Coronavirus: Brand Moves 10 - May 4 2020 - Interbrand
←
→
Page content transcription
If your browser does not render page correctly, please read the page content below
May 4 2020
Coronavirus: Brand Moves 10
Welcome to our tenth weekly round-up of brands’ responses to COVID-19.
Share it as widely as you like – it’s intended to be inspiring and informative
Technology
Weeks after Facebook invested $5.7 billion in Jio Platforms, India’s top telecom operator, private equity
firm Silver Lake is following suit. Silver Lake announced on Monday it will be investing 56.56 billion Indian
rupees (about $746.8 million) in Jio Platforms for about a 1.15% stake in the Indian telecom network, giving
it a valuation of $65 billion, a 12.5% premium to the valuation implied by the Facebook investment. The PE
firm, which has approximately $40 billion in combined assets and committed capital, has invested in dozens
of tech firms over the years including in video game engine maker Unity, audio and video communication
service Skype, consultancy firm Gartner, Alibaba’s Ant Financial, computer giant Dell and Chinese ride-
hailing giant Didi Chuxing. “The market potential they are addressing is enormous,” said Egon Durban, co-
chief executive and managing partner at Silver Lake, in a statement. Shortly after the Facebook investment,
JioMart, an e-commerce venture, began testing an ordering system on WhatsApp, the most popular
smartphone app in India with over 400 million active users in the world’s second largest internet market.
The gaming industry has seen a massive spike in business – the industry had its biggest March in over 10
years; sales of game consoles, games, accessories and game cards topped $1.6 billion, according to The
NPD Group’s monthly report. “Gaming right now, globally, is having a moment,” commented Microsoft
Xbox head Phil Spencer. “Gaming is a social and community connection for many people, and as physical
distancing is requiring that people are physically apart, the social connections and community connections
that the games industry brings to people are expanding. We track what we call ‘new to Xbox customers,’ –
people that we’re seeing for the first time, and we’re seeing a big flood of new people come into gaming.”
In recent weeks, online grocery delivery service Instacart has turned profitable for the first time ever, thanks
to a massive sales increase. Instacart sold about $700 million worth of groceries per week in the first two
weeks of April, up 450% on sales in December. The eight-year-old company is said to have lost a total of
$300 million last year.
Business connectivity platform Okta has released its latest monthly report on apps and usage and found,
to nobody’s great surprise, that between February and March, far more users adopted new functionality
than usual. “We see growth in two major areas: collaboration tools, especially video conferencing apps, and
network security tools such as VPNs that extend secure access to remote workers,” said the report. Zoom
was the fastest growing app with 110% growth in unique workforce users in March over February 2020.
(For comparison, Zoom grew only 6% during that same time period in 2019.) RingCentral ranked at #6 with
39% growth, and Cisco Webex took #7 with 37% growth. However, as firms tried to keep their information
secure during the rush online, network security and performance tools also boomed. Palo Alto Networks’
GlobalProtect showed 94% growth in March over February, compared to 20% for that same period in
2019. Cisco AnyConnect was close behind with 86% growth. Citrix ADC, which accelerates application
performance and secures apps from attacks, had 56% month-over-month growth in that same period.
Proofpoint Security Awareness Training was the fifth fastest growing app, with 40% growth. Proofpoint
also appeared at #10 with 22% growth, representing the increased usage of their Proofpoint Protection
Server, Proofpoint Secure Share, and ProofPoint Threat Insight Dashboard products. An unexpected
transition to working from home often requires a new set of problem-solving skills. Many users were turning
to Freshservice for their cloud-based IT service desk solution: between February and March of 2020, the
number of unique users grew 25%. And LinkedIn Learning experienced 23% month-over-month growth,
showing that users are expanding their skill sets and possibly using this time to invest in themselves.
/continued
website: interbrand.com
contact: hello@interbrand.comCoronavirus:
Brand Moves 10
News from US network providers: After promising 60 days without data caps and overage fees for all
customers, Comcast has decided to extend the data-cap waiver until at least June 30. Comcast announced
the data-cap waiver on March 13, saying the waiver would last until May 13 to help customers deal with
the pandemic. Comcast now says it will extend the data-cap waiver and other pandemic-related changes
“through June 30 to help ensure students can finish out the school year from home and remain connected to
the Internet during the COVID-19 crisis.” Also extended to June 30 is Comcast’s promise not to disconnect
Internet, mobile, or home phone service and to waive late fees if customers “contact us and let us know
that they can’t pay their bills during this period.” Verizon has also extended a pledge to keep customers
connected through June 30. “This means we will neither terminate service nor charge late fees to our
postpaid wireless, residential, and small business customers that notify us of their inability to pay their bills
due to disruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic,” Verizon said. Customers must contact Verizon to
avoid losing service if they can’t pay their bills. Verizon also said last week that it’s giving wireless customers
an extra 15GB of data in May. AT&T has announced it will continue to waive overage charges for postpaid
wireless customers until June 30, but didn’t say whether it will extend the cap-waiver for home Internet
service. Like Verizon, AT&T has extended its no-disconnection pledge until June 30. More than 700 providers
have signed the FCC’s “Keep Americans Connected” pledge, which includes not terminating service
to customers who cannot pay because of the pandemic, waiving late fees for customers affected by the
pandemic, and opening Wi-Fi hotspots to the public.
