This document discusses 5 key marketing challenges facing industries during the COVID-19 pandemic: 1) Responding to economic recession by focusing on online marketing and value, 2) Adapting to increased e-commerce by improving digital availability and packaging, 3) Engaging homebound consumers by enhancing home lifestyle marketing, 4) Succeeding in a closed digital landscape dominated by big tech platforms, 5) Structuring marketing for increased volatility by focusing on purpose and diversity/inclusion. The document also provides insights from marketing professionals on strategies for addressing each challenge.

1. Marketing Challenges
Facing Industries In
The COVID-19 Era
PRESENTED BY
SUMAN SAHA
STUDENT OF BBA
BRAINWARE UNIVERSITY
SUPERVISOR
DR. SHBNATH BANERJEE

2. CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
LITERATURE REVIEW
CHALLENGES FACING INDUSTRIES
ECONOMIC IMPACT OF CORONA PANDEMIC
HOW TO RESTART MARKETING AT THE AGE OF THIS PANDEMIC
CONCLUSION
FUTURE RESEARCH
REFERENCES

3. Introduction
• The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has pushed the global
community into a worldwide standstill, affecting 6.2
million people across 210 countries. The pandemic has
brought not only serious health issues and mortality
concerns, but it is worse than the Global Financial Crisis
(GFC) of 2008.
• This study is focused on the effects of COVID-19 on
consumer behaviour and marketing strategies and
marketing policies to overcome the marketing challenges.
The crisis shows similarities with changes in consumer
behaviour and the way of marketing is carried out during
economic downturns, such as shifts from offline to online
behaviour. This is forced by the re-evaluation of life
priorities by final consumers (Janny et al., 2017).

4. This study also examines the relative effectiveness of
traditional advertising, impressions generated through firm-
to-consumer (F2C) messages on Facebook, and the volume
and valence of consumer-to-consumer (C2C) messages on
Twitter and forums for brand-building and customer
acquisition efforts.
The results show that traditional advertising is most
effective for both brand building and customer acquisition.
Impressions generated through F2C social messages
complement traditional advertising efforts and will affect on
brand building and acquisition (De Vries et al., 2017).

5. LITERATURE REVIEW
• Janny et al., 2017, Have discussed about the effects of COVID-19 on consumer behaviour and
elaborate on the consequences of this disruption for marketing strategies and marketing policies. The
crisis shows similarities with changes in consumer behaviour and the way marketing is carried out
during economic downturns.
• De Vries, L. et al, 2017, have studied about the relative effectiveness of traditional advertising,
impressions generated through firm-to-consumer (F2C) messages on Facebook, and the volume and
valence of consumer-to-consumer (C2C) messages on Twitter and web forums for brand-building and
customer acquisition efforts.
• Dekimpe, M. G. et al., 2018, Business cycles (BCs) may affect entire markets, and significantly alter
many firms’ marketing activities and performance. Even though managers cannot prevent BCs from
occurring, marketing research over the last 15 years has provided growing evidence that their impact on
consumers, and hence on firm and brand performance, depends to a large extent on how firms adjust
their marketing mix in response to these macro-economic swings.

6. • Deleersnyder, B. et al., 2009, conducted a systematic investigation into the cyclical
sensitivity of advertising expenditures in 37 countries, covering four key media: magazines,
newspapers, radio, and television. They show that advertising is considerably more sensitive to
business-cycle fluctuations than the economy as a whole.
• Eckhardt, G. M. et al., 2019, defines the sharing economy as a technologically enabled
socioeconomic system with five key characteristics (i.e., temporary access, transfer of
economic value, platform mediation, expanded consumer role, and crowdsourced supply). It
also examines the sharing economy’s impact on marketing’s traditional beliefs and practices
in terms of how it challenges three key foundations of marketing:
• Edeling, A. et al., 2016, The interest in the value relevance of marketing investments has
given rise to numerous studies on the marketing–finance interface. This study integrates
extant research findings and establishes empirical generalizations on marketing's impact on
firm value. Specifically, the authors conduct a meta-analysis of prior econometric elasticity
estimates of the stock market impact of marketing actions and marketing assets.
• Lamey, L. et al., 2007, studied on the growth of private labels over the past decades has
been attributed to various factors. This article formally addresses the link between private-
label success and economic expansions and contractions using recently developed time-
series/econometric techniques. The findings confirm conventional wisdom that a country's
private-label share increases when the economy is suffering and shrinks when the economy is
flourishing. However, asymmetries are found in the extent to and speed with which private-
label share changes in cyclical up- versus downturns.

