As we progress from the shock COVID-19 imposed on us initially, towards what DDB refers to as 'Acclimation' (where we start to accept our new normal) here's how brands are successfully navigating these choppy waters and how you can plan for the future.
10. 10
Job losses
Up to 780,000 Australians have
lost their jobs in just three
weeks”
– BusinessInsider.com
Unemployment rates across Asia-Pacific could rise by
well over 3 percentage points, twice as large as the
average recession,” said S&P’s Asia Pacific Chief
Economist Shaun Roache in a report Monday.
Quarter of Europe’s
jobs at risk from
coronavirus crisis”
– Politico
Fewer than 50% of working
Americans will have a paycheck
in May
– BusinessInsider.com
More than 71% of UK
firms have furloughed
some or all of their staff”
– The Guardian
13. 13
Insights and research people?
• Over 80% of market researchers are working from home
• About half are reporting a drop in their personal income
• About half seem to be coping, but one-in-five have problems
• But most people are reporting that their productivity has dropped
– this is not normal working from home
• For more information read:
Be Kind to Yourself, Be Kind to Others
How are Market Researchers? What do they need?
Source: NewMR ‘How are researchers’ study (Waves 1 and 2) and research via social media
14. 14Advertisers are adapting their creative
processes
Already
• Displaying empathy for what stakeholders were facing – and demonstrating
the brand was there to help
• Pulling most price and item-focused messaging
• Crafting new ads from existing footage to ensure cultural relevance
• Scrapping creative executions that are not representative of the current
climate
• Acknowledging school closures and social distancing
• Providing essential/useful information
• Avoiding certain lifestyle imagery (e.g. based on travel, spring break, and
social gatherings)
Source: Association of National Advertisers poll, 196 US Companies
15. 15
Advertisers are adapting their
creative processes
Planned
• Showing empathy for the contemporary situation while
retaining brand relevance
• Removing content that may be inappropriate, insensitive or
tone deaf
• Being more comforting and less promotional
• Adapting to emerging consumer needs on an on-going basis
• Focusing on products that are most pertinent and useful in
an increasingly “virtual world”
Source: Association of National Advertisers poll, 196 US Companies
16. 16
In a 20-year study, Wharton Professor Philip Tetlock showed that the average expert’s ability to make accurate predictions was only
slightly better than a non-expert using random guesswork.
Or, as accurate as a chimpanzee throwing a dart.
Most Predictions are Wrong
18. 18
Two Key Scenarios
Virus is Controlled Soon
Economy Recovers Soon Economy does NOT Recover Soon
Virus is NOT Controlled Soon
19. 19
Four Compound Scenarios
Virus is Controlled Soon Economy Recovers Soon
Economy does NOT Recover Soon
Virus is NOT Controlled Soon
Virus is Controlled Soon
Virus is NOT Controlled Soon
Economy Recovers Soon
Economy does NOT Recover Soon
Back to Normal-ish
Back to Normal-ish, but with
lots of deaths
Major recession
Whole new world
20. 20
Plan for all Four Scenarios
Back to Normal-ish
Back to Normal-ish, but with
lots of deaths
Major recession
Whole new world
Virus is Controlled Soon Economy Recovers Soon
Economy does NOT Recover Soon
Virus is NOT Controlled Soon
Virus is Controlled Soon
Virus is NOT Controlled Soon
Economy Recovers Soon
Economy does NOT Recover Soon
22. 22
Hibernate, Hunker Down, Pivot or Operate?
• Hibernate – close the business, wait until you can trade again e.g. event locations,
restaurants, cruise companies. Seek government assistance.
• Hunker Down – assume the recession will unwind in a few months or a year, slash
costs, keep ticking over, grab chances when available, prepare for after the crisis.
Seek government assistance.
• Pivot – stop doing X and start doing Y – for example delivery options, ventilators,
online games etc. Seek government assistance.