HP Inc. and its partners are working to close the homework and digital access gap during the pandemic:
HP has launched HP Turn to Learn – a program that will deliver educational content curated from leading
scientific, publishing and media companies to support teachers and students in the face of the COVID-19
pandemic. HP is partnering with TIME for Kids, Britannica and NASA on the program, which will focus
on providing critical resources to Title I school districts and underserved students across the US. HP has
removed the paywall from its TIME for Kids digital content and will ensure immediate access to printed
classroom materials (textbooks, workbooks and other paper-based assignments). The program will ensure
K-Grade 3 learners in select school districts will have access to TIME for Kids, Britannica and NASA for the
rest of the school year, with the program expanding to K-12 soon.
Google is opening up its Google Meet videoconferencing service to anybody who wants to use it, instead of
just offering it to enterprise and education customers via G Suite. The company says anybody with a Google
account will now be able to create free meetings of up to 100 people that can last any amount of time, though
after September 30th it may restrict meeting length to 60 minutes. Users won’t be able to just click a link and
join a meeting; they’ll need to be logged in so meetings can be better controlled by their hosts. Google will
also introduce other safety measures as a way of differentiating its Meet product from Zoom, which has had
a meteoric rise that over the past few months and caught both Google and Microsoft flat-footed but suffered
a series of security problems, which the fast-growing company has scrambled to address. Meet is also to be
integrated into Gmail.
WhatsApp has launched an eight-person group video chat feature, up from the previous four participants.
The company reports that over the last month, people on average spent over 15 billion minutes talking daily
on WhatsApp calls. To utilize the new higher participant limit, users need to update to the latest version of
WhatsApp.
Facebook is to broadcast a live graduation day ceremony titled #Graduation2020 with a commencement
address from Oprah Winfrey and other celebrity appearances and performances. The virtual ceremony
will acknowledge US high schools and colleges by name, state by state, including photos and videos of
graduating classes. The ceremony video will be shared on Facebook Watch, with highlights posted to
Instagram’s eponymous account. Facebook’s virtual activation will give both Facebook and Instagram grads
a reason to celebrate graduation on social media despite schools being closed throughout summer. Facebook
and Instagram are also adding a variety of creative tools to help grads celebrate the occasion, including a
virtual graduation hub and custom filters on Facebook, as well as a grad countdown sticker, AR effects and
grad-related songs added to music stickers on Instagram.
/continued
website: interbrand.com
contact: hello@interbrand.comCoronavirus:
Brand Moves 10
Several brands have been taking advantage of the rise of Zoom video conference calls. DoorDash, Behr
and Pandora have all debuted backgrounds for the popular app, while Burger King’s “Home of the
Billboards” campaign encourages fans to download one of the billboard images from Burger King’s Twitter
account, use it as a Zoom background during your virtual meetings, upload a photo on Twitter and tag the
brand. The brand will then directly message you with a free sandwich code to be redeemed on Burger King’s
app. The brand has been particularly active in promotion; Burger King France released the “recipes” for the
Whopper, Steakhouse, Big Fish and Big King sandwiches. They also self-censored ads to tease fans about
the reopening of drive-thrus in Belgian locations for Burger King Belgium, and handed out free Whoppers
to students who showed off their smarts on social media for Burger King Global. Other Covid-19-related
campaigns included a promotion offering free post-lockdown birthday parties – complete with food, cake,
gifts, invitations and decorations – to 500 kids whose parents uploaded a photo of their birthday cakes to
social media, tagging Burger King. Within 24 hours, all the parties had been claimed, with more than 2,000
people participating. After such a strong response, the burger chain expanded the promotion to 100 more
winners this week. “Our priority during the crisis has always been to make ourselves useful through simple
and concrete actions,” said Burger King France CMO Alexandre Simon. The singular goal of the campaign, he
said, is “to show our attachment to families.”
