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March Marketing Stoak Report

We want to start by saying that we hope everyone is staying safe and healthy during these strange and uncertain times. In the beginning of March, many of us weren’t sure what to make of COVID-19, not knowing if it was overblown or really as serious as they made it out to be. Nowadays, it seems like the latter is very true – and you know it is serious when advertisers completely shift gears and join behind the #StayAtHome cause. The benefits of this is two-fold, as brands can use their platform to spread the message, but it is also great for their business long-term, as consumers want and expect their favorite brands to do good.

This month, we saw McDonald’s, Nike, Jeep and thousands of other companies urge their audiences to stay home and give thanks to the healthcare and essential workers on the front lines. This month, we are solely Stoaked On companies supporting #StayAtHome and have collected some of our favorite COVID-19 themed campaigns. 

Corona 

One elephant in the room is Corona – yes, the beer. How is this affecting its brand? Shouldn’t its marketing and communications teams be up round the clock trying to separate the fallacy that there is somehow a connection between this virus and its beer? In short, the answer is no. 

Corona is owned by Constellation Brand and its CEO Bill Newlands released the following statement:

“Our thoughts and prayers go out to those affected by this terrible virus and we hope efforts to more fully contain it gain traction soon… It’s extremely unfortunate that recent misinformation about the impact of this virus on our business has been circulating in traditional and social media without further investigation or validation. These claims simply do not reflect our business performance and consumer sentiment, which includes feedback from our distributor and retailer partners across the country. We’ve seen no impact to our people, facilities or operations and our business continues to perform very well.”

That’s all the brand needed to do. In fact, Corona even claims sales are actually up 5 percent in the U.S. over the latest four-week period, nearly doubling the 52-week trend for the brand. Corona gets it – showing some empathy and emotional intelligence has dissolved a potentially damaging situation. 

Update: Following the writing of this blog, the brewer of Corona, Group Modelo, released a statement on Twitter that it is suspending its beer production after the Mexican government ordered nonessential businesses to close in an attempt to stop the spread of the coronavirus. Sorry, Corona, tough month.

Activista – Social Distancing Album Covers (6-feet Covers)

The LA-based agency Activista created a clever campaign that updated old album covers to the new social distancing standards and the results are great.

The Beatles’ Abbey Road

NWA’s “Straight Outta Compton”

These new covers have attracted a significant amount of eyeballs and Activista is directing their audience’s attention to Feeding America’s website for donations. All in all, a great campaign wrapped up with even better cause. 

Hotels.com  – Captain Obvious: Social Distancing

Travel companies have taken a big hit during the coronavirus, no doubt. The sheer volume of canceled trips has resulted in an unfathomable amount of refunds and logistical changes for airlines, hotel and travel sites alike.

It is hard to imagine many of these companies continuing to operate business as usual for the time being, and yet, Hotels.com developed the above ad. In the 15-second spot above, its classic spokesperson Captain Obvious can be seen using hand sanitizer as the onscreen text says, “He’s going to be social distancing for a while” and you should be staying at home too. 

It is a great ad, and a bold approach for a company that needs people to leave their homes to survive. However, coronavirus won’t last forever and consumers will remember the companies that are looking out for people’s best interest. 

Buffalo Wild Wings #SportsLiveOn

Pretty cool, right? Buffalo Wild Wings recognizes its demographic. There’s no need to show its beers on tap or buffalo wings, it knows what its audience is missing the most during this strange time – and that’s sports.

Even when there may not be conventional, organized sports playing, it’s great way for Buffalo Wild Wings to showcase that its standing by their sports fans – a core part of the company’s philosophy.

You may have also recognized a few of those viral videos from platforms like Tik Tok, Instagram and Youtube. A hotbed for athletes making do while quarantined and great approach for an ad. Plus, who doesn’t like watching @melofreestyleball juggle TP like Ronaldo?

Nike – Play inside, play for the world

This is fantastic copywriting. Nike uses its classic advertisement format to make the reader take a step back and look at the bigger picture. Getting people to stay inside is an important message, but has not been easy task, especially considering cities are having to remove rims from basketball hoops to get people to stop playing during the quarantine. Good on Nike for backing the cause.

Jeep #StayOffTheRoad

We love seeing this kind of creativity and you know it’s a Jeep advertisement just from grill. This was a part of Jeep’s recent #StayOffTheRoad campaign, which urges its audience to stay inside for the time being.

PS.

In case you wanted some non-COVID-19 news, Gatorade developed a global advertising campaign called the GOAT camp in the beginning of March that shows what a major brand that is advertising savvy can really do.

Gatorade – GOAT Camp

The international YouTube commercial brings together some of the world’s GOAT (Greatest Of All Time) athletes, which are also Gatorade sponsored athletes – including Micheal Jordan, Lionel Messi, Serena Williams and Usain Bolt. An unbelievable cast of athletes and it truly is surprising how many unanimous GOATs it has on its team when you see them all together – and there would be at least one more if the brand hadn’t dropped Tiger Woods in 2010!

It’s just a classic brand flexing its reign over the industry, as there isn’t any sport drink company, let alone beverage company, that could compete with an advertisement like this.

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