We’ve searched for the most pressing marketing news so you don’t have to. Here’s what’s happening so far the week of March 16.
Gartner: CMOs Must Shift Strategies Amid Coronavirus Threat
Marketing Dive
CMOs need to prepare for disruptions and tread carefully.
Why it matters: Uncertain times call for proactive measures and agile adaptations.
How Brands Are Adapting To The Expectations Of An Increasingly Vegan Generation
Digiday
With 30 percent of Gen-Zers reporting an intention to be on meat-free diets by 2021, brands need to adapt their messaging due to consumer expectations.
Why it matters: Understanding Gen-Z’s unique orientation toward veganism will show that it’s not a 1:1 with the attitudes of Millennials.
How Bad Times Bring Out The Best In People
Harvard Business Review
In your experience, are you and your coworkers bonding and banding together over the current crisis?
Why it matters: Tough times make it harder to distinguish the difference between our individual needs and those of society. And that can be a good thing.
Coronavirus And The Marketing Industry: What Happens Next?
The Drum
It’s the question everyone is asking: What happens next for the industry?
Why it matters: The widespread impact of coronavirus cannot be overstated. It’s imperative to understand the blow to traditional marketing and its relation to a significant increase in digital ad spend.
How To Design An Effective Schedule During Stressful Times
Fast Company
How to design an effective schedule during the abnormalities we’re currently experiencing (that means recharge time, too).
Why it matters: Even though the disruption of normal activities is trying and its length is uncertain, keeping your environment as similar as possible and adopting a schedule that matches your typical day can go a long way to making it more tolerable and effective.
Olympics Unlikely This Year, Former Team USA Official Says
Bloomberg
The 2020 Tokyo Olympics are looking less and less likely, at least according to one source.
Why it matters: Advertisers and sponsors are likely to take a drubbing if the 2020 Olympics are called off: You can recoup some things, but lost impressions—especially of this magnitude—are irrecoverable.
What Can Brands Do If the Coronavirus Crisis Drags On for Months?
Adweek
Now might be the optimal time to pursue cause marketing initiatives as we collectively ascend the upward slope of the coronavirus crisis in both time and scale.
Why it matters: Your back-up plans need back-up plans; strategize for the long-term and multiple “worst case scenarios” with the approaches outlined here.
General Mills Boosts Marketing Spending, Pushes For Appropriate Message During COVID-19
Ad Age
Maintaining a sense of normalcy and avoiding outright reference to “stocking up” are a big part of General Mills’ strategy in this current climate.
Why it matters: General Mills is experiencing something that cereal and canned food brands have crises from the past: a boost as people stock up on dry goods and non-perishables and a need to adjudicate over what’s appropriate messaging given the delicate situation.
Preparing Your Marketing Plans For The Coronavirus Downturn
The Drum
The protocol hasn’t changed much: Take a long-term approach to the current crisis by not immediately looking for short-term cuts to marketing. Do this while retaining your current customers while acquiring new ones and you’ve already started your preparations.
Why it matters: Step #1: Don’t cut the budget. “Maintaining visibility in your market is essential for long term profitability and continued investment.” It’s common to subject the marketing budget to cuts first, but that would be a mistake right now.
Keeping Vision In Focus When The CMO Goes
Campaign
A problem/solution oriented approach filling the vacuum left by outgoing CMOs: Assign a leader, force collaboration and codify processes, as a start.
Why it matters: More and more organizations are recontextualizing marketing roles, which unfortunately for the CMO means either extinction or adaptation. For the teams that remain, identifying gaps should be a primary concern.
Entertainment Brands Chart Their Next Steps After Canceled SXSW
Adweek
Entertainment brands are assembling the wreckage after the cancelation of SXSW.
Why it matters: What do you do when the worst case scenario is the scenario?
Which COVID-19-Related Consumer Behavior Shifts Are Here To Stay?
AdExchanger
Separating the ephemeral features of the coronavirus crisis from those with lasting impact on consumer behavior.
Why it matters: This too shall pass, but some things may never return t “normal.”
Cannes Lions Officially Postpones Festival Of Creativity As COVID-19 Crisis Worsens
Campaign
It was inevitable.
Why it matters: The windfall for marketers at events like Cannes Lions cannot be understated. So, what’s next?
