I watched Mark Ritson’s webinar to see what advice Mark had for marketers trying to navigate the corona virus crisis and its consequences.
Below is a quick summary of the key points I took away to think about:
There are three economic phases:
Stage 1. Covid Crisis - 3-18 Months
This is a tactical time with three types of customers:
Flex - e.g. Aldi - Flex existing operations to meet demand
Fix - e.g. Hayes Garden World - Adapt to alternative distribution
Freeze - e.g. British Airways - Grounded
Lever all the 4 P's. Not just Promotion.
Product - e.g. Uber Eats - Dropped fees, paying restaurants daily, chipped in with promotional spend, consumers get text message and image to say delivery outside door.
Price - MENY, Danish supermarket - Used pricing to ration sales - £5 first bottle, £126 for second.
Place - Woolworths Australia Basics Box for elderly sent through Australian postal system.
Need to create value for your customers, the organisation, communities.
Take this time to also think strategically for the longer term, 2021. Need to reflect on the questions:
i. Targeting - Who am I going to target and who am I not?
ii. Brand Portfolio - Which products and brands will I use to do that?
iii. Brand positioning - What is it?
iv. Brand codes - What are they?
v. What are the strategic objectives?
Stage 2. False Pneuma - 3 weeks
a. Temporary period of feeling good
b. An initial outpouring of how everything will change
Stage 3. Exogenous recession
a. Deep and prolonged recession
b. Things will return mostly to normal, as before the crisis
c. Pre-existing brand equity will bolster sales
d. Should maintain/increase ad spend to grow market share
Full recording will be available at The Lowdown