7. • Hunneman, A, et al., 2020, researched on the academic community for marketing academics
have extensively studied the interrelationships between business cycles, marketing strategy,
and firm and brand performance. The resulting body of literature can provide marketing
managers with guidelines on how to weather tight economic times.
• Lemon, K. N.et al., 2016, Worked on customer experience and the customer journey over
time is critical for firms. Customers now interact with firms through myriad touch points in
multiple channels and media, and customer experiences are more social in nature.
• Melis, K. et al., 2016, analyse the empirical analysis confirms that multichannel grocery
shoppers expand the share of wallet allocated to the online-visited chain, and that the extent
of this expansion depends on chain as well as consumer characteristics.
• Steimer, S. et al., 2020, The COVID-19 outbreak has necessitated an abrupt shift in how
marketers conduct business. We surveyed AMA chapter leaders to learn more about its effects
on everyday work life.
• Woodroof, P. J. et al., 2019, studied on the Companies are increasing their use of cause-
related marketing as a means of communicating their commitment to corporate social
responsibility while accomplishing their strategic goals.
• Fan, X. et al, 2020, They have examined 857 relationships among the constructs. The results
showed that consumer-related traits, execution-related factors, and product-related traits all
influence the effectiveness of cause-related marketing to varying degrees.

8. Finding the
white space
in wellness
Structuring
for volatility
Staying
effective in the
age of
e-commerce
Engaging
at-home
consumers
Succeeding
in the closed
web
The key challenges facing Industries
The challenges
facing
industries
Responding
to recession

9. 1. Responding to recession
• Marketers plan on increasing investment in online video (70% of
respondents) and mobile (64%).
• Budget cuts are hitting brand advertising (70% of respondents), agency
fees (67%) and sponsorships/partnerships (53%).
• Some 44% plan to spend more on TikTok compared to 39% spending
more on Facebook.
• Nearly two thirds of respondents (64%) agree that advertising suffered
from a lack of distinctiveness during quarantine.
Implications:
• Marketers in a position of strength can double down on brand-building.
• Shoppability becomes a key consideration for media spend.
• Brands are flexing their offerings to meet consumer demand for value.
• Distinctiveness is the challenge for post-pandemic creativity.

10. 2. Staying effective in the age of e-commerce
The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated e-commerce growth
globally, online shopping will heavily impact consumer preferences
in the months.
• 80% of respondents plan to increase or maintain DTC activity in
2021.
• 67% of client-side respondents expect the shift to e-commerce to be
permanent.
• Implications:
• Better marketplace expertise is needed to build ‘digital availability’.
• Delivery and packaging become key touchpoints for brands.
• Legacy brands and DTC are converging in strategy.
• Livestreaming is moving from China to the West.

11. 3. Engaging at-home consumers
With restrictions on consumers in many major markets expected to
last well into 2021, the ‘at home’ lifestyle will remain a driver of
change, and potentially new opportunity.
• 74% of respondents said post-pandemic changes in consumer
behavior will significantly impact 2021 marketing strategies.
• 52% of respondents say the shift to increased time spent at home
will impact strategies.
Implications:
• There are still opportunities in at-home media, including gaming
and various forms of TV.
• Enhancing the home lifestyle is a priority for consumers.
• Brands have an opportunity to make ‘COVID socializing’ a better
experience.
• ‘Local’ is a key consideration for travel, retail and beyond.

12. 4. Succeeding in the closed web
Brent Smart, Group CMO, Insurance Australia Group (IAG), remarks: “Too many
marketers, in my mind, spend too much money on martech, data and
analytics. I think the important thing is to spend your money on what
touches the customer, that’s what builds your brand and that’s what will
drive sales.”
• 81% of respondents agree that COVID-19 has only served to concentrate
power in the hands of ‘big tech’, while 83% of respondents agree or
strongly agree that those firms should be subject to “greater regulation”
to help level the playing field.
• 29% of respondents say they have no modelling in place to measure the
impact of marketing investments across walled garden platforms.
Implications:
• Context becomes key as marketers lose access to audience information.
• Interest in ‘attention’ grows as marketers look for new metrics.
• Brands explore new strategies for personalization.
• Advertisers become more conscious about what their media investment
supports.

