On the onset of this deadly virus called Coronavirus, more precisely known as COVID’19, brands all over the world are already suffering from tremendous losses. Quarantine restrictions are keeping people away from crowds, thus evacuating the most socially crowded places like cinema halls, shopping malls and retail stores. But, in spite of business taking a hit, brands during COVID times cannot stay quite. While some brands like Hindustan Unilever and Amul have already come up with creative strategies to increase awareness against this deadly pandemic, other brands are yet to figure out what can they do for their part.

Here are some of the things that the brands during COVID times should take into consideration:

• Staying informed and eradication of fake news: In this age of social media, everyone gets to know everything. But, we often do not pay attention to the credibility of the news or its source. Thus, brands should make sure that all their employees are properly equipped with the correct information from credible websites such as World Health Organisation (WHO) or Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Also, companies should look into the fact that there is no spread of fake news and panic amongst its employees.
• Taking safety measures: This virus has symptoms that are extremely common such as cough and cold, fever etc. Companies should be strict about the fact that even if somebody has mild fever, that person should stay back and not spread the contamination further. Thus, employees should be given work from home so that there is not much public interaction. Even if there are office hours, then sanitary masks, hand washes and sanitizers should be provided by the company itself. In this context, I would like to mention what Amul did. They came up with an infographic which said “Better saaf, then sorry!”
• Be humanistic: In this time of crisis, brands should be human enough to actually promote awareness by keeping their financial or reputational gains aside. A perfect example of this has already been showcased by Lifebuoy, the medicinal soap brand under Hindustan Unilever where they put out a print advertisement mentioning all their competitor brands as well. The motive behind doing so was that they wanted to spread the message of awareness that people should buy any soap that they have access to because prevention is the biggest key right now!
• Be creative: Brands should also focus on being creative while dolling out a message in a certain format- be it print or digital. For instance, Netflix is using a scene from its extremely popular web series called Sex Education where Maeve, the lead female character is shown saying, “Wash your hands, you detty pig!”

Brands often act as big influences in our life. Hence, brands during COVID times should be the first one to step in and spread as much awareness as they can!

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–Baishali Banerjee

Baishali Banerjee is a part of the Class of 2020 of PG Programme in PR and Corporate Communications at SCoRe, Mumbai. She completed her winter internship with Genesis BCW, Mumbai.

She is from Kolkata. She did her graduation in Media Science with a specialization in Public Relations and Advertising from NSHM Knowledge Campus, Kolkata. She has always been curious about the corporate world and how all these huge brands function and connect with their consumers on a day-to-day basis. She interned with Ketchum Sampark for a period of three months under the Brands & Lifestyle team. This experience made her more curious about the PR fraternity. Also, she is a person very open to learning and her interests lie in corporate, entertainment and lifestyle.
She can be reached at @baishalibanerj5 on Twitter and as Baishali Banerjee on LinkedIn