In the cryptocurrency industry, companies such as BitMEX, Binance and the Stellar Foundation have been
making sizable donations to COVID-19 relief funds. On January 25 Changpeng Zhao, CEO of top-ranking
crypto exchange Binance, announced in a tweet that his company has pledged to donate $1.5 million
(10M RMB) to help the victims of the coronavirus in Wuhan, China. Through Binance Charity, a nonprofit
blockchain-powered donation arm of the company, an initiative titled “Binance for Wuhan” kicked off
by supplying 20,000 testing kits, 366,000 pairs of gloves, 5,280 bottles of hand sanitizer and 388 oxygen
concentrators among other kinds of supplies. Binance Charity went further, announcing a new fundraising
project that aimed to tackle the coronavirus globally. The company aims to raise $5 million in cryptocurrencies
that would go toward buying medical supplies for countries most affected by COVID-19. Helen Hai, the
head of Binance Charity, said: “The most important element of human life is to show compassion and help
others as we can, without the limitation or restriction of borders.” The Stellar Development Foundation has
announced the launch of the XLM-donation-matching program powered by Stellar-based Lumenthropy, a
fundraiser that helps charitable organizations accept Stellar Lumens. One of the nonprofits, with which the
SDF plans to match donations, is with the Tor Project. Reports indicated that SDF is set to match donations
to a total of $79,300, which adds up to about 1.9 million XLM tokens. The Stellar Development Fund will also
match donations to Unicef France; Heifer International, an organization fighting hunger through offering
support for small scale farmers; and Watsi, a nonprofit that streamlines health care financing through building
technology. The Giving Block, a company that helps nonprofit charitable organizations accept crypto
donations, has announced the start of its #cryptoCOVID19 alliance. The initiative wants to unite the crypto
community in the fight against the coronavirus. Gitcoin, one of the partners in the campaign, kicked off the
donation by matching $100,000 in Ether (ETH) on the Dai platform. The Giving Block has also partnered
with the likes of Brave, Gemini and Axiom Finance to raise $500,000 in crypto donations. Ripple Labs has
announced a donation of $200,000; $100,000 to the Tipping Point Community, a nonprofit organization
based in San Francisco, which later raised the total donation to $1.1 million for victims of the coronavirus
in the U.S. Ripple Lab’s donations will also go to the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, a dedicated
regional fund in response to the coronavirus outbreak in Silicon Valley. BitMEX, the derivatives exchange
backed by Arthur Hayes, recently announced that it is donating a total of $2.5 million in support of the
fight against the coronavirus. In an announcement, BitMEX stated that the funds will be directed to four
organizations at the forefront of the fight against the pandemic. These organizations include a biosecurity
program called the Nuclear Threat Initiative, the Gates Philanthropy Partners, Our World in Data and
OpenMinded. Golem, a computing network, is another contributor from the crypto sector to join the fight
against COVID-19 through the Folding@Homes project. Golem and blockchain platform Tezos have set
aside hundreds of Tezos coins (XTZ) that will be given to the biggest F@H donor by the end of April. Another
major contributor to the initiative is Ether miner CoreWeave, which has donated computational power of
about 6,000 GPUs. Nvidia has also contributed toward the project by urging gamers to donate unutilized
GPU computing resources. Blockchain company Bitfury announced on March 31 that the Amsterdam-
based firm had dedicated some of its GPU computer nodes to the “Folding@Home” research project
to help organizations look into the coronavirus. And blockchain company Real Items announced that it
would be working with microfiber manufacturer Tricol Group’s factories in Seattle and China to track the
authenticity of their production of KN95 masks using blockchain technology. The United States Food and
Drug Administration had recently approved the use of KN95 masks for health care workers, which are
manufactured in accordance with Chinese rather than American standards, as N95 masks are becoming
increasingly hard to find.
/continued
website: interbrand.com
contact: hello@interbrand.comCoronavirus:
Brand Moves 10
The new advertising campaign for the Portal From Facebook video-calling devices salutes mothers and
their efforts during the coronavirus pandemic as Mother’s Day approaches. Facebook said the integrated
campaign will include a new television spot, digital content (both on- and off-Facebook) and partnerships with
a wide range of mothers sharing their stories from the frontline of the battle against Covid-19 and their homes.
Social media platform TikTok has announced the launch of a new, interactive feature, Donation Stickers,
that creators can use on their videos and live streams in order to raise funds for charities directly in the
TikTok app. At launch, these stickers will work to support charitable partners including CDC Foundation,
James Beard Foundation, Meals on Wheels, MusiCares, National PTA, National Restaurant Association
Educational Foundation, No Kid Hungry and The Actors Fund. When a user taps on the sticker, they’ll
be guided to a pop-up window where they can make a donation to the charity the creator is fundraising for,
without having to leave the TikTok app. The donations are powered by charitable fundraising platform Tiltify
which handles the payment processing for the donation transactions. Tiltify has experience with donation
features embedded in live streams, having previously worked with the Twitch platform on various initiatives.
