As brands step in for relief measures, experts say stay away from publicity

From providing meals and masks to funding medical equipment, it is time to let the work speak for the brand, say experts

Over the past several weeks, Indian companies from across categories and both large and small have stepped up with a range of measures to help fight the devastating impact of Coronavirus on life, livelihoods and public health systems. Real estate companies and hospitality chains are offering up their inventory as quarantine facilities, restaurants and hotels are packing up food for migrant workers, transporters are sending out their fleet of vehicles to ferry the ill, the stranded and to transport grains and food to the needy while many have committed huge amounts as aid to medical health workers and for the supply of ventilators. 

While this is commendable and much needed and companies that show solidarity in such times are likely to earn a long-term halo for their brands, marketing experts say that turning these efforts into a public relations exercise or a branding pitch could boomerang. 

“Advertising is for the celebratory economy. That part of the economy is dead for now, and therefore advertising must take a break,” said Harish Bijoor, brand-expert and founder, Harish Bijoor Consults.
 

Across the world, marketers are struggling to find a way to keep customers engaged and brands relevant at this time. Ask any publicist or public relations agent tasked with the same and they will tell you about the sheer futility of the exercise in the present situation. So what must brands do?

“It is not the time for cleverness or gimmicks. Not for cute spacing of logos. It is the time to be honest and compassionate. To offer any and all kinds of support. Especially if your organisation and brand purported to celebrate such values ever,” said Ashish Mishra, CEO of Interbrand. The Tata group, L&T, Mahindra & Mahindra, several public sector fuel retailers, Air India, Spicejet and IndiGo have all stepped in to fill the gaps in the government’s relief measures and complement the state’s efforts.

Mishra believes it is time for all brands to rethink the way they have traditionally marketed themselves or reached out to customers. “Some inspiring brands have made real and honest moves already. Many more will follow. Hopefully the seeds of a cultural transformation will be sown to outlast the virus,” he said. He offers examples of how brands around the world are dealing with the situation. 

For instance Mastercard has partnered with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Wellcome Trust to speed up the response to the COVID-19 epidemic. matching employee donations to relief efforts, and have contributed to funds like the China Women’s Development Foundation, local food banks in the U.S. and donated 25,000 respirator masks to New York City hospitals. And, through their partnership with Scholastic, they are making Girls4Tech online curriculum for grades 3–7 available to parents and teachers looking for learning resources.

It is time for companies to demonstrate an understanding of the way the pandemic is affecting people’s lives and act thereafter. It is not enough, for instance to merely donate to a mass charity but look at ways in which the money spent would impact communities. 

For example, auto maker Mahindra & Mahindra has said that it will make ventilators, oil to telecom conglomerate Reliance Industries has ventured into masks and personal protective equipment (PPE) for India’s health care professionals, amongst other things while Diageo’s United Spirits is now producing sanitizers. Public sector fuel retailers have managed to efficiently tap their vast petrol pump network to reach out to migrant workers walking back to their villages. The same providers are also using their LPG delivery network efficiently to provide essentials to needy households.

However, these efforts are also being promoted on social media platforms, often through the company’s official accounts. This is not the best time to promote one’s magnanimity, instead companies may end up gaining more if they play it down.

Consumers are no longer tuned in to the past story of aspirational living and Bijoor said, “Brands must behave as commodities for now, and not push the brand story at all. There is no space for the ‘desires and aspirations’ stories of yore.”

It is time for companies to build brands that are sensitive to the consumers’ problems but anonymous in their solidarity. Bijoor said, “In such an environment the one trait that marketers need is sensitivity. The best marketing action therefore is the one that stays away from the limelight of publicity.”