The arrival of the Covid-19 has people disoriented, fearful, and highly uncertain, and these sentiments are not strange to advertisers who have previously curbed their investments, cut campaigns, and turned down strategies. It is very easy to only see darkness and think that the best thing is to stop what you are doing, but I think that the brands that don’t see this as an opportunity make a serious mistake.

The last few years have been marked by brands without significant roles, sales discounts, promotions and short-term goals; all have led to loss in value, leading to products and services that for years were known as category or brand leaders, to lose their place.

We cannot forget that brands must have a purpose, or else they will tend to disappear. This is the time to cultivate; perhaps for many selling is not the answer, but whoever manages to do a good seed planting during this dark period will certainly harvest and collect.

Brands have an unspoken responsibility to the communities in which they profit, and if during this period they manage to accompany the people in those communities they will likely accompany them all year. 

Homes have their doors open to the brands, and any activity that integrates, entertains and / or takes their minds off the crisis, will certainly be very well received; and by having two of the most relevant media (TV + Digital) available 24/7 at home, you can achieve a very wide reach with a high level of engagement.

Brands can take advantage of this period to teach things to their consumers that they may have not been willing to learn before: topics such as financial education, activities with children, digital adoption, online education, entrepreneurship courses and healthy habits are many of the topics to consider.

Likewise, group activities can be promoted through simple actions of a civic nature, such as RAKs (Random Acts of Kindness) in areas or neighborhoods, and even cities or countries; acts that can go viral quickly and lead your brand to acquire a significant role. Make your brand the integrating entity, the disperser of tension, the entertainer so as not to lose hope.

You can also embark in digital marketplaces and explore new sales and communication channels with your consumers in a massive context but under an intimate approach. Achieve closeness with your consumer from the human side of your brand and deliver solutions to the problems that society is facing today; yesterday no longer matters, we have all been called to evolve.

It is a period for brands to become heroes and products the weapons to face isolation, fear, anguish and lack of faith. Take advantage today more than ever to save lives from boredom; tell stories, play a game and or build a virtual community. Crisis are the best time to reinvent ourselves, to change the dynamics, to tip the scale. Don’t keep quiet, doing so can cost your brand its life, while if you dedicate yourself to your consumers, they will make up for it. Remember, there is a lot to do: challenge your CMO’s, your creative team, digital and media agencies; challenge yourselves, don’t give up, now is when we need brands the most.