As the country is facing an extended period of lockdown, there are opinions about the strategies adopted by countries for Covid19.
Plans seem afoot to shift from an all-India closure to a strategy of “aggressive containment” of infections within clusters marked out on the country’s map, with people only in these kept under strict isolation.
For, brands, marketers, everyone, this is a big situation with two major questions: what changes in consumer behavior and how to respond.
What are the responses of the aggressive lockdown?
Experts are divided regarding the whole situation.
Anant Bhan, a medical doctor and public health policy expert said, “What might be required is a more strategic approach. An extension of the lockdown might cause a major social and economic impact. You might have to look at a graduated lifting of lockdown, where you do it in parts and see if people are still able to take precautions and follow social distancing norms,”
According to him, the lockdown is essential to provide enough opportunity for the health authorities to ramp up. He stated that if 21 days aren’t enough there is no such guarantee that another 14 days of isolation will be beneficial. Utilizing the time is effective as the virus isn’t going to go away in 21 days.
Former Chief Economic Advisor Kaushik Basu, in an article published by Mint, said that once the period is over, it is important to take steps to unwind in a measured way and have more targeted lockdowns.
In his words, “ “Following South Korea, we need to locate regions and pockets which have to be kept under close watch and locked down, with others being opened up with rules of behavior in place—masks, social distancing, quarantining those unwell—so that the rest of India can get back to producing goods and services, and help the locked-down areas. We have to start some of our domestic flights and trains, with new rules,”
What is the current situation? And how experts are responding?
As the nation is getting another extension for the lockdown, a key goal to be met before we could be relieved of the lockdown, and so it should remain.
An article in the Telegraph says that lockdown isn’t the only solution for the coronavirus. Containment doesn’t work that much, even in Wuhan and Italy the spread was so quick that authorities needed to focus on the damage control. And the same case must be for India as, despite the containment, cases seem to rise every day.
The article stated, “But in the many more places now in the throes of full-on epidemics, notably in the United States and Western Europe, the pressing concern is how to suppress the virus’s spread to avert a Wuhan-like health disaster, but without destroying economies or undermining people’s resilience and their willing consent to very taxing social-distancing measures.”
From a marketing point of view, Ryan Deiss, Founder, and CEO of DigitalMarketer.com in an article said the primary job is to focus on the situation and acknowledge it. He stated, “The best thing to do is acknowledge the pandemic and COVID-19. No one wants their business to come across as tone-deaf, so simply double-check your messaging, double-check your visuals, and double-check your offers and promotions”
“Engage with the conversation people are already having and make an appropriate offer. For us, we were fortunate enough to have the ability to open DigitalMarketer Lab for free. By doing this, we generated over 50,000 new accounts. We’re considering that a huge positive.”
How to respond to the situation?
The main issue is that our test coverage is extremely sparse.
Random patch tests need to be done to get an estimate and a proper database needs to be maintained.
Nasal or throat swab tests can spot the coronavirus, but their results could take as long as nine hours. Rapid- spread localities need a thorough test while buffer zones could have a few swabs taken of residents picked randomly, just to see if a hotspot has expanded.
Hygiene is another department we are lagging as a country.
An adequate amount of supplies of masks, soaps needs to reach among the poor as well.
The primary objective is to protect lives, and that means averting the collapse of the health care system. Hospitals are the last line. The article in the Telegraph says that “The COVID-19 pandemic can only be prevented from resurging when at least half the world’s population has become immune to the new virus. And that can happen in only one of two ways: After enough people have been infected and have recovered, or have been inoculated with a vaccine.”
From a marketing point of view, here is what the experts are saying:
Focus on the media investments depending on the consumer behavior
The estimated drop in China’s ad spend for the whole of 2020 is less than one percent, according to reports. However, while there may be problems for marketers, there shouldn’t be much impact on online media planning & buying, PR or social media monitoring.
The online FMCG sales will be accelerated
The latest data from Kantar Worldpanel shows that FMCG spending in urban China increased 5.3% last year, but e-commerce in FMCG spending leaped 36.2%.
Impulse buys on dairy and other binge eating items may also increase quite a bit.
Demonstrate a brand value with the purpose
Most brands are going to take the situation to demonstrate a moral value among its audience.
Be from their posts, donations, helping other brands. It will be a great way to make a connection with your audience.
Brands must not do any type of marketing that could be seen as self-serving.
Struggling with online advertising? Contact us at Skyram Technologies and let us help you to find the right way to promote your brand in this tumultuous time.
Stay safe, stay indoors.