Manufacturing & Retail
CVS Health and UPS’s Flight Forward drone service are joining forces to fly prescription drugs to residents
of a Florida retirement community. In the initial stages of the pilot program, slated for early May, the drone will
land merchandise at a designated pickup location near the facility. A UPS vehicle will then make the pickup
and complete the last stage of the delivery to the customer’s residence. All deliveries will be sourced from a
CVS store close to the retirement community – the flight distance will be under half a mile. The community,
The Villages near the city of Orlando, is home to over 135,000 residents. According to UPS, The Villages is
the largest retirement community in the US. In a press release, UPS said that if successful, the program could
widen to include two other CVS stores in the area. UPS Flight Forward was formally established in June 2019
and UPS and CVS have been conducting drone delivery pilot programs since late last year.
Jaguar Land Rover, the UK’s biggest carmaker, plans to gradually reopen some factories on 18 May. The
company’s Solihull plant, which employs 9,000 workers making its Range Rover models, will reopen with
a quarter of its workers at first, alongside SUV plants in Slovakia and Austria. Ford has said it will restart its
main European car factories on Monday 4 May, though its UK plants will stay closed until later in the spring.
The US car giant, which closed its European and North American factories at the height of the coronavirus
pandemic in mid-March, said production would begin slowly with strict standards on social distancing and
safety precautions. “We need to prepare for a new environment once we are past the initial peak of the
coronavirus pandemic in Europe, with the key priority in our ‘return to work’ plan being the implementation
of Ford’s global standards on social distancing and strengthened health and safety protocols,” said Stuart
Rowley, president of Ford of Europe.
Shopify, best known for powering the online stores of more than 1 million businesses, is launching a
consumer shopping app of its own today, simply called Shop. The app is actually an update and rebrand of
Arrive, an app for tracking packages from Shopify merchants and other retailers, which the company says
has been used by 16 million consumers already. Shop includes those same package tracking capabilities, but
it also allows consumers to browse a feed of recommended products, learn more about each brand and make
purchases using the one-click Shop Pay checkout process. “The current COVID-19 pandemic and resulting
economic crisis prompted Shopify to ask ‘What are the things we can today to best support merchants?’”
said the company. One of their answers is a feature that allows shoppers to browse local merchants, see
which ones currently support delivery and in-store purchase, then make purchases to support them.
Footwear brand Hush Puppies is debuting a giveaway program for seniors who may be lonely and in need of
support—both emotionally and physically. The company is giving away 5,000 pairs of Power Walker shoes,
what it describes as “grandpa style,” in a program that asks customers to send the shoes via a form on their
website to those seniors in their lives who could use a lift. According to a Hush Puppies spokeswoman citing
a report in the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, 43 percent of U.S. adults who
are at least 60 years old were already feeling lonely prior to the pandemic. Hush Puppies will also give 500
pairs of Power Walkers, which retail for about $100, to a retirement home in Grand Rapids, Michigan that is
near its Rockford, Michigan headquarters.
/continued
website: interbrand.com
contact: hello@interbrand.comCoronavirus:
Brand Moves 10
As some US states begin to reopen non-essential businesses, the National Retail Federation has
announced Operation Open Doors, which provides guidelines and assistance for brands trying to bring their
brick-and-mortar stores back into operation during the pandemic. The NRF separated retailers’ priorities into
four areas: health and safety, people and personnel, logistics and supply chain and litigation and liability, and
has resources available online to help with each. But the group stressed that it needs government help with
such efforts.
Mattel’s latest special edition action figure collection, #ThankYouHeroes, is commemorating delivery drivers,
nurses, EMTs, doctors and grocery workers. Proceeds from the new Fisher-Price line of 16 action figures
and five Little People Community Champions will go to #FirstRespondersFirst, an initiative created by
the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Thrive Global and the CAA Foundation to support first
responders. Mattel is also providing toys to Bright Horizons daycare centers, which recently opened in
partnership with #FirstRespondersFirst for the children of first responders. According to Mattel, these topical
toys will be the first of several brand efforts designed to support today’s everyday heroes, with others kicking
off in the coming weeks as part of the California-based company’s broader platform for social responsibility.
Charity & Finance
The coronavirus pandemic could permanently change how many bankers make the daily trip into packed city
centre offices, Barclays bank chief executive Jes Staley said. The bank, which like companies worldwide has
seen the majority of its staff work from home or backup sites, will not revert fully to its pre-January working
habits. “There will be a long-term adjustment in how we think about our location strategy - the notion of
putting 7,000 people in a building may be a thing of the past,” Staley said. Staff including investment bankers
could, said the CEO, work instead from branches as well as other locations. Barclays plans to reopen its
Hong Kong office first, before other Asian hubs such as Singapore and Tokyo, then Europe.
