As the COVID-19 health crisis deepens around the globe, you may be wondering what you need to do to shift gears and adapt your marketing plan to navigate the pandemic. Here are several examples of brands who have adopted impactful marketing strategies that successfully maintained relationships, given back, and uplifted communities! 

1. Marketing Successfully
During a Pandemic

2. Times are rough.
As the COVID-19 health crisis deepens around the globe,
you may be wondering what you need to do to shift gears
and adapt your marketing plan to successfully navigate the
pandemic.
While it might seem counter-intuitive, you shouldn’t abandon
your marketing activities to save costs. Marketing is a way for
you to continue communicating with current and potential
customers. It enables you to come out in a better position
when the storm passes!
We’re living in unprecedented times, and brands have
approached the “new normal” in many different and
meaningful ways. So how have they given back, maintained
relationships, or uplifted communities?
Here are several examples!

3. After the outbreak, some brands took up the responsibility of
promoting self-isolation and encouraging people to #StayHome!
Nike and their #PlayInside #PlayForTheWorld campaign, created
alongside their agency Wieden + Kennedy Portland, shared an
inspiring, simple message to encourage social distancing.
Superstar athletes associated with Nike, such as Serena Williams,
Cristiano Ronaldo, and Michael Jordan, reshared the ad in their
feeds. The post was published alongside an announcement of
their Nike Training Club app, which offered free workout classes to
users, to help them stay mentally and physically healthy at home.
#1: Nike Shared #StayHome PSAs

4. With shelter at home in place, many brands rolled out campaigns
that shared messages of community and hope.
Ikea Spain and their media agency, McCann, launched their
#YoMeQuedoEnCasa (I Stay Home) campaign to celebrate our
homes during lockdown.
The video reminds us that our homes are where we’ve raised our
children, celebrated good news, and taken refuge from the bad.
It encourages us to see our homes as a place where we can still
experience and enjoy new things!
#2: Ikea Spain Brought People Together

5. To do their part, some brands have adapted their marketing
strategies and operations to start different initiatives to help those
in need.
During the outbreak, countries around the globe started issuing
guidelines that shuttered restaurants and bar doors.
To support bartenders and service staff who have been unable
to work, Miller Lite launched an initiative to help them by raising
money for the Bartender Emergency Assistance Program.
#3: Miller Lite Lent a Helping Hand

6. To acknowledge the contributions of frontline workers, brands
have focused their marketing efforts on sharing messages of
gratitude.
To thank frontline workers, Lowe’s launched a campaign aimed at
getting people to build DIY signs to express their gratitude.
They encouraged people to get creative by using supplies in their
homes to create signs that showed their support and appreciation
for the heroes in their communities. Lowe’s also shared inspiration
and potential projects on their website.
#4: Lowe’s & Dove Expressed Gratitude

7. Additionally, Dove collaborated with Ogilvy, their agency, to share
ads that honored the doctors, nurses, and healthcare providers
working in the frontlines.
Their video featured images of healthcare workers with skin
marks that were left from the hours they spent in their personal
protective equipment (PPE). Dove wanted to show that their
courage is beautiful, and express their gratitude for their work.

8. Some brands chose to address the stress and anxiety that has
come along with the pandemic by creating campaigns that made
people smile.
Playfulness has always been a part of Oreo’s brand, and when the
pandemic hit, they wanted to use the message to bring people
together.
To succeed in this, they, alongside their agency The Martin Agency,
adapted their “Stay Playful” campaign to “Stay Home, Stay Playful.”
In their video, Oreo featured heartwarming user-generated videos
that showed how people were entertaining themselves indoors.
#5: Oreo Spread Positive & Uplifting Messages

9. Sticking to their theme of playfulness, Oreo also started
a TikTok challenge called #CookieWithACause.
TikTok users were asked to place a cookie on their
foreheads. They had to find creative ways to somehow
get it in their mouths. For every user that used the
hashtag, Oreo offered to donate $1, up to a total of $1
million.

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