Coronavirus: The role of marketing in a pandemic

This is a scenario without precedent. It’s given businesses and their marketing teams plenty to consider. The important message is, we can help, we are helping and we’re ready to use everything at our disposal to support our clients as they navigate this bizarre new normal.

So, what do you do when a pandemic hits? What happens to your brand’s campaigns? How important is marketing at a time like this? Well, one thing’s for sure, whether you’re feeling the hit of this now or not, we all need to be acting now and planning for the upturn - right now.

We're working with many clients in diverse industries to amend, review and refocus strategies in line with the current climate.

People first — how to adapt

Of course, pandemics have a huge effect on people and places. and that’s where we’ll start first.

At Extreme, how are we working through a crisis? Here, we took a slightly earlier decision than many to move to remote working — we’re lucky enough to work in an industry that lends itself to it.

We have technology on our side and, with national clients, we’re more than used to video conferencing. This move meant we planned (as much as was possible) how we might tackle our ‘new normal’.

For clients, this means it’s business as usual in the sense that we’re here and ready to do our jobs. We have all the software we need to track, log, launch and run digital marketing campaigns at our fingertips. Are we having to adapt some things and be agile? Yes. But digital is, as an industry, fast by nature — so we’re ok with that.

Pandemic marketing: Agility and humanity are key

So, what and how should we market in challenging times?

Marketing is essential — it helps get the information we need out there and in front of the people who need to see it. A well-managed, well-devised campaign at a time like this can, quite literally, save lives, but, if poorly timed, pitched or managed, it can also be misunderstood, perceived as opportunist land-grabbing and therefore has potential to negatively impact a brand. So your marketing strategy has never been more important.

We’re all busy spending time this week looking at what we have scheduled, talking to our clients and, where necessary, pushing back or delaying anything which may not fit the current climate, but note we didn’t say stopping. No, we’re adapting, advising and planning, because although this is a huge shift for us all, it is temporary and we need to be looking at what our customers, consumers and end users may need in the coming weeks and months. On top of all of this, never have more people been working from home, looking at screens and consuming media, so it’s absolutely the time for the right content to reach them.

Our advice to any business currently paying for marketing is to speak to your agency, that’s why you pay them — if you’re worried, tap into their creative brains and look for other ways to communicate different messages that really serve and will resonate with your customers when they might feel like the world is on fire!

Right now, businesses are worried, but so are consumers. They won’t appreciate cheap shots during a tough situation, so work, but be mindful and be ready for coming out of the otherside with a strategy that works.

Marketing for good

What else can we do as marketers? Well, we can all use the skills we have to do something for the greater good. We’re already looking at how we might be able to help the amazing community groups with an app, or maybe provide some area resources on who is around to help the vulnerable etc. We’re only just getting started, but there’s never been a better time to do something for others.