March 19, 2020

These are strange times for all of us but particularly for brands. With so many people at home, watching television, listening to radio and online far more than they were a few weeks ago, this captive audience is a marketer’s dream. But what is there to sell?

The sports sponsorship arrangements that were about to hit peak activation, with a yet unfinished domestic football season, the Euros and the Olympics all to come in 2020, are all rather difficult to promote now. There is very little for bookmakers to offer odds on (where there was once a raft of betting ads on Sky Sports there are ads for dentists and insurance providers) and it makes you wonder who will be successful at a time when the public is cautious to spend?

The winners will likely be those brands, and those creative agencies, who can think outside the box

So far, there have been some valiant efforts from breweries – at a time when going to the pub is actively discouraged, efforts like “Pub in a Box”: a selection of beers, snacks, a music quiz/playlists delivered to your door (by local musicians if you live in the East London area) are really great. Brew Dog’s recent announcement that they are going to be making hand sanitiser at its Scottish distillery (to provide “Punk Sanitiser” to those who need it; not to sell it) is a wonderful message. A brand that is doing something helpful in these crazy times whilst keeping its name alive.

Whether its fitness brands streaming exercise routines to gym members who can no longer attend in person or restaurants offering to deliver your meals there are still ways to access customers.

And for those with the biggest new ideas, the world is your oyster – see the emergence of marble racing: a competition that requires no human interaction and therefore adheres to the rules of social distancing is the perfect sport for the Coronavirus era.

What and who will win the brands race in this crazy time we will wait and see with interest.