We live in difficult times, with the world shut down, and larger populations are staying back home. However, with every adversity comes an opportunity. Let us take a look at how various brands have portrayed themselves through advertising during these confusing times.
Volkswagon’s ad Respect shows the various essential services that use their commercial vehicles. It highlights that we need to be more patient and understanding and show respect to those who are ensuring things life goes on.
Through a series of curious print ads - The Great Indoors, the Jeep suggests that we explore adventures in the media room, arts/craft and kitchen for the time being.
With an ad that starts all racy, Porsche hit the senses with a grinding halt and asks us to stay home – Ease Temptation. Stay Home.
Audi takes a different route. The Drive is a four-hour long ad that aims at providing an experience of driving through the winding roads and beautiful landscapes of Australia. Audi's print ad called Keep Distance conveys social distancing in the most eye-catching way.
Telenor the Norwegian telecommunicator urges people to change their WiFi names to spread awareness and solidarity.
While from India, Tata Parvesh shows a brilliant ad that looks at various doors in India that remains shut.
The Flower Council of Holland spread a message of positivity through the vibrant flowers - #lethopebloom.
Nike’s Play for the World campaign has us hooked with a global messaging of staying home and playing for the world.
As a salute to the front-line health care workers, Dove’s ad talks about ‘Courage’.
Uber’s Thank you for not riding ad is endearing as it compiles real-life moments from the lockdown across the globe.
As marketers and advertisers, you might face a dilemma of whether or not to increase ad spends in the current times when a larger population is home. If your products were on the critical essential risk, this question becomes more pertinent. Would advertising get the potential consumer looking your way? While this was the question that was most relevant at the start of March 2020.
However, as we move more into the lockdowns, the messaging is changing. Restaurants' are looking at home-deliveries, digital companies are talking about security while Auto companies are suggesting how to avail and use their benefits.
With a lot of people consuming more digital media, there has been a clear re-direction towards digital platforms, and more skewed towards the mobile phones. While there is more audience who consumes more content from news websites and channels, brands do not want to post their ads right after any news related to coronavirus. This has impacted the ad revenue and the news companies who uses this income to subsidize their free news content is finding its revenue taking a hit.
Brands feel that there is less traction if someone reads about a spa resort or cruise ship ads next to the news that talks about corona spread in the cruise ship or other updates on the outbreak. While the brands revisit their messaging to adapt to current trends, we might see an upswing on the ad spends in the coming weeks. Here are some of the insights from the trends that are catching because of lockdown.
Keeping these in mind and re-looking your advertising strategy for your brand. All efforts would directly get you more attention, now more than ever.