dentsu China: Brand resilience and prosperity in the COVID battlefield

May 9 2022, 10:33 am | BY Kim Shaw | No Comments
dentsu China: Brand resilience and prosperity in the COVID battlefield

dentsu China’s latest report is primed with unique insights and implications to help brands get ahead of the COVID recovery curve.

 

dentsu China’s latest report provides a unique insights from the industry and marketers from over 100 survey respondents across the dentsu China group. The insights and implications in this report will support their critical decision making as they plan a roadmap to get ahead of the COVID recovery curve.

• Sentiment among marketers is optimistic with 54% anticipating only a short-term change.
• Compared with the 2020 experience, broader and stricter COVID measures and logistics restrictions have resulted in a more sudden impact on brands.
• Due temporary impact on sales, savvy marketers will be more focused to reprioritize investment patterns rather than reduce spend
• As in 2020, marketers expect to see a V-shaped recovery, while this will differ depending on the category

The research is based on in- depth interviews across Shanghai, Beijing & Guangzhou, with over 100 marketing & media experts to capture sentiment and brand impact as the situation develops.

The dentsu team of analysts and strategists worked with these proprietary data sources to produce the unique and actionable observations, insights, and implications shared. There’s a lot of data, and dentsu has made decisions on what is most pertinent to our clients, summarising and curating the most valuable and relevant content.

They’ve broken these observations down into the following themes, each with implications for brands for marketers to consider. For each observation, they’ve proposed a variety of recommendations for brands.

As dentsu are champions for meaningful progress. It is their role to partner with their clients and provide them with the best-connected solutions and more online related industries are less affected. Together, these can help brands navigate successfully the forces shaping the immediate future and plot a course to get ahead on the COVID recovery curve.

5 takeaways from our marketer sentiment snapshot
1. Sentiment among marketers is optimistic and many anticipate change to be short term. Many opting to delay extreme shifts in strategy, focus on maintaining core foundations for business.

2. Retail & high-value categories are experiencing the most short-term impact, while FMCG & Luxury marketers see new opportunities to explore during this period as some are will- ing to increase spend.

3. Exploring new route of growth through market prioritization, shifting to online channels & building brand are seen as top strategic shifts from market- ers in response to current conditions.

4. Ecommerce, social, content and performance are the top capabilities marketers say the will look to in order to build or enhance their go to market strategies. This speaks to the shift in investment towards more short-term metrics & more direct impact channels within the next 3-6 months.

5. As in 2020, we expect to see a V-shaped recovery, while the categories that enjoy this may differ, food & beverage, culture consumption & finance.

5 trends in shifting consumer behaviors
1. Return to rationality & an increased willingness for trust will make it harder for new brands to grow quickly. More granularity into the insight of new con- sumer needs to find new connection points.

2. Consumers are now more responsive towards emotional & purpose driven marketing due to increased social awareness. Be empathetic and offering authentic companionship by providing psychological support to alleviate anxieties and create fun moments with a range of “cloud” entertainment and social options.

3. As work-from-home becomes a new normal our home living style changes and adapts. Brands should build diverse occasions and contextual experiences to suit different home lifestyle needs.

4. The way we socialize with each other has changed through more blended experiences. This presents brands with an opportunity to bring more consumer driven live streams & online events to connect communities virtually.

5. Community commerce has grown exponentially with 1km proximity economy being a standout consumer shift especially with the tiered opening of cities post-recov- ery. Use of community media & agile strategies to incorporate in the new zoning.

Click here to see the full Brand Resilience and Prosperity in the COVID Battlefield report.