by MarkLives & HaveYouHeard. We asked marketers and agency staff what advice they’ve been giving to their brand teams and clients during this Covid-19 pandemic and national lockdown as part of our first South African advertising communications services industry survey to track the impact of covid-19 upon agencies and marketers. The main results were released earlier this week.

Advice

Here’s what they had to say:

“Stop thinking about the performance of your brand, and focus on being empathetic to the human need overall. Don’t push sales, but push morale and positivity in a negative landscape.”

“Carry on, be conscious of tone and take time to think”

“Talk to your customers and prospect regularly and provide reassurance. Do whatever you can to innovate and provide service above and beyond. Build relationships with your customers that are beyond mere transaction — offer real value to their lives. Now is not the time to only think in terms of profit margins. Collaborate.”

“Put customer & staff safety first, keep a close read on how customer reality is continually shifting, communicate clearly and appropriately”

“Communicate regularly with your stakeholders. Stay Top of Mind with your markets by using the communication channels still available to you. Help your customers deal with the situation now, but also help them to consider and plan for the post lockdown recovery.”

“See an opportunity but don’t be opportunistic during this time.
Preparedness: it is incredible how many brands have not prepped for black swan events.
Be authentic”

“Communicate to staff and customers, support the government is providing education and reallocate as opposed to cutting budgets”

“Show up (through support), level up (by connecting with people) and continue to drive comms”

“It’s not a marketing opportunity. Clear corporate comms is what’s needed now.”

“Engage meaningfully, don’t try to push product sales, give back to the community, plan for the future knowing that the world will be different after this”

“Build advocacy not drive sales. Stay true to the role your brand plays and add value to your audience within that role. Deliver on your brand purpose, now more than ever.”

“1. Increase digital spend, particularly on video based platforms.
2. Continue CRM and manage their customer’s expectations.
3. Expect ad delivery delays on Facebook owned platforms.”

“Walk your values”

More insights

More insights (copy unedited, as supplied):

Follow-up survey

Want to participate in the follow-up survey? Submit your email address here.

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See also

• EXCLUSIVE: #covid19’s impact on SA adland — survey results
• #CoronavirusSA: South African adland industry survey
• #CoronavirusSA – Special Section

This MarkLives #CoronavirusSA special section contains coverage of how the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, and its resultant disease, covid-19, is affecting the advertising, marketing and related industries in South Africa and other parts of Africa, and how we are responding. Updates may be sent to us via our contact form or the email address published on our Contact Us page. Opinion pieces/guest columns must be exclusive.

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