What’s Trending: Experts Decode Generation Z
Modern Retail
“Seven Gen Z marketers and entrepreneurs share their insights from the frontlines.”
Why it matters: Widen your analysis of Gen Z’s habits. What was initially thought as indicating a deficit of attention could actually be a product of Gen Z’s media fluency and swift detection—and distaste for—the disinguine.
3 Strategies For Strengthening Brands Amid Coronavirus Uncertainty
Marketing Dive
How to strategically approach this crisis by adapting to changes in consumer behavior that could make your brand stronger.
Why it matters: Adversity is a chance to galvanize. “The best brands are defining themselves with the mission statement and working from that standpoint and recognizing that they can grow share during this period of time.”
What Marketers Can Do Right Now in the Age of Coronavirus: A Letter From Ann Handley
MarketingProfs
Ann Handley shares her take on what marketers can do right now to confront the coronavirus crisis head-on.
Why it matters: In the face of monumental crises, it’s important to take stock of what actions are needed immediately as well as in the long-term.
Majority Of Marketers Delaying Campaigns As Coronavirus Fears Escalate
Marketing Week
“More than half of marketers (55 percent) are delaying campaigns or have put them under review as fears escalate over the global coronavirus outbreak.”
Why it matters: The impact of coronavirus on advertising and marketing has been profound and necessitates that every marketer look to their planned campaigns to figure out the right path forward.
Facebook’s Sandberg: No One Knows How Much Impact Coronavirus Will Have On Marketing Industry
CNBC
Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg: “This is not going to business as usual, and the marketing industry is certainly going to see a real impact. I don’t think anyone knows how big. So we’re going to watch and look.”
Why it matters: As we examine the extent of the pandemic’s reach, it’s important to look to industry leaders for their perspective on its impact on advertising.
Marketing Events In The Time Of Coronavirus
The Drum
What event organizers, speakers and sponsors need to do in light of the global coronavirus pandemic, from refund recommendations to how to hold virtual events.
Why it matters: Events are essential and the roles involved are numerous, so we need real solutions to limit the negative global impact of coronavirus on the industry.
‘We’re Thinking Like A TV Production’: SAP’s CMO On Rewriting Strategy In A Pandemic
The Drum
SAP’s marketing strategy for the entire year has been scrapped. CMO Alicia Tillman shares what motivated and informed these adjustments and how thinking like a TV production has helped.
Why it matters: A reminder that none of us are now working in a traditional business environment.
DTC Leads the Charge Of Retailers Closing Shops To Slow Spread Of Coronavirus
Adweek
How direct-to-consumer brands are leading the movement to stop the spread of COVID-19.
Why it matters: Naturally, DTC brands have a thing or two to offer consumers in times of social distancing and retail lockdowns. But not every retailer is putting public health over short-term business goals.
Coronavirus Sparks Huge Jump In Social Media Use, Study Finds
Campaign US
A new study confirms that people are connecting online as social distancing practices go into effect around the country.
Why it matters: Brands can maintain a digital connection as consumers stay indoors due to the spread of coronavirus.
A Proven Battle Plan For CMO’s To Combat This Global Crisis
Forbes
It’s past time for a battle plan to combat the current global crisis.
Why it matters: We’re confronting a new reality in the workplace and the answer to what lies tomorrow isn’t always clear. Ambiguity is something every CMO can grapple with, however, as marketing leaders’ work environments are always profoundly affected in times of crisis.
Bing’s Coronavirus Live Map Tracks Recoveries, Along With New Cases And Deaths
Fast Company
You can find a quick link to Bing’s tracker here.
Why it matters: Keep a tab open and stay informed about the spread of coronavirus and how it might impact your work.
Influence Through Endorsement: The Power Of Brand Ambassadors
The Drum
Something non-coronavirus related, because if you’ve taken anything from the first article in today’s reading list, the crisis will end.
Why it matters: This Q&A between with Jemma Banks, WW’s (fka: Weight Watchers) marketing director and Mark Stringer, CEO and founder of PrettyGreen, WW’s UK PR agency, covers successful influencer campaign and has insightful words of caution for brands extending their influence through ambassadors.
Editor’s Note: Our weekly reading list is updated daily. This installment is updated until Friday, March 20. Have a tip? We’re looking for must-read articles related to trends and insights in marketing and media. Let us know at editorial@alistdaily.com.