A new online service has been launched by American 50-plus membership organisation AARP to help users
find and organize local volunteer groups to provide financial, emotional and other support to those most
affected by the coronavirus outbreak. AARP Community Connections features a searchable directory of
mutual aid organizations to help people at higher risk of COVID-19, as well as workers who have been laid off
due to the pandemic. These informal groups, usually formed and run online, are providing key daily services,
such as picking up and delivering groceries and medications, and helping communities stay connected as
people practice social distancing to slow the infection’s spread. “We may need to be physically isolated,
but we don’t have to feel alone,” said Andy Miller, senior vice president of AARP Innovation Labs, which
developed the new tool. “Through this innovative platform, people in need of help from – or who want to offer
help to – their communities are empowered to engage.” AARP Community Connections is free to use, and
AARP membership is not required.
Fashion & Luxury
Famous central London upmarket department store Selfridges has announced that its Food Hall is
reopening to serve the local community. They’ll also be making it easy for key workers in central London
to shop there with NHS, health and social care workers given free use of the store’s carpark, a dedicated
entrance and fast track check out. Customers will be able to stock up on fresh produce from the greengrocer,
bakery, butcher and fishmonger plus, for the first time, food boxes and make-your-own kits including Bake-
Your-Own Bread, Make-your-own Pizza Kit and At-Home-Pasta Kit. Selfridges will also be selling a range
of household and pharmacy items. There will be a limit to the number of customers in store at any one time,
a one-way shopping system to help maintain social distancing and hand sanitiser stations. Items from the
butchers, fishmongers and bakery will be pre-prepared and packaged. Any leftovers at the end of the day
will be donated to one of three charities; City Harvest, The Little Things and HEROES+. Plus, shoppers are
being asked to nominate someone in their local community who has carried out an act of kindness to be in
with a chance of winning a fridge full of food. They’ll also be giving a free fridge of food to one of the food hall
staff members each week.
/continued
website: interbrand.com
contact: hello@interbrand.comCoronavirus:
Brand Moves 10
French luxury brand Hermès’ Guangzhou flagship store reportedly achieved $2.7 million in sales when it
reopened this weekend. This is believed to be the biggest daily figure for a single boutique in China and
offers hope to luxury brands and retailers of what economic recovery may look like in the coming months.
VIP shoppers documented their extravagant purchases across multiple social media platforms, including
Weibo and Xiaohongshu. Guangzhou is the capital of Guangdong province, China’s most affluent region.
This position makes it an interesting testing ground for how consumer behavior for high-end customers will
change when stay-at-home orders lift. “This reopening affirms the house’s commitment to Southern China
and marks a new chapter for the Parisian house in Guangzhou, where it has been present since 2004,”
Hermès said in a statement. The sales figure has been said to be due to “revenge buying” – a phrase first
coined in the 1980s to describe the pent up demand for foreign products that had been denied to China’s
citizens when the nation was closed off to the outside world. However, the term has more recently been used
across Chinese social media as a way to describe how ordinary citizens were dreaming of treating themselves
once quarantine was lifted, as well as by those expressing disdain at unnecessary spending as the economy
struggled. French brands LVMH and L’Oréal said earlier this month that a recovery could start soon after the
coronavirus caused sales to plunge in the first quarter, as revenue in China is already bouncing back. L’Oréal
Chief Executive Officer Jean-Paul Agon said that sales in China – the world’s biggest market for luxury goods
– turned positive in March and were on track for a gain of 5% to 10% in April. LVMH, the owner of Louis
Vuitton and Dior, flagged a rapid acceleration in mainland China in April as shoppers clamored to make
purchases delayed by lockdowns. Sales in mainland China turned positive in April for Gucci owner Kering
too, buoyed by the repatriation of tourist spending and pent-up consumer demand.
On Monday, fashion retailer J. Crew and its sibling brand Madewell started advertising packs of three masks
made in their popular gingham and stripe patterns, and both brands’ products sold out in less than a day. By
Tuesday morning, the product page on J. Crew’s site for the nonmedical face masks advised consumers to
“Please check back for a restock soon.” Sales were limited to two per customer. Banana Republic (which
has also been advertising “video chat” accessories) is another retailer to have run out of masks.
Travel & Hospitality
As working remotely has become the new normal, hospitality group Global Hotel Alliance has begun to pivot
to meet the demand for non-home workspaces – a kind of WeWork for executives. Their California-based
Meritage brand is offering what they call ‘Office Zen’ at its Huntington Beach Paséa Hotel and Spa – an
oceanfront workspace available 7am-7pm with highspeed wi-fi, two-line speakerphone and complimentary
coffee and tea. Combined with the resort’s rigorous distancing, cleaning and sanitising policy, as lockdowns
lift this may prove popular with executives who want somewhere more professional than home, but have
abandoned the idea of traditional office life. The Global Hotel Alliance has 35+ brands with more than 570+
hotels spread across 85 countries in its portfolio, so if this proves successful, we could soon see the concept
spread worldwide.
