Marketing in the COVID-19 crisis
This article is part of a special WARC Snapshot focused on enabling brand marketers to re-strategise amid the unprecedented disruption caused by the novel coronavirus outbreak.
It is possible that the Chinese people have never displayed such homogeneity of behaviour in recent history – over a billion people staying put at home, almost universal use of face masks, diligent washing of hands and whatever else deemed fit to avoid the dreaded virus.
Behavioural science tells us that a natural fear of the unknown, authority bias and social herding have all contributed to the enormity of this behaviour change.
Such changes in behaviour have obvious implications for consumption. Restaurants, hotels, travel and out-of-home entertainment sales have been practically wiped out in this period. However, most marketers want to look beyond the obvious, and are perhaps asking themselves what they need to do now and in the coming months to support their consumers as well as their brands.