Creative and Innovative Strategies Carried Out by Companies in Times of a Crisis

Ever since the beginning of the health, social and economic crisis that we are currently immersed in, various brands have been proactively and originally responding this and still fight to counter COVID-19. To this fact, there must be added that the (social) distancing rule, introduced to overcome this pandemic, has shown organizations that corporate culture and relationships between colleagues and managers are key in any strategy and must be promoted.

To this day, communication departments do not always have the right tools, with analytical capacity, that allow them to directly measure the impact on the organization of their intangibles. The COVID-19 crisis has highlighted the importance of calculating brand value, reputation, image, shopping experience and the relationships it establishes. And not only what has been sold! This is where the decisions, that are going to be taken to position the brand properly once the virus has been eradicated, become very important.

At Atrivity, we have compiled an overview of different, creative marketing campaigns, carried out by companies with the intention of minimizing the negative impact that COVID19 could have on their businesses together with growing their value proposition. Let's get started!

_{#Brand Image Strategies}

Actions like these usually aim on raising awareness about the measures that health entities recommend taking to curb the spread of coronavirus among the population. Brands have been carrying out campaigns that promote a responsible and caring brand image. These types of strategies aim to attract attention (awareness) and generate engagement without the need of selling a product. Here are some examples of this by Audi, Nike and Mercedes.

_Audi

A campaign aimed at raising awareness regarding the need to maintain the distances between people and "being more united" in the fight against the coronavirus among the population. This way, and by deciding to separate the traditional circles that make up the logo of the brand, the car brand shows solidarity and empathy with social distancing,

_Nike

Nike uses the dream of any sports lover, such as playing in large stadiums with millions of spectators and being decisive in winning a title, as a reference. The dream that Nike is "selling" makes it come true: right now,  we are all playing the most important game of our lives and we have to play it by staying home. The slogan used is "play inside, play for the world".

Source: nike.com

_{Mercedes Benz}

Mercedes Benz follows the sanitary recommendations to the letter, such as staying at home, washing hands and all the other necessary measures to avoid further infections, To do this, the brand has used the image of several 4x4 models crossing risky areas on social networks to illustrate proper hand washing.

 Source: mercedesbenz.com

_{#Strategies of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)}

These types of campaigns are focused on the actions carried out by non-profit companies, such as collaborations with foundations, reduction of pollution or donations. In this case, organizations such as Banco Santander, Ikea and Inditex are protagonists for their enormous donations of medical material, masks, children's stories and making their logistics and networks available to store and distribute necessary equipment and materials. These actions have been of great importance, due to the scarcity of these resources in hospital centers.

_{Santander Bank}

The bank has donated one million masks, 2,000 hospital beds, respirators and medical supplies. In this emergency context, it is one of the companies that has offered its resources to combat the serious impact caused by the disease.

Santander was in charge of sending these materials all over Spain, with the hashtag #EsteVirusLoParamosUnidos (spanish for: we will stop this virus together). It should also be noted that it opened a financing line of about 20,000 million for SMEs and the self-employed to ensure liquidity in the short term.

Source: bancosantander.es

_Ikea

This company has always been focussing on improving and organizing the interior of our homes, which is why it immediately recognized that, right now, our homes are our "loophole", in which we will be safe. "#stayhome" is the best way to protect ourselves and our loved ones.

The Ikea initiative has been focussing on "furnishing our heads without leaving the house" and offers free stories and provides a way to keep our little ones entertained, so their parents can have time to telework or do chores around the house!

Source:ikea.com

_Inditex

This textile giant, for its part, has donated 35 million health protection units and 2 million masks for medical centers to deal with the coronavirus crisis and the lack of material.

Inditex is using all its storage and logistics potential in Arteixo (A Coruña, Spain) to carry out massive shipments all over Peninsular Spain in record time. The material arriving from China is packed with the message: "although the seas separate us, the same moon unites us."

Source: elapais.com

_{#Business Diversification Strategies}

In the retail sector, brands have chosen to enhance their online platforms as a resource to minimize the negative impact of having all physical stores closed. A trend that will remain, even in the post-COVID-19 era, in the form of an omnichannel. Some of the best online strategies have been prepared and implemented by Carrefour, Leroy Merlin and Decathlon.

_Carrefour

The Carrefour supermarket chain has greatly enhanced its website with the launch of basic product-kits for those who need fast food delivery.

These are pre-configured, large consumptions with home delivery between 48 and 72 hours. This is a new twist for French distributors to boost their e-commerce and increase in online demand for basic necessities, as a result of the coronavirus crisis.

_{Leroy Merlin}

The DIY giant has surprised its customers with a new section of telephone sales within its spanish website. This section allows a personalized online sale and an even better shopping experience for those customers who need the product that suits their needs best.

Leroy Merlin takes advantage of the current situation, caused by the virus, to continue growing its online strategy and betting on spanish national suppliers.

_Decathlon

Currently, millions of people are at home with no possibility to exercise like they previously did, by hitting the gym, going for a run or riding a bike.

Faced with this need, DECATHLON COACH appears. This is a free application for both Android and IOS devices, which allows you to contact a virtual trainer that sends you voice instructions and is able to measure your activity.

Source: decathloncoach.com

_{#Training and Teleworking Strategies}

Many companies are in a difficult situation right now, with all the employees at home or teleworking. This can lead to progressive demotivation and disinformation on the part of your workforce.

For this reason, various platforms, such as Domestika, Microsoft Teams and Atrivity, offer training services for individuals, such as organizations with the aim of improving distance communication and taking advantage of time at home to prepare employees for the "return to normality".

_Domestika

It is true that many of us are at home without knowing what to do or how to take advantage of time. Domestika wants to promote learning for both children and adults during these days of confinement

The online platform offers free and paid courses, so you can develop your creativity at home. The contents are applicable and can be used for all kinds and on all applications. It even has a function to help you start your own online business. Suitable for all audiences!

Source: domestika.org

_{Microsoft Teams}

Microsoft has launched a free six-month plan of the professional version of Microsoft Teams. This is done for all those teams that are teleworking. The tool enables employees to chat, call, meet, and collaborate with each other.

An initiative that intends to improve the distance communication experience between coworkers, which is accompanied by the slogan "work remotely without feeling remote."

Source: microsoftteams.com

_Atrivity

Atrivity is a gamified mobile application geared towards all those managers who need to offer relevant training and business communications to their teams. One of the main characteristics of Atrivity is that it can potentially contribute to the access and use of other LMS platforms.

This way, you can make the most out of this "pit stop", caused by the coronavirus pandemic, keeping your employees motivated, trained and prepared for the "return to normality".

Solutions, such as Atrivity and its new Feed section, allow instant and personalized communication of any information or corporate news. The competitive advantage it offers to users is the possibility of associating training content with game dynamics, to ensure successful learning.

In addition, you will be able to evaluate and measure the results of your employees. This will subsequently help you to reinforce the knowledge gaps and minimize the forgetting curve.

_{Our conclusions ... Positive!}

Behind every crisis hide great opportunities that are capable of bringing out the best and most that we carry within. The different campaigns, launched by the group of organizations, demonstrate that COVID-19 has made the best version of us appear, helping greatly to make the days of quarantine more bearable.

Promoting and incentivizing the set of corporate values is the only vehicle to promote relationships between colleagues and will become very important in terms of customer loyalty and strengthening the ties that bind us.

Posted by Laura van Loon

Apr 17 2020

Last updated Apr 17 2020

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