Major firms replace brand promotions with Covid info | Economic Times

Several leading brands have replaced upfront brand promotions to escalate Covid-19 protocols in advertising on their social media handles, driven by the need to post sensitive content at a time when the second wave of infections is raging across the country.Snacks and beverages maker PepsiCo’s top post on its Instagram page - #MaskOnSwagOn – twins the importance of masking with its cola brand’s ‘swag’ tagline. The detailed post though makes no direct reference to brand Pepsi. “Given the current challenging times, most consumer brands see it as their responsibility to spread positivity among consumers,” a PepsiCo India spokesperson said. “Pepsi continues to use its digital assets to share messages around social distancing during festivals, encouraging people to stay at home and also asking consumers to keep patience in these difficult times.”Cigarettes to staples brand ITC has prominently posted Covid-appropriate protocols on its social media handles, including Twitter and LinkedIn.“It’s important for brands to pivot their messaging and resonate with the crisis as massive as what is happening in the country right now,” said Rohit Ohri, group chairman and CEO of creative ad agency FCB India, which represents ITC’s packaged foods brand Sunfeast, apart from India’s largest dairy company Amul, paints maker Nerolac and airlines brand Vistara.Beauty major L'oreal India, too, has “dialled down on product communication on online channels” in favour of sustainability and purpose-driven communication, a spokesperson said.Others like Budweiser India and health food brand The Whole Truth Foods, as well as logistics provider Dunzo are using Instagram and Twitter to amplify leads for Covid-related emergencies.If you are looking for any Covid-19 related assistance, use #CovidEmergency and we will help amplify your message.… https://t.co/XRxFLANj89— Budweiser India (@BudweiserIndia) 1619182126000➡️Tag @DunzoIt in your #CovidEmergency requests, and we will amplify them. ➡️Please ensure to mention City/Area, T… https://t.co/NhawdhS1T1— Dunzo (@DunzoIt) 1618825733000Clothing brand United Colors of Benetton has paused all influencer campaigns and halved the content it was posting earlier to ensure only urgent posts get through, a company spokesperson said.Many of these initiatives are, however, limited to the digital world.Executives representing media buying companies said brands across categories such as e-commerce, gaming, e-wallets, fast moving consumer goods and automobiles continue to push their product and services-related advertising on TV because of the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) T20 tournament which is garnering huge eyeballs.Restrictions on shoots have halted production and caused delays to both TV and digital advertising campaigns, said Mamtah Sabhrwal, director of strategy at digital agency Isobar.Summer categories like cold beverages, air conditioners and refrigerators are seeing a slowdown in consumption, impacting advertising and media spends in these categories.“Brands left the pandemic behind before the new wave came like a tsunami to shake things up again,” said Sabhrwal. “Last year, brands felt that it's a temporary situation, but now it seems more permanent…”Small business in a conundrumBusinesses in retail and food shut operations when the pandemic hit last year, with small businesses suffering particularly.Over 82% of businesses were negatively impacted, according to a survey of 250 businesses in the manufacturing and services sector by Dun & Bradstreet.Nearly 70% of those surveyed said it would take at least a year to recover to demand levels seen prior to the outbreak.While major brands are halting brand promotions, the decision is harder for smaller businesses.Small advertising agencies that work with these businesses are in a conundrum on whether to advise their clients to continue with brand activities or pause for a few weeks.“With skeletal staff and limited resources, the pandemic has altered the DNA of small businesses,” said Aashay Shah, cofounder of digital marketing agency Django Digital.“We are also planning to build a case to tell our brands to restrict promotions for the time being. The impact to smaller business would be larger but we want to show them the bigger picture here.”Influencers’ dilemmaSeveral online influencers and celebrities have received flak for not reading the room and posting insensitive content, but others have announced a pause to brand promotions till the situation normalises.Lifestyle influencer Masoom Minawala Mehta, who has over a million followers on photo and video sharing app Instagram, had paused most of her Indian and international brand promotions as of last week.“This is not the time for product placement,” Mehta, who has worked with brands like L'oreal, Bvlgari and Dior, said, adding that most brands were willing to postpone campaigns.“This handle is only a Covid emergency handle,” said Rasna Bhasin, a digital content creator from New Delhi. “I will only use my platform to help those in need, right now,” said Bhasin, who has over 90,000 followers on Instagram. On April 19, she said although some brands were expecting her to continue as usual, all promotions would pause.“I don't feel like opening boxes and telling the world that I have received a gift when people cannot even get oxygen,” she said.Several brands and influencers are also reinventing their communication styles.Sensitivity has become key for brands and influencers who choose to continue with promotions on social media, according to several influencer marketing experts and advertising professionals.For influencers with multiple thousand followers, every post they decide to not share is causing loss of revenue of up to Rs 10 lakh a week. A short-term gain in revenue can, however, lead to long-term loss in engagement and community, experts said.“I don't see a problem with creators working with brands until they're not insensitive or apathetic about the grave situation at hand and don't use fear as a mechanism to promote any products or services,” said Viraj Sheth, founder and CEO, Monk Entertainment. “A lot of creators are stepping up and creating entertaining videos and spreading positivity which also helps immensely in these times.”The past year has led to a reinvention of content created by certain influencers and brands, making it more relatable.“Creating content has become more real and helpful, and it has become less about proving something about your life and creating content that can actually impact your community,” Mehta said.