Some thoughts on marketing during a crisis
Video interview on what should marketers do now
Last week, I sat down (virtually) with Neeraj Sancheti (CEO and Founder of independent ad agency Kreativ Street) to discuss all things marketing.
We covered a variety of topics including crisis management, does brand purpose make sense in today’s world, what should marketers do in a crisis, the role of marketers, etc.
I hope you enjoy watching this video. Also sharing the key takeaways below, if you would prefer to read.
Key Takeaways
Dealing with a crisis ⛑️
Acknowledge there is a crisis
Communicate clearly and with empathy
Be decisive in your actions
Impact of Covid 19 📉
While we are still dealing with first-order impact (loss of lives), it is the second and the third-order impact, which can lend a crippling blow to the world economy
Plan for the worst in your marketing and product plans
Brand purpose 😇
The brand purpose was invented by ex CMO of P&G Jim Stegnel in his book Grow and later propagated up by agencies as a panacea for all marketing woes of a brand
I believe that any brand has one purpose and it is to serve its customers sustainably
It is important for an organization to have a purpose first. It could be being frugal or being environmentally conscious or being an advocate of equal rights. The organization then has to channelize this across its policies, processes, and employees. Only then a brand can even think about championing a purpose
Brand hijack serious issues for commercial benefits and then provide lip-service by running a few emotional TV spots. This is a worrisome trend and should stop
How am I responding to this crisis 🤘
Ensuring that my brands continue to engage with the customers
Pivoted everything to digital and make digital the number one medium to connect with customers
Identified gaps which can be fulfilled by retooling the product/brand and launched a new thought-leadership series
Having team members who already understand digital technology stack very well was extremely helpful
What should marketers do right now💪
There are three types of marketing campaigns happening right now:
Hijacking the narrative by putting their brands ahead of the crisis. Such as a sudden changs in the positioning of a juice brand to ‘increases immunity’. Such campaigns are a blot on us marketers
Being symbolic. McDonald’s splitting its arches, Dunzo putting out a campaign which also mentions their competitors, etc. These are needed in current time to keep the spirits up
Taking action: There are a few companies that are not thinking about marketing from a ‘campaign’ lens right now. They are modifying their products, making hand sanitizers, facilitating frontline responders, etc. This is the real power of marketing
It is sad to see that most marketers these days think of themselves as communication people. Marketing must play a much more dominant role in the overall strategy of an organization as it understands the voice of the customer. Marketers need to be on the table and leading from the front on not just communication but also product management, pricing, customer service, etc.
It will be lovely to know your views on this. Do reply to this mail to share how you are responding to this crisis as a marketer.
cheers,
Rohit
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