Heinz has announced an initiative to send $2,000 checks to 500 of America’s diners, which are struggling in
the wake of the Covid-19 outbreak. To determine which small restaurants will receive a share of the $1 million
fund, the brand is asking people to go to heinzfordiners.com and nominate their favorite neighborhood
eating spot. “Heinz has proudly stood on diners’ tables for decades,” said Dalia Adler, brand building lead at
Heinz. “So now, at a time when every little bit counts, we’re proud to be supporting them.”
In an unusual and innovative tourism campaign by Visit Faroe Islands, the destination marketing organization
of the autonomous Danish territory located between Iceland, Scotland and Norway, people from all over the
world have been logging on to a dedicated microsite to watch a local guide traverse the scenic islands via
a livestreaming camera attached to her hat. They can also join the queue to ‘remote control’ the explorer –
commanding her with a virtual controller to run, jump, turn left or right, continue forwards or turn backwards.
The “Remote Tourism” campaign is a smart way to keep the picturesque, if remote islands, in travellers’
minds as a post-lockdown destination.
Bakery chain Panera Bread has re-thought the way it provides services to consumers during the pandemic.
Panera Grocery offers contactless pickup or delivery of grocery items at a time when individuals are
attempting to shop less to reduce exposure to coronavirus. Consumers can order produce and dairy items as
well as bread, bagels, sandwiches and soups through Panera’s website, app or GrubHub.
/continued
website: interbrand.com
contact: hello@interbrand.comCoronavirus:
Brand Moves 10
Police in New Zealand have been required to enforce crowd control measures at a popular fast food outlet
after large numbers of people rushed to buy burgers following a relaxing of the country’s lockdown measures.
The country spent almost five weeks under a strict, level four lockdown but eased into level three restrictions
on Tuesday, meaning some children could go back to school and 400,000 people were able to go back to
work. But for many, it was a chance to finally eat fast food. A limited number of restaurants and cafes have
been permitted to reopen, which resulted in long queues of cars at KFC and McDonald’s drive-thru outlets
throughout Auckland, the country’s biggest city. And at burger joint BurgerFuel in Auckland, the crowds were
so large that the police were called. “Day one of re-opening saw our stores inundated with a stampede of
customers, way beyond what we had anticipated,” a spokesperson said. BurgerFuel will now only take orders
online, and all outlets will have to have a crowd controller at the store.
Uber plans to require drivers and riders to wear face masks or face coverings after it restarts services in
certain countries, including the United States. The company is in the process of developing technology to
detect if drivers are wearing masks or face coverings before they go online and start accepting trips. It already
has face verification capabilities as part of its “Real Time ID-check” feature used to verify the identity of
drivers and is also looking into ways to hold riders accountable. “As countries reopen, Uber is focused on
safety and proceeding with caution. Today, we continue to ask riders to stay home if they can, while shipping
safety supplies to drivers who are providing essential trips. At the same time, our teams are preparing for
the next phase of recovery, where we will all have a role to play,” said Uber’s head of safety communications
Andrew Hasbun.
Airbnb has announced a new Enhanced Cleaning Initiative, which includes the first overarching
standardized protocol for cleaning and sanitization in the home sharing industry. The company says it is
informed by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published standards; leading
experts such as Dr. Vivek Murthy, former Surgeon General of the United States; and companies in the
hospitality and medical hygiene sector, such as Ecolab, a global leader in cleaning and hygiene technologies
and services. In May, they will launch the new Cleaning Protocol, with enhanced procedures and guidance
on how to clean every room in a home; guests will be able to identify and book accommodations included in
this program soon after hosts enroll. The Protocol will include specific information on COVID-19 prevention,
such as the use of personal protective equipment, like masks and gloves for hosts or their cleaners, as well
as disinfectants that are approved by regulatory authorities. A CDC recommended 24 hour wait period before
entering is also required, as a precaution to address the possibility of particles that may remain airborne for
a few hours. If hosts are unable to commit to the Cleaning Protocol, they can opt into a new feature called
Booking Buffer, to create a vacancy period between stays. Hosts can commit to keeping their home empty
for a set period in between stays, with no activity other than cleaning. Reservations will be automatically
blocked during that time frame, currently set at 72 hours.
Transport for London is still advising travellers to stay at home, but has launched a set of custom video
call backgrounds – including the interiors of buses, tube trains and the Emirates cable car across the River
Thames. “We know many of you miss travelling on the network – ourselves included,” said the organization,
“but it’s important to continue to stay home to save lives and curb the spread of coronavirus. Enjoy the
network from the safety and comfort of your home!” The images are available to use as custom backgrounds
including Zoom video conferencing, meetings and chats.
