The appearance of coronavirus recently represents the most difficult pandemic that caused a big impact on various economic sectors worldwide. Governments have been enforcing different approaches to minimize the effect of COVID-19 on public health through lockdown procedures, restrictions on the movement of individuals, and practicing social distancing. These actions have affected most of the businesses as the purchase behaviours of consumers changed drastically which caused significant implications on profitability and the effectiveness of marketing practices. The main objective of this paper is to discuss the impact of COVID-19 on marketing strategies and actions of different organizations. In summary, several marketing actions have been influenced by the spread of COVID-19, such as corporate social responsibility (CSR), consumption pattern, advertising, marketing communication program, and supply chain.

1. COVID-19-IMPACT ON MARKETING STRATEGIES
1December 6, 2020
FOREWORD- IMPACT ON MARKETING
The appearance of coronavirus recently represents the most difficult pandemic that caused a big impact on various
economic sectors worldwide. Governments have been enforcing different approaches to minimize the effect of COVID-
19 on public health through lockdown procedures, restrictions on the movement of individuals, and practicing social
distancing. These actions have affected most of the businesses as the purchase behaviours of consumers changed
drastically which caused significant implications on profitability and the effectiveness of marketing practices. The main
objective of this paper is to discuss the impact of COVID-19 on marketing strategies and actions of different
organizations. In summary, several marketing actions have been influenced by the spread of COVID-19, such as
corporate social responsibility (CSR), consumption pattern, advertising, marketing communication program, and
supply chain.
CSR as a Marketing Theme- CSR is one of the main pillars for shaping the brand image and determining
business success. The pandemic of Covid-19 provided organizations with great opportunities for active engagement
with their strategies concerning CSR and programs. For instance, cause-related marketing campaigns have become
an increasingly prevalent means for firms to link their offerings with noteworthy social impact initiatives to provide
care and support for the victims of COVID-19 pandemic (DiResta, Williford, Da'Morus, & Genn, 2020). The brands
and all of their charities should be in line with country laws and legal requirements. As firms adapt and anticipate
the means for promoting their products and services during the crises of COVID-19, governmental institutions are
watching closely likely unfair or unethical business practices to safeguard the consumers, terminate the scams of
COVID-19, and monitor aggressive marketing. Firms must understand and follow government regulations and aims
at serving customers in the best way to ensure their well-being and safety.

2. COVID-19-IMPACT ON MARKETING STRATEGIES
2December 6, 2020
Marketing Push for Wellness & Health- Another important area that was influenced by the
pandemic of COVID 19 is the consumption of wellness and healthy items (He & Harris, 2020). There has been an
increase in buying and consuming nutrition and medical goods, for instance, fever reducers, vitamin supplements,
pain killer, which are directly associated with the coronavirus. Consumers also started reducing their visits to
restaurants and because of the fear of the infection of COVID 19. This has made a challenge for marketers to attract
and serve customers. For policymakers, the post-crisis period will be an ideal opportunity for health organizations
and other governmental agencies to creatively promote healthy consumption and product choice (He & Harris, 2020).
Overall, it is obvious that the pandemic of Covid-19 has significantly affected the ethical decision making of
consumers during the pandemic. Assumed that the pandemic may likely last for a long period on a global scale, its
consequences are likely to be long-lasting after the pandemic; but it is going to end at a time. Moreover, COVID 19
created a disruption in the supply chains and increased the shortage of consumer goods as the majority of the firms
in different parts of the world depend on Chinese products and manufacturing skills (Ansari & Ganjoo, 2020). Due to
COVID pandemics and government restrictions, the imports and exports have caused delays in shipping time for
firms. For this reason, the prices for many products have increased and customers were unable to find some items
easily as before the crises. Due to this, companies leveraged their resources from internal sources and reduce the
outsourcing of various resources to support the local economy and industries. A clear shift to e-commerce has
impacts across the organization, from supply chain to resourcing to marketing. The health crisis seems to be driving
larger basket sizes for offline retailers as households stock up and would further push the trend that many of our
clients are already seeing with consumers switching to online purchases. The Coronavirus is impacting consumer
mobility, shifts in media consumption habits, supply chains, such as shortages of and concerns over goods
manufactured in China and economic volatility. With this dynamic situation, companies need to plan their next
marketing moves wisely to either mitigate downside risk or capture all the upside that’s possible.

