The “Remember” Tendency

I have a preference for underdogs. For me, the most exciting competitions are those where the underdogs are putting a fight against the giants. That’s how I’m picturing the “Remember” tendency: an undertow dancing alongside a tsunami. First, let’s explore the idea then look at how it works.

What’s “Remember”?

When reflecting on the “Remember” core message I can’t help but think of the words of Spanish philosopher George Santayana:

“Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”

We have a lot to learn from the pandemic; we’re facing a lot of problems that we’re definitely not looking forward to seeing again. We’ve witnessed shortages of medical equipment, problems within our educational systems (if kids are happy about skipping school it’s not a coincidence) — not to mention financial fragility of the world markets. You name it and we’ve seen it.

How about directing the market towards fixing some of these issues? The government can do a lot, but it can’t do everything.

A lot of negative is showing up but it’s only one side of the coin. There’s also an undeniable amount of positive emerging from the crisis. Here, let me remind you of some of them: 3D-printed masks shielding against the virus, more time for family and self-reflection, cuisine, creative content showing up every day, clean air, blue sky, home workouts, and so on.

Those beautiful adaptations and innovations deserve a better future than being doomed to disappear when we get back to “normal.” Who could keep them alive better than marketers?

In short, the “Remember” tendency capitalizes on lessons learned from the pandemic to market new products, services, and content as well as to sustain the ones that already became popular.

Now, if you’re wondering where these new products will come from, the global industry is likely to develop the same tendency. They will strengthen what already works and strive to fix the uncovered issues — fix the problem with a product, remember? Besides, in the modern economy, the interaction between marketing and industry has become a chicken-or-the-egg situation. We could produce what marketing finds compelling and we can market what the industry decides to produce.

Why is “Remember” sexy?

I personally find this approach appealing because it fits well with more responsible modes of consumption. We’re witnessing a global rise of interest in self-care, education, and relationships. It’s an opportunity to explore these healthy markets.

For years we’ve been adapting to the market and even though we care about our planet, our health, the education of our children, and the ill in the hospitals, we don’t do much because we’re too busy pursuing an ever-evolving market based on careless consumerism.

The ‘Remember’ undertow is a unique opportunity to upgrade our consuming behaviors without killing the economy. “That’s cute, but real life is something else,” you might be thinking. That’s understandable, but hold that thought.

For instance, if we buy fewer processed foods, we’ll start consuming more of the natural ones — I mean, we still need to eat. We lose numbers in the food industry but we gain them back in agriculture, food conservation, cuisine, and supply chain.

It’s not just a dream. I’ve been living in Paris for the past 3 years. During my stay, I’ve seen increasing numbers of those concerned about their eating habits. As a result, the market has had to adapt. The number of organic food stores has boomed. There’s been an increase in products labeled “BIO” — meaning organic — in non-specialty supermarkets. There has been a 17% growth in the organic food market in France between 2016 and 2017. During the latter, for food products alone, the market was worth 8.4 billion euros. It’s not just food and the French economy. The global fitness market industry was valued at nearly 100 billion dollars during that same year. People are getting more interested in their health and it’s feeding the economy. And when we manage to add eco-friendly to the equation, everybody wins.

In short, what I’m saying is:

The customer behaviors heavily influence the market

There are healthy markets to explore. Making money doesn’t have to be at the cost of customers’ best interest.

That’s why, right now, marketing has a chance to flourish while improving the world.

Our experience with the pandemic influenced our behaviors. To make use of our time indoors we introduced ourselves to new healthy habits. Once we pick a routine, it becomes a part of our brain circuits — a part of who we are. Even after going back to normal, these patterns will stay and influence our decision-making including what we buy.

The content creators and distributors that are giving free subscriptions aren’t only being nice. It’s also a marketing strategy. The marketers are making a bet on the survival of the routines that we picked during the pandemic. Chances are, you will keep on listening to Audible and reading articles on Medium even after social distancing. Maybe you already got the premium version of your meditation app. It may look like a marketing trap but it’s a good one. I’d rather fall for this kind of trap rather than the ones that get me to buy empty calories that will only do harm to my body.