2-4-6-8 Who do we appreciate?
You cannot have failed to notice we are well and truly into the campaign season.
Across the pond, Donald Trump is banging the drum for his Keep America Great campaign, as he seeks re-election. Kamala Harris, who I had never heard of 3 days ago, is now one of the most searched people in the world, as she has been added to Joe Biden’s Democratic campaign ticket as Vice President nominee. And, every sports fixture from football to Formula One now starts with participants taking a knee, showing their support for the Black Lives Matter campaign.
It won’t surprise you to know that Focus7 and our travel subsidiary, Professional Travel Advisors, have both been on the campaign trail too. Our campaign was something truly unique, as it brought together over 140 businesses from the UK, USA and Australia, campaigning together with one message – Unite on Purpose.
The campaign, created collaboratively under the guidance of brand guru Linzi Boyd of BoB Earth (BoB is the Business of Brand) was designed to demonstrate what can be achieved when companies with a common goal work together. It showed how unity in approach and cooperation can achieve so much more than division and conflict.
What brought the businesses in our campaign together was that we all share an approach to business growth; we are all purpose-driven, and we are brand-led. Purpose is the new currency, ‘Purpose before Profit’ the mantra of the 21st Century economy. Businesses, employers, employees and consumers care about what you care about. They are looking for emotional connections, not just transactional relationships, they want to work with and buy from people who are values or purpose-driven, people looking to make a positive change in their communities, society and in the world.
Our campaign, to Unite on Purpose, and Join the Quiet Revolution towards a purpose-driven economy, was all about building awareness and engagement. So, what did we do, and did it work?
Video, radio, podcasts and vodcasts, press articles and PR, email marketing and social media were all used, and collectively the results were astounding. Every business involved has individually seen increased awareness and engagement. Conversations have been started with existing and lapsed customers and new prospects have been brought to the table. Within Focus7 and Professional Travel Advisors, we have seen a more than 50% increase in engagement with our email marketing and social media. We have been invited to be interviewed on local radio, have featured in several publications and have been asked to present our message in multiple business networking groups.
Collectively, results have been astonishing. The campaign launched at 9 am on Thursday 30th July. By 9.30 am, our campaign hashtags, #UniteOnPurpose and #JoinTheQuietRevolution were both trending amongst the UK’s top 10 hashtags on Twitter, staying in the Top 10 until the middle of the afternoon. That is genuinely remarkable.
Conversations have shifted from products, services and sales to purpose and brand. Customers and suppliers have asked how they can become involved in the campaign and how to go about discovering or communicating their purpose better.
It has been a great experience. Amongst all the chaos of Covid and the worst recession in the UK’s history, there really is a quiet revolution taking place. If you’d like to join it, get in touch and let’s talk about how, quietly, of course!