The COVID Divide

brand communication

Over the past few months, COVID-19 has been described as the ‘great leveller’. Although many have debunked this label due to the virus’s disproportionate impact on certain communities, the idea that we’ve all been impacted in the same way has led to a lack of nuance in the way brands have approached their recent comms. 

Put simply, some brands have failed to consider their audience or their product when planning their brand communication in response to COVID-19. We have all seen the generic ads. The tinkling of a piano, the smiling faces on Zoom, the ‘unprecedented times.’ This approach lacks empathy at best and is boring at worst, the cardinal sin for marketing. 

COVID-19 Considerations For Brand Communication

Research undertaken by The Futures Lab paints a different picture regarding the differences in attitudes towards COVID-19. Take age as an example. There are stark differences in opinions towards COVID-19 in those aged under 45 years old versus those over 45. The following statistics are taken from YouGov and represent statistically significant differences between demographics:

  • 19% of under 45s say they are not coping well with the current situation compared to 8% of over 45s
  • 51% of under 45s are worried about their financial situation compared to 42% of over 45s

There are differences between the attitudes of men and women also:

  • 76% of women describe themselves as worried about their family’s health compared to 65% of men
  • 45% of men say they are not scared of COVID-19 compared to 30% of women

And differences between social groups:

  • 39% of ABC1 are not worried about losing their job compared to 30% of C2DE

It is simply not true to assume all people have been impacted by COVID-19 in the same way. It is essential for brands to consider this when planning their next steps. The short term is over. The time has come for long-term thinking. There are big opportunities for those who embrace the nuance and connect with consumers in a more targeted, personal, authentic way.

As we emerge from lockdown, while the average person may still be hesitant to venture out, younger demographics are desperate to return to the social environments. This provides a great opportunity for brands to connect more deeply with their audience by pioneering the return of experiential marketing and in-person experiences with the appropriate social distancing and sanitisation measures in place. When it comes to marketing, it is always good to be distinctive. However, for some brands, it essential to push forward and create the new world. Especially when it’s what their audience is demanding. 

Vaughan Edmonds is Planner at Sense.

The Futures Lab by Sense examines changing consumer behaviour to understand how people and brands can continue to connect in the real world.

This article first appeared in Advertising Week.

London

5th Floor Century House
100 Oxford Street
London
W1D 1LN

New York

243 E 14th St,
#2, New York,
NY, 10003

Discover our latest guides to help brighten your brand experience strategy or amplify your retail marketing moves. Get them here at The Futures Lab.

London

5th Floor Century House
100 Oxford Street
London
W1D 1LN

New York

243 E 14th
#2 C/O SQ
New York
NY 10003

Downloads

Discover our latest guides to help brighten your brand experience strategy here at The Future Lab

Connect with us

Experiential

Whether it be Festivals, Trade Shows, PR Stunts, Installations or Pop Ups to name a few, we believe brand experiences are one of the most powerful forms of marketing to impact consumer perception and attitude towards a brand. They can create real behaviour change when born out of a deep consumer insight allied to a compelling idea. And it’s these fundamentals we look to get right whatever the live, virtual or hybrid task in hand.

Sampling.

Sampling is all too often perceived as an unsophisticated, somewhat ‘blunt’ marketing tool. Over the last 16 years Sense has pioneered a set of strategic principles which underpin our unique approach to sampling and which are highly measurable from both an ROI and consumer behaviour change perspective. We will happily guide brands through the myriad of sampling channels and products available so whether it’s mass face to face sampling, in offices, digitally, at home or just a strategic framework that you are after, we can provide a blend of tactics to fulfil both brand and sales objectives.

Retail.

With many clients now focused on activating in channels more closely associated with a sale, our heavyweight retail experience closes the loop on a typical shopper journey by encompassing the moment of truth in store. Be it prize promotions, shopper toolkits, key visual creation, path-to-purchase communications, category strategy, B2B campaigns or Amazon optimisation, our goal is to create forward-thinking retail experiences that deliver demonstrable brand value. We aim to make ‘retail fail’ a thing of the past for ambitious brands looking to thrive is an ever-competitive landscape and believe our streamlined team is perfectly placed to do this.

Foresight.

Knowing what will keep a brand bright, exciting, and vital means we need to keep one step ahead of the curve. Our thought leadership hub, The Futures Lab, helps us to understand the marketing trends of tomorrow. It’s also the origin of strategies and methodologies which have created over 65 award-winning campaigns. 

Rigour.

Creativity is nothing without results. And we know that commissioning bold concepts, capable of changing minds, requires reassurance that it’s the right thing to do. 

Data, insights, and research precedes every campaign we do, and our proprietary measurement tool, EMR, gives us a decade of campaign performance metrics. Which is why we’re proud to have been recognised as industry-leading by brands like The Economist, Coca-Cola, and Molson Coors. 

Trust.

We believe brand experience is inherently more varied than other forms of marketing. No formula, no template, no cookie-cutter approach – and often no precedent. 

That’s why, Sense places trust at the heart of its business – grounded in teamwork between our people and yours. Our processes are efficient, our senior team stay involved and our partnership mentality had helped us sustain powerful client relationships, some lasting over 10 years.