It may sound presumptuous but with my 40+ years in marketing and communication, I’ve seen this before: how something dramatic brings everything to a stop. Like the dotcom crash in the late 90’s, when startups lived well for some time, funded by Other Peoples’ Money. Like the SARS virus in 2003, as easy breeze compared to Corona. Like the stock market crash in 2008, following the Lehman failure, when countries like Iceland, Greece and Spain almost went bankrupt.And now, with the unprecedented plague-like Corona virus.If we for a moment put the tragic effects on life and health aside, let’s look ahead, let’s look at our brands and life after Corona.(NB: I’m not talking about all the small enterprises, like restaurants and cafés, struggling to survive. I’m talking about bigger companies with marketing staff and budgets).
What can we do to come out ahead when consumers come back? How can we not only keep our brands alive, but even make them stronger? A lazy marketer stops activities, or keeps going as planned at best. A smart marketer sees an opportunity now to build their brand now, maybe even increase spending when media prices are good and eyeballs are looking for distraction from the somber news. It’s in times like these market shares can be won, and those wins often stay when the market turns.
A short sighted marketer looks at the market as it is now, based on surveys and panels where consumers say whatever to please the interviewer.A smart marketer uses tools and methods to predict where the market and customers are going to be 6 – 12 months ahead, so they can be there when competition is trying to catch up.
I’ve been fascinated with planning since I first met the discipline at Anderson & Lembke New York, the world’s best b2b agency in the 90’s (true!). A smart planner always tries to look ahead, using various tools to bring great insights to the table. Now however, with the power of Big Data and AI (yes, here it is again, that Artificial Intelligence everybody is talking about) predictions can be made faster, more accurate, and at a lower cost. And not only for communication, but for all tools in the marketing box.
Right now, in the midst of tough times for people and companies, we know it’s going to turn up again. And then, those who had the smarts and foresight to plan ahead, they and their brands will be rewarded. What’s your take? How can we grow our brands rather than letting them die?
