How COVID-19 Has Saved Marketing

COVID-19 Has Changed The Face Of Marketing Globally

Since 2020 COVID-19 has saved marketing campaigns for companies all around the world, giving them a fresh topic to talk about.

Many companies in the UK (and globally) have just been chugging along with their marketing campaigns, talking about their products and services as they have always done.  However since 2020, a new angle has been given to every company in every industry.

For shops and retail companies, their marketing campaigns switch to safety and online selling during lockdown.

For fitness companies, a switch to online fitness classes, supported by the government suggesting 1 hours exercise per day alone or with a member of your household.  Pelaton saw a surge in their products thanks to COVID-19, which was a blessing to their kickstart funded launch in 2012.

Safety First

Whatever angle companies take safety is the background beat to COVID-19 related marketing.

Stay apart, protect the NHS, face masks are to be worn at all times, sanitise your hands.

We have noticed that almost every tree surgeon in the UK has updated their website to say they are COVID-19 safe.  This has created a surge of work for UK website designers.

The exhibition industry has ground to a halt since all UK exhibitions have been cancelled, however all have had a surge in banners and signage about ‘hands face space’.

Every shop in the UK has POS about COVID, creating a surge in banners, a much needed life line for exhibition companies.

The Added Bonus

The bonus that COVID-19 has brought to marketing is the fact that it is not going away!

Like the flu, COVID-19 will continue to adapt and evolve, to the ‘Indian variant’, the ‘South African variant’ etc.

COVID is here to stay, so marketing now has a never ending message for companies to make use of.

Marketing companies have never been so busy, with doing website tweaks, updating marketing material, producing signage and even new packaging.

Digital Marketing

Since the COVID pandemic of 2020, many of us have changed our buying habits and have stuck to the new normal.

Everything is online now, shopping for food, shopping for perfume, shopping for furniture, shoes, fitness classes anything and everything.

All your customers are online and so to are all of your competitors.

COVID was the perfect vehicle for many brands to stand out in the crowd while others struggled to survive.  Some brands jumped onto advertising on the main search engines or being vocal on social media networks.  This gains followers, gains likes, and gains new customers that notice you while being stuck at home.

To achieve digital marketing success during the COVID pandemic, many brands adopted the following strategies:

• Alignment – Aligning the value of your product or service to your core customers.  Offering something unique or different that offers value by remaining current and relevant.
• Segmentation – Reaching out to different segments of your target audience by offering relevant content products and services based on the segments of your target customers.  Also by offering something more personalised to customers rather than run of the mill.
• Innovation – COVID gave companies a great opportunity to be innovative, adapting to the new normal by being creative and innovative knowing that the pandemic will come to an end at some point.
• Local – Since people were at home, reaching our locally is a great option.  Whatever brand you are, goods or service the lockdown gave the chance to give a more local service.

Digital marketing is changing and evolving all the time as our world moves forwards in technology and as buying habits of consumer change as society changes.

Social Media Is Now The Driving Vehicle

During the COVID lockdowns, social media platforms like TikTok saw users skyrocket and since 2020 the habits have not changed.  Young people, middle aged people have got into the habit of using social media platforms for a variety of reasons.

Indeed many people have calved out a career as a social media influencer on TikTok.

This gives a great opportunity for marketing to be used to sell products and services across the growing variety of social media platforms.

Marketing And Mental Health

A spin off to COVID-19 marketing is mental health.

Since the beginning of lockdown #1 (the first lockdown of 2020) mental health has been a big discussion point, as once busy people were told to stay at home.  Nightclub enthusiasts (20 -35 year old instagram addicts) switched their weekly photo updates to Netflix and chill.

Prince Harry has certainly done his bit to support bringing mental health into the lime light.

Generation Z as they are referred to are very much aware of mental health and this plays a big part in the education systems these days.

The Future Of COVID-19 And Marketing

Since scientists support new variants of the disease, COVID-19 has more marketing juice to bring to the world.  As lockdown #3 ends, and businesses begin to restart, COVID related marketing material is still necessary.

COVID-19 has been a blessing to the UK marketing sector, supporting marketing companies to adjust the UK into the ‘new normal’.