• Operate – assume this is how things are going to be for a while, cut costs, be agile,
find out where there are needs and meet them. Help your client keep their job.
Seek government assistance.
25. 25
Everton Football Club - UK
The Plan
• English Premier League and Euro 2020
• Live football, streaming etc
• Then all football locked down
‘Hibernate’ – but actively
• Launch of 'Blue Family', a campaign that has been running since March, in tandem with the Liverpool-based
side's official charity arm, Everton in the Community.
• Offer support, assistance and guidance to some of the most vulnerable, socially isolated and at-risk members
of its fandom.
• Utilising Everton’s CRM and phone systems to make 1750 check in calls to vulnerable fans – with outbound
calls from staff working from home.
• Over 24.5 million fans from around the world have been tuning into ad-hoc content from their favourite
Everton players, including bedtime stories read aloud by stars.
29. 29
ASICS, VR launch of its Olympics range
The Plan
• In run up to Tokyo Olympics
• Fly journalists to Tokyo
• Show 3 new shoes
• Part of the ‘arms race’ in shoes at the moment
‘Operate’
• Distribute Oculus VR headsets to journalists
• Develop new software
• Hold a ‘virtual reality’ launch
• Journalists able to experience the shoes as
sportspeople would experience them
• Good coverage for the shoes, good coverage of the
tech, greener
“What's more important, however, is what this launch represents
in a world where social distancing will be the norm for several
more months. The longer COVID-19 rages on, the more other
companies will look to lean on VR. This is at least a good first step.
Hell, accountants at plenty of tech companies are probably doing
a cost-benefit analysis of buying a truck-full of Oculus Quests right
now for couriering to, and from, journalist's houses.”
- Daniel Cooper, one of the journalists who took part
30. 30
Pivoting to Help
• Manufacturing scrubs and facemasks
• Producing ventilators
• Producing hand sanitiser
• Housing the homeless
• Feeding people in need
• Using ad spending for better purposes
31. 31
Pivoting for Business
Punchpass
• Pre-COVID services to small fitness and yoga studies
• Post-COVID, launched a Zoom-based virtual service to
allow their clients’ customers to carry on training
Mobile Escape
• Pre-COVID provided in-school escape room
programmes
• Post-COVID, social-distancing programmes, using both
mail and digital tools
34. 34
Positively-impacted Brands
How to avoid
being tone
deaf?
How are our staff, can they
cope, are they feeling safe?
How is our brand and CX
tracking? When will this
rush end?
35. 35
Hibernate brands
How are our
furloughed staff
coping?
After the lockdown, what
will customers want, and
when will they want it?
What can we start doing
now?
36. 36
Hunker Down Brands
Track the key brand
and CX elements
How are our staff, are they
coping, are they feeling
safe?
What are our
opportunities?
When and how
will this end?
37. 37
Pivot brands
How are our
people?
Agile research
Build/Test/Learn
Communications and
Strategy Testing
38. 38
Operate brands
How are our
people coping?
Track and build a proactive
relationship with customers
Communication and
concept testing
39. 39
Insight Projects and HX
• Modify CX programmes – reflecting new realities
• Blend insight communities and CX – T-shaped research approach
• Keep checking in with your staff, working and non-working
• Research what is happening to people in society
The MRS has a list of over 50 trackers than can be accessed
• Avoiding being tone deaf
• Opportunities
• Agile Build/Test/Learn research
• Understanding what people will do when the lockdowns are eased
• Understanding what people will do when they can travel, move, change jobs,
attend events etc
40. 40
What Next?
• We ‘might’ be halfway through this first phase of the pandemic
• The recession has hardly begun to bite yet, it could be much, much worse
later this year
• Don’t bet on just one prediction, use Scenario Thinking
• Think about humans, not products
• Start by checking your people are OK
• Be clear about what your strategy is e.g. Hunker Down, Pivot, Operate etc.
• Match your activities to your strategy
• You are flying blind, so lean on your insights, from all available sources
#StaySafe, #BeKind
