Big brands rally to help India’s pandemic fight

As India faces rising numbers of COVID cases along with dire oxygen shortages, brands and businesses are pitching in to help in whatever way they can.

Money and services are being offered

• Whether it’s sourcing oxygen concentrators (Paytm and Amazon India), donating money to get hold of more oxygen supplies (Vivo and Oppo), or launching a priority delivery service for COVID emergencies (Zomato/Delhivery), many brands are doing their bit.
• Coca Cola is committing INR 50 crore (around $6.7m) to help vaccination efforts, provide safety kits, create awareness, and distribute drinks that it says will impact a million lives.
• TrulyMadly, a dating app, is even using its platform’s match-making algorithms to help match blood-plasma donors with COVID patients.

But reputational dangers lurk

• A former employee of an unnamed Delhi ad agency sparked a social media storm with a claim staff were having to work in the office, despite official advice to work from home where possible because of the dangers of COVID.
• Many people have added to the furore, blaming a client brand for requiring the team to work from the office.

Sourced from Economic Times, BusinessWire