How Retailers Can Reach Consumers Who Aren’t Spending

 

Harvard Business Review | April 16, 2020

 

By Christine Moorman and Torren McCarthy

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8. Contribute toward the fight: Marketers who just push products in this environment will be met with a backlash. They need to express empathy and communicate social initiatives, too. In the U.S., companies like Carnival are offering their cruise ships to provide additional capacity for hospital rooms, distilleries are making hand sanitizer rather than alcohol, and Novartis and Bayer are donating millions of doses of chloroquine, which is being trialed for treatment of Covid-19.

More creative approaches have also surfaced, such as the swimwear startup Summersalt repurposing its customer service agents (many of whom have counseling backgrounds) to provide emotional support. Familiar Creatures, a Richmond, Va.-based advertising agency, is supporting local restaurants and breweries through a “Keep Calm and Nom Nom” campaign, which includes a website where customers can buy gift cards to keep these businesses afloat through these difficult months.

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Read the full article on Harvard Business Review.