In times of crisis, the best communication strategy can humanize a brand and strengthen its connection with the public.
As the coronavirus spreads across the globe and the number of infections rises exponentially, the behavior of thousands of consumers has been affected, posing new challenges to different companies around the world, as shown by a recent study from Captify's premium publisher network.
The declaration of the disease as a pandemic by the World Health Organization, the declared state of emergency and quarantine in many countries, and the cancellation of flights and land travel have been just some of the measures ordered by governments around the world to slow this serious disease — events that have triggered an impact on the economy, politics and family well-being.
This context, which reminds us of the H1N1 flu pandemic that emerged in Mexico in 2009 and touched several countries in North America, South America and Europe, leads us to observe how, even in times of crisis, communication from consumers to their brands and from brands to their followers plays a key role in raising awareness, preventing, and even reducing the spread of a disease.
According to the Captify report, searches about the coronavirus have grown by 11,434% since January, including consumer goods and packaged products (728%), delivery orders (58.7%) and pharmaceutical purchases (38.11%).
On the other hand, the product categories that have been losing consumer interest are travel, down by as much as 300%, events down more than 215%, and luxury goods, trending down -76.2%.
Staying top of mind is every brand's challenge, even in difficult times, and it requires a communication strategy that, whether from a public relations agency or advertising agency, should be geared toward being empathetic and approachable — one that doesn't necessarily sell its product or brand, but shows solidarity with those who today need to see its more human side.
Brands that now have more opportunity to shine, thanks to the quarantine declared in many countries, are finding space in the growing home office pairing, such as: Netflix, Hulu, Prime, Roku and HBO, which rank among the most in-demand with the millennial community, positioning, for example, the movie “Contagion,” directed by Steven Soderbergh, as one of the most searched-for films worldwide — so the golden opportunity for these entertainment brands can't go unnoticed.
There's no doubt that consumer search and interest trends have led to a considerable imbalance that has hurt the economy of many organizations and companies around the world; but since opportunity is born from every crisis, there's always room to build creative communication strategies that bring brands and consumers closer together, strengthening ties and building a better global society.