This year has certainly thrown the world for a loop. With COVID-19 (Coronavirus) causing so much disruption to daily life, businesses have had to get creative with the ways they market themselves to maintain their customer loyalty and brand recognition. Some of the ways companies have done this include increasing engagement on social media posts and re-formatting prior marketing strategies. Some companies have even gone as far as utilizing their current resources to make protective gear for front line workers throughout the country and leveraged this to gain goodwill with their customers.
Given the widespread effects of the coronavirus, many companies have had to rethink their current marketing campaigns to align with our new reality. An example of this was from Hotels.com, the popular online travel agency. The company had originally planned a campaign to re-run a set of commercials that showed consumers sitting close together and sharing snacks while flying to their destination. At the time these ads were created, this was cute and playful. Today they would be viewed as inappropriate and out of touch with current standards of social distancing. As a result, the company had to quickly re-work their plan to ensure that their marketing efforts aligned with our current environment.
Businesses across the country have come together to support their community throughout the pandemic. Many have made financial contributions or donated supplies and sanitation equipment. Others, like Lily Pulitzer, have used their existing infrastructure and materials to sew masks and distribute them to hospitals across the country that were experiencing a shortage in personal protective equipment (PPE).
While the impacts of this global pandemic have been horrific, marketing teams around the world have risen to the occasion to do what’s necessary for this unprecedented situation. Their efforts have not gone unnoticed by their consumers and have allowed them to maintain and even increase their consumer loyalty and brand recognition.
-Mary, Summer 2020 Intern