Billionaire investor Warren Buffett says his company Berkshire Hathaway has sold all of its shares in the
four largest US airlines. Mr Buffett said he had been wrong to invest in the airline industry. The conglomerate
had an 11% stake in Delta Air Lines, 10% of American Airlines, 10% of Southwest Airlines, and 9% of
United Airlines, according to its annual report and company filings. The firm began investing in the four
airlines in 2016, after avoiding the aviation industry for years. Mr Buffett said: “We will not fund a company
that... where we think that it is going to chew up money in the future.” Mr Buffett’s comments came just hours
after Berkshire Hathaway announced a record $50bn (£40bn) net first quarter loss.
/continued
website: interbrand.com
contact: hello@interbrand.comCoronavirus:
Brand Moves 10
Media, Marketing & Sports
UK magazines-to-radio media conglomerate Bauer Media has assembled a pandemic ‘tone’ consultancy
called Bauer Adventure from its content, creative and commercial professionals to help brands decide how
to market themselves during the pandemic. The agile consultancy has been created in response to industry
furloughs, reduced budgets and stymied production capabilities at home. Adventure said DIY chain Wickes
was one of its first clients, with pre-booked spots tailored to encourage at-home DIY projects. Bauer said
Adventure will be available to clients on all projects, no matter the budget or scale of the campaign. Lucy
Wheeler, director of Bauer Adventure, said: “It is more critical than ever for brands to use the right messaging
and tone in their advertising as consumers become increasingly more judgemental and open to brand
switching.” A study by the firm said that 85% of listeners expect ads to be non-exploitative – yet 91% have
already shifted brands, and 85% would consider doing so after the lockdown. Furthermore, ads addressing
Covid-19 garner 15% more attention than those that do not, said the research, gathered from a nationally
representative survey of 1,495 people.
Adidas Singapore has made its training apps free for citizens going without access to gyms or classes
under lockdown. The sports giant has removed the financial barrier of using its Adidas Training and Adidas
Running apps and has launched a campaign called the “#HomeTeam” initiative, to help people stay active
while staying at home. The brand is providing users that sign up before the end of April free access for 90
days, to help people stay active even though gyms and sports facilities have been closed due to lockdown
measures. The brand is also creating lockdown content, extending its remit beyond athletics and sport and
delving into more creative types of workout content in partnership with its creators and ambassadors. “We are
rolling out free virtual experiences across social and digital channels,” said Petr Stastny, country manager at
Adidas Singapore. “In addition to live workouts and nutrition tips, there will be live DJ streams, lunchtime jams
and inspirational content for our community to stay mentally strong, inspired, creative and hopeful.” Early
data from activity in March shows that people are responding well to brands launching such initiatives. “To
encourage the community to stay active,” he said, “we also launched a ‘Fit From Home’ Challenge in March,
where anyone from around the world could join in and help to achieve a collective goal of staying active: 1
million workout hours by 19 April. We saw over half a million participants.”
The top 10 ad spenders in the world (according to RECMA data from 2018) are adapting their marketing
strategies to the ongoing crisis. Here’s an analysis from Digiday:
1: The world’s largest consumer goods maker, Procter & Gamble – and the biggest advertiser – increased
marketing spending by nearly 2% in the first quarter. The company’s organic sales were up 7% in the first
quarter, its best sales growth in a decade. “There’s big upside here in terms of reminding consumers of the
benefits that they’ve experienced with our brands and how they’ve served their and their families’ needs,
which is why it’s not time to go off air,” said P&G CFO Jon Moeller.
2. Unilever’s sales performance was flat for the first quarter – analysts had expected 2.1% growth. While
consumers did stock up on its household cleaners like Dove, Axe and Knorr, Unilever felt the hit in its food
and ice cream divisions. Plus, much of its business is in emerging markets, where stockpiling hasn’t been as
much of a phenomenon. Unilever withdrew its growth and margin outlook for the year, owing to uncertainty
around the severity and length of the pandemic. It’s maintaining its level of marketing investment, however.
Chief Executive Alan Jope said that it has halted any new major ad productions that were in the works,
reviewing ad spending to take advantage of cheaper ad rates and “dialing up areas with strong ROI.”
