I don’t have a question for The Hotline this week. Instead, it’s on pause in favor of a remembrance and a lesson for any entrepreneur in a disruptive news landscape.
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— Ann Gynn
The Hotline
When Should the News Change My Marketing Plans?
Twenty-five years ago today, I was walking down the stairwell as my office building was evacuated while Flight 93 flew in Cleveland airspace.
I was safe. Thousands of people were not.
The 9/11 attacks stopped normal life. Attention rightly turned to the victims, their families, the rescues, and the recovery. In the days and weeks that followed, people and businesses wrestled with when and how to move forward.
Twenty-five years later, many of us still remember where we were that day. It didn’t feel right to publish this newsletter without acknowledging the day. So, I shifted my content plans.
We hope never to experience anything like that again. But we know the news will sometimes disrupt our lives. As an entrepreneur, how do you know when the news should prompt a change in your marketing?
First, pay attention to what’s happening in the world and your marketplace. While the events of Sept. 11, 2001, filled screens 24-7, many events occur without widespread news coverage that should disrupt your marketing. So, sign up for news alerts, regularly check trustworthy sites, and monitor your social feeds.
Second, create a checklist to assess whether an event should disrupt your business and marketing plans:
Does this directly affect our audience, community, employees, or business? The closer the connection, the more reason you have to reconsider what you planned.
Has our audience’s attention shifted elsewhere? If the normal conversation has effectively stopped, your marketing may be ignored or seem out of place.
Will our scheduled marketing feel wrong in this moment? Consider the message, tone, imagery, and timing. An upbeat social post or hard-sell promotion, for example, may land very differently than you intended.
Has the news changed the context or meaning of what was planned? Words and images appropriate when you scheduled them may no longer be.
How would our marketing look next to the news? Imagine your scheduled ad, email, or post appearing alongside coverage of the event. Are you comfortable with that?
Third, don’t assume you need to say something.
After Carrie Fisher died, Cinnabon posted, “RIP Carrie Fisher. You’ll always have the best buns in the galaxy,” accompanied by her profile drawn in flour with a Cinnabon representing her famous Star Wars hairstyle. The company deleted the post and apologized after people criticized it.
Instead, ask yourself two questions:
Does our business have a legitimate reason to speak? You may if the event directly affects your employees, customers, operations, or community.
Are we helping or just inserting our brand into the story? Not every event requires a branded response. Sometimes the right response is simply to pause.
Oh, and don’t ask these questions just when the news first happens. History matters, especially for high-impact news events.
In 2017, Adidas learned that lesson the hard way. Four years after the Boston Marathon bombing, the sportswear brand sent an email with the subject line, “Congratulations, you survived the Boston Marathon!” It issued an apology within the day.
You’ll also need to know when to resume your marketing activities. There’s no universal waiting period. Instead, revisit the questions that prompted you to pause. Has the conversation broadened? Has the immediate impact passed? Does the planned marketing still feel out of place?
And remember, you don’t have to bring everything back at once. Useful or routine communication may make sense before humorous, celebratory, or hard-sell marketing does. Test the waters and adjust accordingly.
You can’t plan for every news event. But you can plan how you’ll decide what to do when one happens. That makes it far less likely you’ll have to apologize later for marketing that should never have gone out.
Should Trending News Disrupt Your Content Plans? A 2-Question Test (Content Marketing Institute)
Got a question you’d like me to answer in a future edition of The Hotline? Call or text Marketing By One Hotline: +1.440.661.3984.
The Challenge
This week: Plan your marketing pause button. Write down three situations that would prompt you to stop scheduled marketing and reassess before anything else goes out.
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What I Did With AI This Week
I needed to come up with a fresh idea for a marketing webinar. I spoke to this same group in the spring, so I couldn’t use that go-to presentation. ChatGPT helped me come up with a list of ideas, some too close to what I’d already done, others too far from my expertise, and a few hitting just the right spot. And the one I chose will likely turn into a series for The Hotline.
It’s a free webinar from 12 to 1 p.m. Oct. 13. I’ll share the registration link and details when they’re live.
Have any AI tricks of your own? Hit reply, call, or text the Marketing By One Hotline: +1.440.661.3984.
The Marketing Minute
Can we talk easily?
Pretend you're a prospect. Starting on your homepage, how many clicks does it take to figure out how to contact you? If it's more than one or two, simplify it.
The Shortlist
🧠 Think about this: Nine in 10 executives say they’ve made a purchasing decision in the past 90 days after consuming thought leadership content, according to IBM.
📊 Get the stats: Threads expanded its insights reporting, a big help in understanding what’s working with your audience on the platform.
📝 Is this blog on?: Andy Crestodina and Orbit Media released their annual survey and found that only 14% of marketers report strong results from their blog. It’s a great report that’s always worth a read.
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