13. 5. Structuring for volatility
Marc Pritchard, Chief Brand Officer, states: ”The scourge of racism has
literally been around for centuries; it’s not like it’s brand new. I think
many have just not faced it and dealt with it because it is hard. But it
is inescapable this time, and people need to step up.”
• 78% of respondents believe that purpose is now more important as
a result to the disruption to society
• 49% of brand respondents and 44% of agency respondents admit
that their company either doesn’t have a diversity and inclusion
policy at all or that it is not a focus.
Implications:
• Marketers revisit strategy - and purpose - from the ground up.
• Marketing can grow its influence by being the link to the market.
• In-housing will keep growing as brands look for high speed and low
cost.
• Diversity and inclusion still lag behind.

14. 6. Finding the white space in wellness
As healthcare becomes more digital, brands need to carefully consider their
offerings to ensure inclusivity and trust. Dr R S Sodhi, Managing Director,
Gujarat, Amul, says: “We saw the rising demand for immunity-boosting
products from consumers and we have launched 11 new products in the last
five months to meet that, from immunity boosting beverages like turmeric milk
to Haldi ice cream with immunity-boosting elements.”
• 91% of respondents agreed that health and hygiene concerns will have an
impact on their 2021 marketing plans.
• 40% of client-side respondents said they were developing a new product
offering in response to consumers’ wellbeing needs.
Implications:
•Health and wellness create opportunities
across categories.
•Brands can help consumers take
preventative measures.
•Digital health innovation is booming.
•Fitness, health and beauty go digital.

15. The global economy is expected to have a significant drop of 3% in output this
2021 according to the IMF. The World Bank is forecasting that the global GDP
to fall to a low 4% below the baseline and the United States of America with a
10% fall in GDP for 2020.
Adopting new strategies that can help them thrive in the New Normal and
implement marketing campaigns that can deliver favorable results – even in
the Age of the Pandemic.
Economic Impact of the Pandemic

16. How the pandemic has changed the world economy

17. 1. Increase the Presence on
Media Platforms
• People staying at home, So, the global
consumption of media content has
gone up as high as 60%. The Nielsen
Total Audience Report highlighted
that, the average consumer is
spending as much as 12 hours each
day on various media platforms,
particularly TV-linked devices and
subscriptions to streaming services.
• Marketers should take these
platforms into consideration to
implement new strategies on how they
can reach targeted audiences and
hold their attention longer.
How to Restart Marketing in the Age of Pandemic

18. 2. Re-Examine Brand Messaging
• With most consumers focused on the advertising messaging,
Marketing strategy should relay the message on how any brand is
making an impact on the community is more important than what
product or services are marketing. Look for new and creative ways
to engage targeted customers and get this messaging out.
3. Become the Brand that Target Consumers
Remember
• The consumption of media and television consumption has gone up
by up to 29%. Many brands and businesses are reducing their
marketing spend in these platforms by 40%.
• Marketers should their advertising budget to targeted consumers
remember in this global crisis by advertising packages, reduced
costs.

19. 4. Execute a Cross-Platform Online Marketing Strategy
With consumers have trend in media consumption in various platforms,
so, marketer’s greatest advantage would be to execute a cross-platform
marketing strategy to reach a wider range of consumer.
• Create and Optimize their Website and Website Content for Search
Engine visibility
• Optimize online real estate to deliver a superior online user experience.
• Execute a Digital Marketing program to reach to targeted customers.
• Engage consumers on social media marketing campaign and strategy.
• Develop the Pay-Per-Click (PPC) online advertising
• To sell the products, optimize the eCommerce functions with easy-to-
use Online Chat Tools and a comprehensive online FAQ on websites.
• By providing an easy-to-use Virtual Appointment booking facility, and
offering free webinars, virtual conferences, and online meeting.

20. CONCLUSION
To conclude, this era offers many opportunities for marketers to
demonstrate their value for companies which either are hurt by
COVID-19 or are doing well by facilitating how we deal with the
pandemic. The same holds for marketing scientists who study
transient and permanent effects of COVID-19 on consumer
behaviour and how marketing strategies and marketing policies
can be adapted by organizations.

21. FUTURE RESEARCH
This era should also stimulate researchers to investigate changes in the relevant
stages in consumer behaviour, both with regard to (the pre-)buying (process)
and with regard to use and the disposal of the products and services. I
hypothesise that COVID-19 has influenced the steps in the customer journey
(Lemon and Verhoef, et al., 2016) for many consumers and many products,
but I am not aware of any study in this area. We also need more insights and
knowledge with regard to changes in consumer behaviour that are persistent
and that are transient. Persistence modelling offers an excellent tool to
distribute demand effects over these two components (Osinga, et al., 2010).
This era also affects the way in which we use and dispose of our products, and
how we share products (Eckhardt, et al., 2019).

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