3. L’Oréal’s first-quarter sales dropped 4.8% as hair salons and other retailers were forced to close. A bright
spot was skincare sales, which rose 13%. The Maybelline maker said trends from China, its largest business,
looked positive for a rebound in beauty sales elsewhere. L’Oreal said it was “already seeing an encouraging
recovery in beauty product consumption” after lockdown rules began to be relaxed in the country — though
mask wearing does hit lipstick use. CEO Jean Paul Agon described the current situation as a supply crisis,
not a demand crisis, and that the impact should be temporary. E-commerce and digital have become a core
focus as L’Oréal focuses its marketing activity to meet the needs of new at-home beauty trends. “When stores
are closed it doesn’t make sense to advertise on products and it can be even frustrating to advertise on
products that consumers just cannot buy,” said Agon. “Definitely we will cut on these advertising spendings
for this short period of time.”
4. Renault Nissan Mitsubishi Alliance is cutting back, as the French manufacturer Renault’s sales slumped
19% in the first quarter while dealerships shut and consumer demand for cars has dropped. Japan-based
Nissan said last week it expects to post its first annual loss since 2009, the last financial crisis. In March,
its global sales plummeted 43% from the previous year. Mitsubishi has not yet provided a financial update
for the coronavirus period. Renault “reduced advertisement[s] as much as we can in the last part of the
/continued
website: interbrand.com
contact: hello@interbrand.comCoronavirus:
Brand Moves 10
quarter; we are going to do the same in Q2,” said Clotilde Delbos, acting CEO and CFO at Groupe Renault.
“Nevertheless, we do hope the activity is going to restart.”
5. Amazon’s revenue soared in the first quarter as consumers quickly shifted to shopping online. But
conversely, while revenue rose 26%, profit dropped 29% from a year ago; costs rose as the company raced
to fulfil the surge in orders. Amazon said it expects to record an operating loss of $1.5 billion or profit of $1.5
billion in the second quarter. The company reported $3.1 billion in operating income in the second quarter of
2019. Marketing expenses increased 32% on the year-ago quarter to $4.8 billion. However, the company said
it had been lowering marketing in some areas as a way to dampen consumer demand for non-essential items.
6. Coca-Cola has been severely impacted by the closure of bars, restaurants, movie theaters and stadiums,
and people aren’t making impulse purchases of soda from convenience outlets. Net sales fell 1% in the three
months to the end of March, versus a year ago. Coca-Cola said that April sales volumes had slumped by
25%. The brand warned advertising vendors in March that “from April and until further notice we’re putting
commercial advertising for Coca-Cola and all our brands on hold.” “We have determined that in this initial
phase there is limited effectiveness in broad-based brand marketing,” said Coca-Cola CEO James Quince.
“We have reduced our direct consumer communication, paused sizeable marketing campaigns and will re-
engage when the timing is right.”
7. Pharmaceuticals giant Glaxosmithkline had a strong first quarter, posting a 19% rise in sales that beat
analysts’ expectations. GSK is also working to develop Covid-19 vaccines. However, the company said it
expects a 1 to 4% drop in profit this year. The drugmaker said consumer consumption levels in China were
beginning to return to pre-coronavirus levels — plus it had experienced some supply chain and manufacturing
challenges. Chief executive Emma Walmsley said “our goal is to invest behind our new launches” and that
“the investment into digital is ongoing.”
8. Like other car manufacturers, the pandemic has substantially impacted Volkswagen’s business. Revenue
dropped 8.3% in the first quarter. Chief finance officer Frank Witter predicted the second quarter will be the
worst of the year and that 2020 sales will be “significantly” below last year. “This involves stringently reducing
costs further and cutting budgets drastically in all areas like external consultancy and marketing,” Witter said.
9. McDonald’s has been forced to close many of its restaurants around the world and service has been
restricted in locations that are still open. Many customers are also skipping takeaway burgers and breakfasts.
Sales fell 6% in the quarter to March 31, while profit dropped by 17%. But McDonald’s is still spending. Late
last month, the fast food chain launched a U.S. campaign airing on national television promoting free meals
for first responders. CEO Chris Kempczinski said that value will be an important focus of future marketing
campaigns, judging by trends from China, where footfall hasn’t immediately sprung back to normal levels.
“Each market is rebuilding their marketing calendar to reflect these learnings and many others, so we can
reignite our business momentum,” he said.
10. NBCUniversal/Comcast’s broadband division marked an uptick in signups, but it can’t open its theme
parks, TV and film productions are on hold and NBCUniversal and its recently-purchased Sky TV business
can’t broadcast any live sports. The company also expects advertising revenue to be down significantly in the
second quarter. Overall, Comcast’s revenue was down 0.9% in the first quarter. NBCUniversal began rolling
out its new ad-supported Peacock streaming service in April to Comcast customers, earlier than initially
planned. The national launch is set for July, but without many of the shows it had initially planned to offer, due
to the production issues. In the first quarter, Comcast’s overall advertising marketing and promotion costs
rose 2.6% versus the year-ago quarter to $1.94 billion.
/ends
website: interbrand.com
contact: hello@interbrand.comYou can also read
