After a week in which the coronavirus outbreak has turned life on its head for everyone in the UK, companies are having to learn quickly about how best to operate over the coming months. Companies are facing major conundrums over how they should market their products — if at all — during a time of economic and behavioural upheaval. Is this a golden opportunity to build trust in the business in the long term, or is it a risk best avoided?

Christian Polman, thinks firms are right to avoid the risk, and that focusing on the short-term during times of crisis could damage a brand’s image in the long run. Adding that:

Brands should instead rework their marketing strategies to focus on long-term brand building within the limitations of the current climate. But they should also shift strategies to follow new media consumption patterns, such as more daytime television watching, more time online, and more time on ecommerce. The brands that can afford to resist the temptation to focus on short-term activation will weather this storm less scathed — when it eventually passes.”

To read the article in full on City A.M, please click here.

First featured on 23/03/2020.