The document discusses the evolving consumer behaviors and needs during and after pandemic lockdowns, categorized by different stages: pre-lockdown, lockdown, and post-lockdown. It highlights consumer desires for safety, reassurance, entertainment, and clarity, as well as the anticipated changes in shopping habits and brand roles during the transition back to normalcy. The analysis emphasizes the importance of effective communication and brand strategies to address consumer concerns and foster optimism as society adjusts to life after lockdown.

1. The Path Back
Outside
The Global Journey Out of Lockdown

2. Evolving BehaviourAs searches show, consumers evolve need states & behaviours as the pandemic
unfolds
Source: Google Search Trends (AU, UK, US, ES, DE, FR)
Pre-Lockdown:
Safety seeking behaviour prevails
Post Lockdown:
Appearance / Hobbies Increase

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The Stages of the Pandemic
Lockdown Extended Lockdown EasingPre-Isolation Return
Isolation & distancing stops
panic buying, as consumers
focus on buying more
‘proactive health’ products,
as well as trying to deal with
anxiety.
Consumer Need:
Clarity & Control
As lockdown lags on,
consumers settle into a new
routine in-home - looking for
novelty & ways to pass the
time. Many life events are put
on hold.
Consumer Need:
Entertainment & Support
As the overall lockdown
gives way to local
restrictions & hotspots,
consumers will have to
venture out again & deal with
hygiene and safety concerns
Consumer Need:
Change & Security
One the main lockdown
concludes, consumers will
have to recreate their daily
routine & reimagine what
everyday life will be like,
while dealing with flare ups.
Consumer Need:
Certainty & Perspective
As rumours of lockdown
increase, panic buying
results with stock shortages
& uncertainty about
preparation & government
action.
Consumer Need:
Reassurance

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How Easing of Lockdown Will Unfold
Extended Lockdown Easing Return
Preparation Emergence Expansion AdjustmentLockdown
Stages:
Consumer Actions:
Covid-19 Resurgence / New Wave
Plans and foundations
are made for a return
to outside activities.
Consumer Need:
Change &
Reassurance
The initial steps to
outside life are made
as disruption returns.
Consumer Need:
Security &
Optimism
Wider activities increase &
more ‘firsts’ are experienced
under a cloud of pandemic
return.
Consumer Need:
Certainty
As the threat subsides,
normal life / routine
resumes
Consumer Need:
Perspective
An increase in the infection rate looks to trigger a return of lockdowns or restrictions at a local or national level

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Attitudes & Implications
5 attitudes & beliefs that are shaping the return from lockdown

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Lockdown Is Supported, Even if Effectiveness is Questioned
Globally, more than 60% of people support quarantine & social distancing style actions, while the effectiveness of these measures draws
more varied responses by country.
Source iPSOS (April 12) / YouGov (April 22-28)

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The Pandemic is Expected to Linger Globally
People expect the pandemic to last longer globally than in their specific country - with lockdown stage holding little effect on the gap
between country & global expectations.
Source Global Web Index (April 22-27)

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People Are Nervous About Leaving Home
On average, people around the world are nervous about leaving home, even when businesses return. Even markets easing lockdown have
shown varied ranges of anxiety.
Source: IPSOS Mori (April 16-19)

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Guidance on How to Stay Safe is Needed
People are seeking guidance in how to stay safe. Actions such as the use of facemasks in public vary in adoption, regardless of lockdown
stage or level of concern for one’s own health.
Source:IPSOS MORI (April 23)

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It's Still a Macro, Not Micro Economic Issue to Many
Many countries are still viewing the economic impact of the pandemic as a country or global problem rather than something that will
have a dramatic impact on their own finances / lives.
Source: Global Web Index (April 22-27)

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Preparation
How are people preparing to leave lockdown?

12. As we prepare to leave lockdown, consumers will experience similar behaviours &
disruption as when it began.
Source: GWI Coronavirus Tracker April 2020 / Mintel March 2020
Change / Reassurance
SImilarly to pre-isolation, people are once again
challenged if they are ‘prepared’ for a massive
change.
Globally 42% of people are ‘most concerned’ about
when the pandemic will end, but an emergence
back into the world will come with new concerns
and issues.
Consumer Need
Proactive Health Preparation
As seen before lockdown, the demand for proactive
health products, such as hand sanitizer and masks
looks to spike again as lockdown ends.
Facemasks are poised to become a large concern for
consumers, as searches for e-commerce and DIY
options spike in markets ending lockdown, reinforced
by government endorsement.
Behaviours
Preparation: Consumer Needs & Behaviour

