It’s an increasingly popular mantra that ‘doing good is good for business’ but it’s often cynically dismissed because it may not deliver the required business outcomes. Findings from Deloitte Global’s annual business survey in January this year showed that businesses evolution to balance profit and purpose is accelerating. As I reflect back on a tough year, I’ve discovered firsthand how truly marrying an organisation to a purpose can have phenomenal results, for everyone.
The challenges of 2020 have produced a heightened level of social consciousness as evidenced by movements such as Black Lives Matter. I would argue that it’s a similar consciousness in consumers who are demanding more from the brands and companies they interact and connect with.
So how do we engage this enlightened consumer today? Empathy. Because the social consciousness prevails not only in consumers but in our clients, as well as our teams, their families and the broader communities. More than that I believe leaving our world in a better place than we found it is not just about environmental causes. Our industry needs it more than ever. Doing our part in building better employee experiences, trusted sources of information, better data practices and a stronger sense of community lifts up our industry as a whole.
People First
The last year has taught us that when it comes to dealing with a crisis, it’s important as a brand you show up to support your team, clients and audience where you are needed most. Through making sure we were socially accountable not just externally, but internally, we’ve been able to emerge from this year with a plan in place with the capability and enthusiasm to deliver on it.
We’re constantly working to nurture our people and be an employer of choice attracting the best and brightest of the industry. We preserved headcount and staff hours by taking the necessary steps of cutting costs elsewhere and paid sales commissions. Ultimately, in looking after our people as they adapted to changing conditions, they were able to do what they do best - continuing to help clients navigate growing uncertainty.
And that made a world of difference to our company and the communities we support. This year alone we’ve donated $1m+ worth of time, inventory and money to the likes of Australian Red Cross, Generation, Inco, UnLtd, MMAD, OzHarvest, Ronald McDonald House and Heart on My Sleeve.
True and trusted content
This year, in the light of great social change and era defining moments, we had a huge responsibility to our millions of readers to be straightforward and present the facts. Our position as a global media company means Yahoo Australia has been able to deliver the independent view so many people are craving, without spinning news for the sole purpose of clicks.
We have found trust in editorial and showing empathy to our audiences has been crucial in contributing to an audience growth across our editorial titles in 2020.
March started on hard footing for Verizon Media, we had our marketing budgets as most marketers would have felt the same sting, and we knew if we didn’t work to create trusted, relatable, authentic content for the ‘new normal’ we would lose engagement very quickly.
For example, Yahoo Finance homed in on those hit hardest by the pandemic - women and young Australians. We launched the Women’s Money Movement, a community of resources for women to become more financially independent and the Broke Millennials Club, a group to encourage smart financial choices in a time where we knew it was needed.
The Yahoo Finance brand has seen a phenomenal rise in engagement as a result, with 2.3 million MAU in July 2020, up 1.1 million in July 2019.
Looking ahead into 2021, we recognise we need to do more in shedding light on diverse and broader representation of our society through our media. We’ll be launching a new Diversity & Inclusion content series across Yahoo Lifestyle, and a video series that goes behind the scenes of elite athletes' mental health journeys on Yahoo Sport called Mind Games, digging into the real issues around dealing with pressure.
Responsible use of data
We know in this environment that trust and transparency is growing in importance to our audiences, and as a technology business built on data, we hold the responsibility to be transparent with consumers to be of utmost importance.
As audiences are starting to understand how their data is being measured and stored, they are demanding companies treat it with respect, which of course is leading to the removal of cookies from all web browsers come 2022. This certainly created a new, poorly timed hurdle for the industry, and we expect partnership and industry collaboration will help us through this change.
This change will set new standards for regulations, but what’s most important is that this solution places the customer first. We’re implementing our cookieless solution named Verizon Media ConnectID, which allows marketers to better identify consumers and offer them a better and more targeted advertising experience as a result.
Verizon Media ConnectID helps marketers to maximise the potential of their own first-party data, and publishers leverage first-party audience data all while putting consumer privacy and data-compliance at the top of our priority list.
Community over Crisis
This year has presented a lot of challenges to marketers and media brands, and has sent our entire economy into a tailspin, but it’s also created a lot of opportunities for growth and evolution. We’ve observed that our consumers are now demanding more from brands, and showing support through their spending. This means marketers and brands are advantaged if they stand for something, and are able to communicate this simply to their customers.
Where sustainability and ethical sourcing may have once been specific to sectors such as manufacturing and retail, we are moving into the next phase of conscientiousness where brand reputations are built on customer-centric data privacy policies and supply chain transparency.
Now marketers have the chance to reach new audiences, those who are seeking to engage and connect with brands that have a clear corporate social responsibility and prove it not just through words, but through empathy, action and authenticity.
In short, in shifting our mindset to serve a conscious consumer, we can overcome enormous adversity and challenges. By focusing on how we show up not just for our teams and clients, but for the world, society and the people we serve, the ripple effect of growth is exponential.
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