SUMIT SAXENA

Blog 1 Of The Series: A Look Back At Advertising During The World Wars
Blog 2 Of The Series: Dominant Themes In The Post-Covid19 World
Blog 3 Of The Series: Marketing Themes During Crisis: Assurance And Nostalgia
Blog 4 Of The Series: Marketing Themes During Crisis: Empowerment And Escapism
Blog 5 Of The Series: Marketing Themes During Crisis: Pride In Roots And Spiritualism

In the last post of the series, we explore the themes around conservation of nature, resources and health

#1. Flexible, Agile, Multifunctional

This is actually two themes meshed into one: conservation of natural resources and conservation of the personal ones

Scores of videos being circulated; of blue skies, cleaner air (screenshots of AQI confirming ‘good’ air quality), cleaner rivers, Dolphins dancing in the seas… Earth breathing again!

The Covid-19 lockdown imposed throughout the world has struck a chord in every one of us and it has made us thinking how nature is so important for our day to day living. The tangible improvements in nature have made us believe that the Earth can be saved. It is no longer an intangible, immeasurable, invisible goal.

The time is ripe for the brands to start marketing the eco-friendly way. Help the people to save this plant while we can. This can translate into,

  • Eco-friendly packaging
  • Products that last long, more sustainable 
  • Ability to recycle/upcycle, reuse, redecorate
  • Manufacturing/ producing goods in a manner that reduces carbon footprints
  • Turning into vegetarians/ vegans to bring back the ecological balance (relevant for food & snacks industry per se)
  • (And many more such ideas but I am sure you get the gist ! )

With looming insecurity around cash flows, the lockdown has also forced people to introspect about their savings and expenditure habits. There would be an increased focus on maximizing personal resources- money (saving vs expense) and time (upskilling vs entertainment).

It does not mean that the luxury theme would no longer work- in fact, the delineation between what is cost-effective versus what is luxury would be more distinct. However, there would be an increased conservativeness in the consumption of luxury.

Theme#8. Health & Nutrition. Need for a holistic lifestyle

This pandemic has shown us a mirror; how we have exploited the Earth, how we have exploited our bodies, how weak our immune systems are, how easily prone we are to flu. This has awakened us to the need to build our immunity to fight off the unknown viruses & bacteria.

This has forced us to re-examine our lifestyle choices pertaining to the food we eat (with so much junk food, frozen food being reheated due to paucity of time), hours we sleep (always in a rush to get the next task completed), a complete imbalance between work & life with very little quality time for family.

The need to build our immunity + Lockdown has made us realise,

  • the goodness of homemade food, vegetables & fruits
  • how critical it is to slow down & have 7-8 hours of sound sleep
  • physical activity/ exercise
  • being around loved ones, bonding with them
  • most importantly that we can strike a work-life balance after all

Health is not unidimensional, just looking fit is not enough. Health is a holistic concept encompassing physical, mental, emotional & spiritual.

Some examples of new products that are promising ‘building immunity’ (apart from traditional Chyawanprash etc.)

Staying physically fit at home, the most popular app by ‘Cult Fit’/ ‘Cure Fit’ with advice from what to eat, how to exercise, Live sessions with trainers, celebrities, specially designed fitness programme by HRX and many more features.

There is no dearth of workout @ home videos on YouTube. Consumers are spoilt for choice:

Most popular app for meditation & sleep:

Concluding thoughts:

It is up to us how we look at this phase in our lives. We can get anxious, cynical, or stressed over it or we can choose to be positive, see the silver lining in this crisis. Consumption patterns are bound to change amid COVID-19 scare, at least till we have a vaccine for it, which is easily 18 months away from now.

Needs are changing but they still do exist. It is important to read the consumer pulse & respond to their needs. The sooner we do better it is for brands & consumers, both.

In spiritual terminology, with faith, courage & optimism, we can turn this poison into medicine.

This concludes our series on marketing themes in post- COVID-19 world