What The Pandemic Could Teach You About Your Brand

As we all attempt to claw our way out of this mess, marketers face a complex challenge: what’s in store for our brand once we’re over the hump, past the curve, on the other side, etc? Consumer behavior has changed dramatically in the past weeks and months. But which behaviors will remain post-COVID? And is there a way for a brand to lock in relevance under the current circumstances, and then benefit from this position long term?

Of course, the first item of business is for the brand to uncover its thing of relevance. Is it Weather Tech’s non-porous, and therefore (we’re supposed to infer) germ-impervious materials? Is it FoodSaver’s vacuum-sealing food preservation capability, addressing both 1) hunker-down style stockpiling, and 2) reducing trips to, and exposure at, the grocery store? Is it online education providers who find themselves in a world where the vulnerability of brick and mortar schools has been laid bare and the “alternative” concept of on-line interaction made commonplace, if not preferable?

Once you’ve got this figured out, the key is in crafting the appropriate message to deliver it. This is no time for equivocating. It calls for clarity, a direct communication of the benefit and clearly articulated support for its value. Don’t bury the lede – make it clear and demonstrate it if you can. Informing is more powerful than entertaining in this case. In times of need, what people are looking for is an answer, not a poem.

It's tempting to go emotional, given the current high-stress situation. But the bigger, and longer-term, opportunity is to provide a meaningful benefit that folks are willing to pay for. Find a problem to solve, an issue to address, a vacuum to fill. This is basic advertising stuff. Nothing fancy. But for building businesses, it’s needed now more than ever, in these uncertain/unprecedented times.
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