13. Preparation: 3 Roles That Brands Can Play
Similarly to when lockdown began, brand activity begins to simplify again - reinforcing &
augmenting elements of life
Celebrating ProgressAddressing BarriersReinforcing Guidance
As consumers leave homes for the
first times, situations such as
commutes, social engagements &
work will raise concerns around
hygiene & adherence to
government rules. Brands can help
lay out the ground rules for a new
world.
As consumers lives are disrupted
again by re-entering the outside
world, such as no fan attendance
at sports events in Australia.
Brands can identify and address
barriers that have emerged during
lockdown, from fear to preserving
the things we love from afar.
Consumers are aware of the
contribution frontline staff (from
healthcare workers through to grocery
workers) have made.
Brands can make the decline of
lockdown a moment to stop and thank
them for the progress so far. Similar to
British supermarkets implementing
essential worker only hours.

14. Preparation: Paid Media Opportunities
As people prepare to leave lockdown, increased media consumption meets a need for
greater information & preparation - creating efficient comms opportunities.
Tap Into Information
Searching
As people begin to search for news
and guidance on how to exit
lockdown, search activity & content
will have disproportionate attention.
Paid search, SEO optimised content &
video content to help guide searchers
can all help to leverage growing
interest.
Leverage Content
Partners for Reach
Trust in experts, news & health
organizations is highest vs. all forms
of information.
To leverage this trust at scale,
consider what influencers, partners
and platforms you can use to
combine reassurance and trust with
reach and reinforcement.
Continue to Expand
Social Advertising
As with lockdown, increased time for
social channels has lower costs for
advertising on social platforms, with
many key platforms showing 10-15%
reductions in CPMs.
While people are still in lockdown,
continue to expand activity to enjoy
lower costs for reach.
Source: GWI Coronavirus Tracker Wave 9 (April 2020) / VM Internal Metrics

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Emergence
How will people emerge from lockdown during easing?

16. Emergence: Consumer Needs & Behaviour
As we go back out into the world, a sense of how to handle old routines ‘correctly’
will help to foster a sense of tentativeness.
Source: GWI Coronavirus Tracker April 2020
Security / Optimism
As the phased easing of lockdown returns, there is
expected to be a constant conflict between
progress & security - with people wanting to return
to ‘daily life’, while also worrying about the risks.
Consumer Need
Tentative Retail
Beyond essential purchases, consumers will be
poised to shop again but will face safety &
governmental barriers. 27.7% of global consumers
say they will go back to the shops ‘immediately /
quickly’.
E-commerce behaviours gained over lockdown look
poised to stay as 39.9% of the global population say
they will buy more online post pandemic.
Behaviours

17. Emergence: 3 Roles That Brands Can Play
Brand Activity will shift to actions that help slowly restore daily
life & create positives to focus on
Re-Thinking RoutineCoordinating FixesFostering Optimism
As seen in China with BMW’s ‘Blue
Skies’ ad, brands can start to
provide an optimistic vision to
counter uncertainty as we begin to
emerge from lockdown.
As the full economic impact of the
pandemic becomes clearer, brands
will coordinate support and action
to help stem the damage.
Consumer uncertainty looks to
have a knock-on effect to
businesses which brands can help
address.
As consumers begin to reform their
daily routines, brands can
champion positive change or
continuing changes from lockdown.
Reframing positive change as the
default coming out of lockdown, vs.
a choice you have to make can
defuse natural resistance.

18. Emergence: Paid Media Opportunities
Leaving lockdown doesn’t mean an immediate return to normal life & comms can
leverage the mixture of out of home & in home behaviours
Consider How to
Return to OOH
People’s emergence back into the world
creates an opportunity to advertise to them
again in physical formats such as OOH.
However, as hygiene concerns and crowds
will change behaviour, consider carefully busy
locations and public transport - instead
thinking about roadside or retail locations.
Create Virtual Versions of
Physical Experiences
People will be slow to return to large
venues (only 23% say they would return
quickly to an large indoor venue and 26%
for an outdoor), opening up a need to
create virtual engagement for large
scale experiences.
Technology such as streaming, AR & VR
are all useful tools to start to distribute
the experiences we would normally
experience in person.
See Gaming as a
Long-term Opportunity
Across Europe, online gaming traffic
has seen a 20-50% increase since the
beginning of February as lockdown
has created more frequent gaming
opportunities.
As the pressures of staying safe in
the world become a daily reality, the
escapism offered by gaming in
lockdown will stay valuable.
Source: GWI Coronavirus Tracker April 2020 / Comscore (UK, France, Italy, Germany, Spain)

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Expansion
What will the journey back to life outside look like for people?

