It’s fair to say that coronavirus is presenting the biggest challenge to life as we know it for generations
At the time of writing, nearly 2,000 people in the UK were confirmed to have been infected, leading to the Government implementing extraordinary measures such as encouraging social distancing for everyone, and self-isolation for those with symptoms.
While sensitivity to heightened emotions and altered priorities is the name of the game, there’s no reason to stop your marketing at this time; in fact, now is the ideal time to make sure your brand remains a constant presence in people’s minds, ready for when normal life resumes.
While the human cost of the virus is obviously a real tragedy, the truth is it will have a huge financial impact too, and so the more you get your brand out there, the better chance you have of bouncing back.
Beating boredom
Self-isolation and social distancing means people will have more time on their hands to scroll through Facebook or browse Instagram, so make sure your brand’s social media channels keep posting regular content.
Make sure you get the tone right; you don’t want to be too blasé and pretend nothing’s happening, but equally you don’t want to be scaremongering or seen to be profiteering. Social media is also a great way of letting people know how you can help if they’re stuck at home, for instance through online services or offering deliveries.
Can you help?
A number of brands have used the coronavirus crisis to get some great PR – while helping out too. Louis Vuitton is one of a number of luxury retailers to announce it will use its perfume production lines to start making hand sanitiser – something that is in desperately short supply. Closer to home, some of the major UK supermarket chains followed Iceland’s lead and announced they will operate dedicated opening hours for the elderly and vulnerable due to the rise of people stockpiling.
Your business may not be in the big leagues, but have a think how it could help. Maybe you’re a café or restaurant; could you offer a home delivery service? Are you a shop with excess stock? Could you do what this Scottish couple did and give away free ‘coronavirus kits’ to the over-65s? Not only were they doing a good deed, but the publicity and goodwill they generated won’t be forgotten in a hurry.
If you’d like to talk to us about keeping your brand in rude health during a pandemic (and no, that’s not a sentence we ever thought we’d be writing), throw us a bone on info@harveyandhugo.com
