Blog: What brands can take away from the Google Year in Search report 2020

Google believes that the year 2020 exposed a simple truth: that there is no universal human experience. To move forward, you need to look backwards. To get ready for what’s next, it’s therefore essential to understand what matters most to consumers. Google Search data illuminates just that path forward. The Google Year in Search 2020 Report is a must-read for all marketers, across geographies. It provides perspectives that appear deceptively simple, but are really a compass pointing smart strategists in the direction of consumer thinking. 

 

Let us look at some of the interesting highlights from across Apac.

 

Confronting stigmas: People are confronting stigmas and discreetly educating themselves, even on taboo topics.

Considering others: People are considering others’ unique needs, too, and looking for ways to accommodate them.

Google says that only 1 in 5 people feel represented in the ads they see (according to Global Web Index), which presents huge opportunities for brands to innovate and grow. The report provides some interesting examples: 

Higher purpose: As global crises test their values, people are looking for ways to do more for their communities and the environment – and they expect the same from brands. Future-gazing site www.trendwatching.com notes that while sustainability concerns aren't new, consumers have shifted from seeking eco-status to avoiding eco-shame. It also says that business in 2021 will be shaped by purposed business professionals creating new products and services that are sustainable, inclusive and profitable.

 

Environmental impact: Confronted with their own personal consumption habits during lockdowns, people have been reassessing their impact on the environment

Google believes that for brands, going beyond corporate social responsibility and environmentalism, is really about expanding where you can make meaningful connections with (and for) consumers. Meeting their personal functional and emotional needs should be a given. Now, it's just as important to actively support their communities and take actions to integrate sustainability into your business. 

Whole selves: Google believes that lines are blurring in the roles people play, and consumers are looking to have more specific needs met at any one time. As innovations in one industry (on-demand taxis) can drive expectations in another (on-demand groceries), the burden is on brands, not consumers, to keep up.

 

Work-life efficiency: Efficiency is more important than ever, as people struggle to manage work and home needs under one roof.

Google’s big take on the subject is that people bring their whole selves to your brand, not just their consumer identities. A wider understanding of a brand’s audience ultimately means a wider business opportunity. For example, the Google Report emphasizes, about 60% of Internet content is in English, but native English speakers comprise only 5.4% of the global population. Which is why Google urges brands to:

Sweet Relief: One of Google’s key learnings is that happiness never goes out of style and during adversity consumers especially welcome brands that spark joy in their lives and create a safe space for them to take a break. Consumers are discovering new kinds of downtime.

Google’s hypothesis is that brands that surprise and delight can reap the rewards of consumer love – especially when they do it with empathy for people's unique experiences and challenge.

 

Google suggests to brands that they understand their consumers' point of view to make things fun in a more personal way. Google here quotes its own example for work done on Avengers. In conjunction with the release of Avengers: Endgame, Google had a special Easter egg for users last year.If you searched the term 'Thanos' on Google and clicked on the Infinity Gauntlet icon the right, the icon would animate into the Thanos infamous finger-snap that wiped out half the universe's population in the previous Avengers: Infinity War film. Fortunately for users, the finger-snap on the Google browser would only eliminate half of the search results. So you could sit back and watch the results disintegrate into dust. And if you clicked on the Infinity Gauntlet icon again and the results would return!

 

Humour works. So Google says be funny, too. (In good taste, of course!). Google mentions Mars chocolates’ Sticky Searcuations as a winner of an idea.

 

Future Proofing: Google’s last big learning from 2020 is that in a year that nobody could have predicted or planned for, there's been a new wave of interest in managing the things you can control, future-proofing our lives wherever possible and seeking more assurance from brands to ensure peace of mind.

Google urges brands to account for their consumers’ desire for peace of mind, lower appetite for risk, and forward-planning mindset when crafting business strategy and communications. Future lessons therefore: 

Nett nett, the overall learnings of the report can be summed up as follows: 

 

1. Nods to diversity, equity, and inclusion aren't enough. It takes empathy for the sheer variety of situations consumers face, and authentic outreach to those seeking help – both that impact the experiences for your brand.

2. Expand your territories to make meaningful connections with (and for) consumers, beyond traditional corporate social responsibility. Actively support their communities and integrate sustainability into your brand values.

3. Challenge your business to reexamine and redefine traditional industry norms. A wider understanding of human needs means a wider business opportunity.

4. Brands that surprise and delight can reap the rewards of consumer love – especially when they do it with empathy for people's unique experiences and challenges.

5. Account for your consumers' desire for peace of mind, lower appetite for risk, and forward-planning mindset when crafting your business strategy and communications.

 

This concludes the three-part series on the Google Report. 

 

Dr. Sandeep Goyal is chairman, Mogaé Media. 

 

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