Marketing in times of corona

A frequently heard statement in these times is: “This crisis is making marketing a profession that matters again. Aligning your product or service to the perhaps changed consumer need”. Many marketing experts have already given their views on this, but to hear the opinion of marketers in practice, we have incorporated this in our interviews on the Brand Growth Platform.

The Ingredients for Brand Growth is an active platform in the Netherlands, the UK and Germany, and aims to bring marketing practice and science closer together. Every week, we have several vision interviews with marketers about what they find the most important ingredients for growth. This year’s theme is the role of creation, but in recent months we have also listened to the role of marketing in this corona era.

Has corona changed marketing? Are other KPIs becoming more important to measure the success of marketing? Are there other ingredients for growth? And what advice are marketers providing each other? In this article we summarise the main findings of the results of these interviews. In addition, in order to deepen the enriched subjects, we have carried out a number of meta-analyses to further enrich the insights.

has corona changed marketing?

Marketers think that you shouldn’t stop advertising: “You have to be present with your brand and offer people fun content. When people start looking for your brand again, you have to be top-of-mind.” Previous research during a crisis has also shown that brands should remain present or even increase visibility. This is therefore important advice from marketers.

The question which less people seem to agree on, is the content that must be used for this. Do you have to adapt the communication to the current situation, or do you have to change your strategy? Last month, DVJ tested over a hundred TV commercials and online video ads to find out if we need to adjust our ads. The results show that using the momentum can be a way to generate more attention and become more relevant. However, if the corona situation is used in communication, brands must find a way to link this content to the memory structures that consumers already have. If they don’t, they risk wasting money and not generating any impact at all. The essence remains unchanged, but the same can’t be said for implementation.

The meta-analysis performed by DVJ and the reactions of many marketers clearly show one thing. Realise what your brand stands for and don’t deny the memory structures. The brand is your most important asset in communication, and you should not deviate from it too much. For that reason, we also did some additional meta-analyses for this “Brand Special” to better understand the role of the brand.

ARE OTHER KPIs BECOMING IMPORTANT TO MEASURE MARKETING SUCCESS?

As a brand, how do you know which KPIs you should use in today’s world? The Brand Growth interviews show a consistent picture, it mainly concerns turnover and market share. Growth of a brand is most visible in sales. But the question that is often raised by marketers is which KPIs best predict these sales? There are different opinions on what the path to growth looks like, and which KPIs should be used for this. What you notice in the conversations with marketers is that there is one trend in particular: we do everything according to Byron Sharp, is a frequently heard statement.

To connect practice and science, DVJ conducted a meta-analysis on data from 16 different brands to identify the importance of brand KPIs. Especially in times of uncertainty, such as the current corona crisis, the general view is that it is important to continue investing in marketing to build a strong brand. A brand must be salient in the mind of the consumer. Brand KPIs provide important insights into the minds of consumers and can therefore be used to anticipate fluctuations in sales, such as in this current crisis, or other behavioural KPIs. Read the article by Senior Methodologist Dr. Lisette Kruizinga – de Vries:

Article: How brand KPIs predict sales >

The main conclusion of this analysis is that blindly following one vision has a limiting effect. Based on data, you can determine for your brand which KPI works best to improve sales. Which is not always the same KPI for every brand, as some would have us believe.

Are there other ingredients for growth?

In addition to brand KPIs, there are many other theories surrounding brand growth. In the interviews there were a lot of conversations about the theories of the Ehrenberg Bass Institute. Central to the theories of Byron Sharp and Jenni Romaniuk is the relationship between the concepts of “category entry points” (CEPs) and “mental availability”. The greater the number of CEPs to which a consumer links a brand, the greater the chance that the brand will be chosen in a purchase situation. As a brand it is therefore important to use the right connections to promote brand growth. Read the findings of Dr. Mark Vroegrijk here:

Article: The usability of ‘mental market share’ as a KPI for mental availability >

In addition, in these purchasing situations it is vital for marketers to identify the selection process within a product category. When one knows which characteristics of brands influence the ultimate choice of consumers between two brands most, tactical responses can be made to promote the growth of the brand. It is remarkable that marketers always use the things how they want the brand to be seen. Read the article by Senior Methodologist Dr. Mark Vroegrijk:

Article: How associations influence consumer preference? >

In recent years, the vision interviews often revealed that innovation is the most important driver for growth. It is remarkable that this now plays less of a role in the vision interviews. It seems that marketers are less willing to invest in new products. A meta-analysis carried out by DVJ shows that this fear is not unjustified. In the Netherlands, UK and Germany we see that consumers are less receptive to new products. Even the products that respond directly to the situation are not guaranteed success. Innovation today requires more care and attention than before. It doesn’t hurt to test the planned introductions again, to see if they will deliver what is expected of them.

Lastly, we know that using the momentum can be a way to generate more attention and become more relevant. But generating impact for the brand is something completely different. When a corona-related ad is not linked to your brand or product, it will not have any impact on the brand. Marketers provide a similar picture:

“You see many brands doing something with corona, while the message does not necessarily reflect the company or product. So, people are wondering what to do with the immense amount of ideas on how you can enjoy your time at home. And as a brand, you must find a way to stand out in the clutter. To then be relevant at the same time, is quite difficult.”

We do see that consumer behaviour is changing, whether consciously or not. It is very important to measure conscious or unconscious behaviour to find answers to questions such as why we see one advertisement, but don’t see the other. You can read how DVJ measures this in the whitepaper by Dr. Lisette Kruizinga – de Vries:

Whitepaper: Indirect and implicit measuring >

WHAT ARE MARKETERS SAYING?

We see that many marketers agree on investing if the resources are available. For example, a marketer indicates: “Our media strategy needs to be agile now, more than ever before, and adapted to the new reality. For FMCG brands that are able to, the historic case studies suggest that they should continue to invest above the line.” Relevance is also reiterated: “If you have the resources and can convey a relevant message that suits your brand, I would certainly advertise in these times.” The importance of brand campaigns is also emphasised:

“In a crisis, completely different things emerge, and sales figures may drop. But you would not immediately pull the plug on all brand campaigns. When it comes to the budget allocation, brand campaigns should not lose out, otherwise you can start building your brand from the ground up again in 2 years’ time.”

Next to that, marketers argue that consumer media consumption, and marketing budgets, are shifting to online. Consumers spend considerably more time at home, which means that more people watch TV and are browsing online. However, this shift also brings challenges: “I expect big changes in consumption habits – we’re moving from out-of-home and events to online and in-home experiences. This will impose another challenge, which will be to make the creatives even more engaging and relevant, as most brands will shift budgets to online.”

The shift to online also gives marketers opportunities to have conversations with consumers: “We’ve been using social media to connect with consumers in a sympathetic way with the right tone of voice and no hard sell. We set out to ask questions and listen. At first, they didn’t want to hear too much from us, but this progressed into wanting to get inspiration to use our products at home.”

marketing in THESE TIMES

Unusual times call for unusual measures. However, these times have shown us that many things essentially remain the same. Brands still need to build on existing memory structures to generate impact for the brand. The advice of marketers is therefore to continue to invest in marketing and the brand. Media consumption and budgets are shifting to online, so interaction and relevance still prevail in a more cluttered online landscape. But it also opens opportunities to talk to consumers. Nobody knows where we will be in six months or a year, but one thing is certain, continuing to build the brand is still just as important.