized elimination of the virus with her “go hard and go early” approach .Her actions have positioned her as a global leader with a strong command of the issues, who has used firm, empathetic and consistent messaging. Her strategy helped New Zealand flatten the curve faster than many other nations. One innovation has been her frequent Facebook Live chats that are both informal and informative, and connect her emotionally, truthfully and very personally with her constituents (she mentioned putting her toddler to sleep just before one of the calls).

Cuomo displays grit through a different communication medium, as he perseveres through televised daily briefings with statistical charts (in simple PowerPoints) and personal anecdotes of his family life, reminding the public we are all in this together. He implores New Yorkers to acknowledge their interdependence and honor their responsibility to each other to slow down the pandemic’s path of destruction. The interdependence platform was the message FDR used to garner support for the New Deal. Cuomo at one point even quotes FDR on Twitter:  "The news is going to get worse & worse before it gets better & better, and the American people deserve to have it straight from the shoulder.”

Ardern also elevated the urgency of interdependence, reminding New Zealanders not only to “be kind to each other” but acknowledging the strong support she will need from all stakeholders. She has gracefully gained support of the nation’s broader political system—the public service, health experts, the opposition and the vast majority of the nation’s nearly five million people—in the campaign to combat Covid-19.

Cuomo and Ardern both know that beyond the direct threat to life and wellbeing, the biggest challenge of Covid-19 is fear and a feeling of helplessness. As effective leaders, they counteract these debilitating emotions through a demeanor that, as McKinsey says, is a combination of “deliberate calm” and “bounded optimism.”

In the Eye of the VUCA Storm

Good brand leadership at the end of the day is about good people leadership. In a crisis, uncertainty rules, speed prevails over perfection and strategic priorities are trumped by short-term operational realities. The military acronym VUCA—standing for Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous—offers a valuable framework for leaders to manage the grave threat that the world now faces. Decisive action taken early, taken by leaders like Ardern when confronted with an ambiguous threat, outperformed those who discounted risk, delayed action and hoped for more clarity, producing outcomes such as have been seen in Italy, Spain and the US.

The Road Home

Even the best leaders cannot foresee the road ahead, but how they respond will define the trajectory of the battle against Covid-19. We have uncovered many lessons for brand leaders by studying human motivation, emotional intelligence, the annals of history and even military frameworks. We’ve explored actions by leaders in healthcare, consumer goods, and politics, demonstrating how this cataclysmic moment in history has unraveled who has risen to the occasion and most importantly who we want at the head of the table as we move towards a safer, gentler tomorrow -- a tomorrow that calls each of us to lead with grit, grace and above all, infinite generosity.