20. Expansion: Consumer Needs & Behaviour
As the scope of life outside expands, consumers will be looking for ways to
recapture what was ‘lost’, but also fear a return of the disease.
Source: Kantar ‘ Measuring the Impact of CV-19 on Chinese Consumption’ / NZ Stuff Business / GWI Coronavirus Tracker - Wave 9
Certainty
As a daily routine outside of lockdown is established,
people will look for a sense of certainty about their
safety as a vaccine is awaited.
“Eating out with friends” & shopping are popular desired
activities post outbreak in China, but globally an
economic ‘bounce’ towards delayed purchases isn’t
expected to make up for lost volume.
Consumer Need
A Shifted Normal Takes Hold
As consumers begin to shop widely again, possible
behaviour shifts will occur & maintain. The growth of
e-commerce for fresh goods & with older audiences
has become prominent in China.
The personal economic cost of the pandemic will
become clear as we rebuild. The sense that, during
lockdown, it is more of a global / national economic
crisis than a personal one will change.
Purchase Behaviour

21. Expansion: 3 Roles That Brands Can Play
As daily life rebuilds & resumes, balancing the fear of a
pandemic return with hope and certainty is key.
Rallying for a Better WorldCelebrating ‘Firsts’
Reconnecting with daily life at
scale will create a series of firsts:
both positive and negative.
From the first pub visit, meal out
or time with friends to the first
crowded bus or flare-up, brands,
where applicable, can enhance or
support.
The collective benefit of society
isolating and working together will
become even clearer once the
pandemic subsides.
Tapping into and maintaining this
sense of collective action for other
causes will be an action for many
brands to consider.
Progressing Our Safety
Highlighting ways that brands are
working to help keep us safe from
infection & risk can help to provide
certainty in a time when it will be
in short supply.
Showing how to contribute to
greater safety or a more certain
world will be key.

22. Expansion: Paid Media Opportunities
The expansion of personal & cultural opportunities represents an increasing
landscape of opportunity to be relevant & capture attention.
Keep Planning
Agile
The expansion of ‘normal’ life is
going to be unpredictable and require
scenario planning from organizations
in how comms can adapt.
Considering a mix of adaptable
messaging or media channels can
help you pivot into opportunities as
they emerge.
Tap into Firsts with
Comms & Ambassadors
The return of different passion points
and interests give an opportunity to
share in celebration about the ‘return’
of daily life using messaging or
ambassadors related with it (e.g.
Football’s return and football
ambassadors).
It can also allow us to highlight how
others around the world haven’t
experienced a similar return of what
they love.
Consider ‘Occasion Gaps’ as
Moments to Leverage
Throughout the next year, cancelled
and postponed events are going to be
reminders of the pandemic’s effect.
They can also serve as an
opportunity to talk about the
deprivation others face everyday,
tapping into a shared sense of loss.

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Conclusion
What do we need to know & do overall?

24. Brand Action SummaryConsidering Possible Actions Towards Return
Progressing Our Safety
Celebrating ‘Firsts’
Rallying for a Better World
Fostering Optimism
Coordinating Fixes
Reinforcing Guidance
Addressing Barriers
Celebrating Frontline Progress
ExpansionEmergencePreparation
Plans and foundations are made for a
return to outside activities.
Consumer Need:
Change & Reassurance
The initial steps to outside life are made
as disruption returns.
Consumer Need:
Security & Optimism
Wider activities increase & more ‘firsts’ are
experienced under a cloud of pandemic return.
Consumer Need:
Certainty
Re-Thinking Routine
Consumer
Focused
Comms
Consumer
Focused
Action
FrontLine
StaffAction

25. Paid Media Summary
As we move through the different stages of easing, our approach must change
accordingly.
Preparation
Tap into information searching
Leverage content partners to bring a
sense of reassurance and trust
Take advantage of lower media costs
on social
Emergence
Adapt OOH approach with new
behaviour eg travel
Transform physical experiences in
virtual experiences using AR & VR
See gaming as a long term
opportunity
Expansion
Keep planning agile
Tap into firsts with comms and
ambassadors
Consider cancelled and postponed
events as moments to leverage

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Thank You
For questions, please contact the
VaynerMedia London Strategy Team.
DuBose Cole - Head of Strategy
DuBose.Cole@VaynerMedia.com