Brands get creative with customer engagement to stay relevant amid crisis

New services, new offers, new alliances and with a little help from technology, brands reimagine their relationship with consumers

Be it app-based cab operators, hospitality chains or consumer goods, brands that have found themselves in the list of non-essentials are in a tight spot as the world around them shuts down for business. Missing from consumers’ lives, they also face the threat of oblivion as the consumers withdraw from earlier lifestyles into a more frugal existence. To deal with the ensuing disruption in their businesses, a group of companies — from Uber and Ola to Swiggy, Zomato and the five-star hospitality chains—are stepping in with products and services that directly alleviate the ongoing crisis in consumers’ lives or are