3. COVID-19-IMPACT ON MARKETING STRATEGIES
3December 6, 2020
Marketing Push on Advertising & Media- The worldwide pandemic of COVID-19 has also resulted
in significant changes in advertising, marketing strategies, spending on media, and promotions; thus, forcing firms to
reconsider their philosophies about advertising program and the campaigns of marketing to retain a stable stream of
revenue (DiResta et al., 2020). Although brands at this time search for striking the appropriate tone during a
worldwide health emergency, the future signifies market alteration, enlarged competition, and demand for
innovative and aggressive marketing practices. For instance, slow consumer demand represents the critical challenges
during the crises of COVID-19. Hence, based on the prominent changes in the behaviors and psychology of
consumers during the isolation at home, several retailers, restaurants, and companies of different types decided to use
e-commerce and improve customer services through home delivery (Wang, Hong, Li, & Gao, 2020).
The Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic is a human tragedy affecting billions of people in the world. The pandemic also
resulted in negative influences on the global economy, industries, and organizations. The nationwide lockdown in
several countries has impacted multiple areas of the economy especially the corporates and small business
enterprises. Due to lockdown, traditional marketing strategies cannot be successfully implemented, so digital
marketing should be given more importance. During the Pandemic it is necessary to add a social message and relate
the image of the product with general wellbeing. It is also important that organizations leverage the opportunity of
the COVID-19 lockdown, by using the internet to increase their brand exposure. Improving and maintaining a
brand’s visibility online puts the products and services of an organization at the forefront of consumers who might
need them. Firms should also act ethically in promoting their offerings and employ cause-related marketing for
supporting society. Brands should identify the appropriate social responsibility programs that could be efficient
during COVID crises. Finally, since many organizations depend on China for providing them with raw materials and
other important resources for manufacturing, government restrictions and lockdowns have affected availability,
which posed a challenge for firms in meeting customers’ demands and began to look for optimizing local resources.
As the supply chain for many products has been affected, organizations should look for alternative means to meet the
needs of consumers. By considering the above facts and responding accordingly, brands can maintain their businesses
and grow despite the current circumstances.

4. COVID-19-IMPACT ON MARKETING STRATEGIES
4December 6, 2020
Shifts in Marketing Strategies- Some advertisers should hold dry powder while others should double-
down on marketing investments to seize opportunities. It's crucial for organizations to pay attention to how this
situation is altering the landscape and plan scenarios accordingly, rather than wait and hope that no changes are
necessary. Here are some examples of the types of shifts we’re seeing and expect to see in marketing approaches and
investments:
• Directing investments toward marketing tactics that drive online sales.
• Reducing marketing investments on campaigns to drive short-term sales or business outcomes, while keeping
brand-building campaigns live – essentially saving dry powder.
• Shifting budgets to promoting at-home and delivery-based options (i.e., at-home fitness
solutions/equipment/apps, grocery delivery, restaurant delivery, etc.)
• Shifting focus from promoting premium products to entry-point or everyday items.
• With sporting events being cancelled or played without fans, many advertisers are formulating new plans for
those budgets – often holding the investments for later use – or scenario planning for how to redeploy their
dollars if a large advertising event such as the Olympics is cancelled or postponed.
• Fine-tuning media allocations by tactic as we experience demand-driven price fluctuations in various media
channels. Changes in media supply and demand will impact costs, so we anticipate marketers will need to
closely manage certain spending areas, such as digital, with refreshed ROIs on new cost levels.
• Tracking data in local geographies that experienced varying levels of impacts.
• Using trends social sentiment and google query volume on relevant key words as indicators to inform
marketing actions.
• Building in quick response learnings to optimize marketing budgets and transfer learnings across markets.
• Measurement of custom creative addressing the viruses.