Brand Marketers Face the Test of a Lifetime

For many of us, more time at home has meant more time in front of the TV, and the privilege of witnessing the first wave of pandemic-era commercials. These past two months, they have fallen into one of two categories – before COVID-19, when it was normal to crowd a ton of people into a room to shoot a beer commercial, and after, when producers had to begin leveraging stock footage and voiceovers to create spots that acknowledge the current crisis in some way. The people behind major brands no doubt felt pressure to rethink their campaigns fast, because it didn’t take long for the pre-COVID commercials, which may show the no-longer-acceptable handshake greeting, for example, to become irrelevant or even offensive in viewers’ eyes.

The first pandemic-era commercials to hit cable channels in my region were from car manufacturers and fast food chains. The message to consumers was simple: We’re making it easy for you to keep doing business with us without coming into contact with people and therefore putting yourself at risk of catching the virus. Although a more realistic thought behind them might be: This is going to be the worst year of sales in our company’s history, and we’re freaking out. So please, please spend some money to help save us, even though you’re probably unemployed.

As more and more of these ads began to air, it became harder to both tell them apart and figure out the connection between each commercial and the brand behind it. You may have seen the “Every Covid-19 Commercial is Exactly the Same” video montage on YouTube, which calls out the ads for following the exact same formula: Somber music followed by reminders of how many years the company has been in business, that “people” and “family” are their priority, that they’re “here for you” during these “uncertain times” because you can still do business with them from home or with minimal contact, and a declaration that “we’re all in this together.” Many end with a sped up version of the somber intro music and/or applause from city balconies and rooftops.

The viral montage included two credit unions – Interior Federal Credit Union of Washington, D.C., and SDCCU of San Diego. Interior’s commercial featured black and white stock images of happy families at home, set to a voiceover script that checked all the formula’s boxes, plus informed viewers about the safety of their deposits, remote banking options and financial relief programs. The only major difference between that and SDCCU’s commercial was the use of color stock videos of SDCCU employees at past events (although the California credit union did follow up with a second COVID-19 commercial a month later praising the “heroes” of the crisis and showing recent video of employees donning face masks and waving from their offices).

Brand marketers know that during a crisis, the worst response is no response, so pushing out a COVID-19 campaign, period, was their priority, even if it scored low on the uniqueness scale. And most of the COVID-19-era advertisers have been smart enough not to push sales during this touchy time period – even though all of them are effectively “selling” by simply attaching their brand name to a message they believe consumers want to hear.

But still, are the commercials overkill? In the household I’ve been quarantined in for the past two months, a typical reaction to one of these TV ads airing yet again is an irritated “Oh, come on!” followed by a scramble for the TV remote to hit the mute button. Our thought is, we’re already thinking about the COVID-19 pandemic and how it’s affected our lives all day, every day, so please stop throwing it in our faces. Besides, doesn’t the phrase “We’re here for you” sound a little strange coming from some of these brands? Chik-fil-a claims to be “here for me” now, but they sure weren’t that one time I was in a mall food court and felt like ordering one of their sandwiches, then realized it was Sunday.

The winners of COVID-19-era commercials were the businesses that conveyed supporting their communities through the pandemic is more important to them than selling their products and services during the worst economic downturn in over a decade. Uber, for instance, thanked viewers for not using its ride-sharing services, and others have focused on promoting good deeds like supporting health care workers and producing hand sanitizer. While this strategy won’t make up for the crippling loss of business many of them might suffer, they probably figure the reputational boost will lead to future sales.

As it was for all marketers, acting fast was key for credit union marketers in the early days of the coronavirus crisis. While researching how credit unions were adjusting their branch services in late March, the CU Times staff found a number of credit unions with no mention of the crisis on their website’s home page – some continued to flash old campaigns featuring images of smiling, oblivious people across the screen – and it looked bad. For those that did communicate their response to the crisis with members immediately, the right words may not have come easily. This crisis is unlike anything anyone has faced before, and it has put crisis communications plans and skills to the test for all professionals who are tasked with protecting a brand.

Credit unions need to keep members informed about the financial services available to them during this time period, but just as it’s taking time to adjust to life during a pandemic, it will take time to figure out how to craft the right messages that will resonate with people at the right time, as well as create campaigns that stand out from those of their peers.

All marketers have been suddenly challenged with targeting an audience that is dealing with collective loss and grief, and they might consider taking advice commonly given to people unsure of what to say to a friend who has suffered a major loss: Let them know you’re there, that you’re available to listen and help with practical things that will make their life easier, and then back off. Some will be tempted to say a lot more, and if they do, they shouldn’t be surprised if their audience hits the mute button.

Natasha Chilingerian is executive editor for CU Times. She can be reached at nchilingerian@cutimes.com.