So, the major question in the ongoing pandemic is how should brands advertise? How much should they communicate? How can brands break the clutter?
Time to Act
Chairman, Group CEO, Tarun Rai, says, brands and organizations need to doing this or taking actions to help people through this current crisis. It is time to act directly or by supporting the people. For establishing such acts, the two major metrics to be considered are; empathy and authenticity.
Brands must prepare for the post lockdown stage and plan their marketing budgets to meet the suppressed consumer demands in order to break through the clutter, added Rai.
The ads which influenced during these times were the brand “Ford”. In order to counter this situation, the company depicted its ads to explain how they scaled their business during the global pandemic. They explained how the company manufactured military equipment during World War II, and the brand showed its commitment towards fighting coronavirus through manufacturing medical equipment during short supply.
Advertising experts saay ‘emotional brainwashing’ will not work anymore. Brands and marketers need to add value to customers by solving their problems. For example, an agency came up with a campaign ‘ WeddingfromHome for Shaadi.com, in which it conducts virtual weddings amidst the pandemic. And these solutions could be ranging from sanitized solutions for homes or cars to creating platforms that enable people to manage the emotional stress they face during the lockdown.
Some experts add brands can communicate through their actions by providing real-time solutions. In the case of HDFC bank, the company used the brand logo’s outer grid to create tangible markets in helping people to maintain ‘social distancing’ while they wait near shops or ATMs.
Amit Wadhwa, President of Densu Impact, said there is always going to be a challenge to become unique and being relevant to the brand. He also adds that, one needs to be salient if they don’t want to be forgotten. The brands should also take care not to repeat and it is the responsibility of their agencies to ensure they have the right amount of communication.
