Brands in time of Covid pandemic

Business structures will have to be re-evaluated in order for brands to stay relevant.

We are in the midst of a global pandemic that has affected everything—from our health to our economy. Maintaining business as usual feels like a distant dream. Such a situation requires brands to think of possible exit strategies while keeping in mind the well-being of their employees.

 A brand is the emotional connection between a business and a consumer. Business continuity planning is not possible without taking into account brand continuity planning. They are two sides of the same coin.

Brands need to first understand the meaning of ‘continuity’ in today’s context.  They will not be able to pick up from where they left off and continue to move on as if nothing happened. If something is not relevant, brands need to figure out a pivot strategy for it,brands should adopt a humanitarian approach.

Any and every brand needs to be human. Across the country, people are showing solidarity and brands need to showcase that as well. Maybe, brands can just take a backseat and think, ‘how can humans behave at this point in time?’ For a consumer to come and interact with any of the retail brands, trust and safety are the two most important factors. Brands have to stick to it; it can’t just be a lip service. Listening to consumers is crucial.

In order to strike a chord with consumers during these tough times, brands need to realign their business goals, giving more importance to relevance instead of revenue.

 Consumers will always buy the staple FMCG products, so I don’t think those categories will suffer. However, within those categories, brands that stay salient are the brands that are going to win.Brands can also use this time to explore and expand its consumer base, especially for segments that have seen a spike in popularity.

Globally, as well as in India, there has been a huge uptake of content in the online entertainment space. There’s been a tectonic shift in watching video on demand. The scenario is now shifting from mobile to television. Till now we were going ahead with a mobile-first approach, but now we are developing apps for a variety of television sets. At the end of the day, brands need to create a proposition that will be relevant today, as well as in the long run.

It’s important for brands to change their narratives at an organisation level to understand what they need to achieve and how to go forward with it.