There are six defined stages in each and every crisis, and as the end of summer approaches, it’s fair to say that COVID-19 is making it hard to truly know what stage the country is in now. A few weeks ago, with pubs beginning to open it felt like we’d reached the Resolution stage and could start to move towards Recovery, looking back at lockdown and getting ready for a party of all parties at the work Christmas do.

However, it’s not really like that now as the spectre of a second wave is mentioned in every news bulletin. In fact, it feels like we’re in the Resolution stage whilst simultaneously right back at the Warning and Risk Assessment stages. While consumers may be mixed in their cautiousness, with wild variations in actions, it is the right time now for brands to use their marketing budgets to be at the forefront of positive, smart engagement that pushes us all in the right direction towards an optimistic embrace of these uncertain times.

Leading from the front

The drinks industry has always held a highly regarded role within digital as leading from the front with new ways of connecting with audiences and pushing innovation to create new experiences outside of traditional spaces. Never has that been truer than during lockdown. Who hasn’t enjoyed seeing Beavertown get a Guinness World Record for the World’s Largest Virtual Pub and raising £32,000 in the process, or Bud Light’s football quizzes featuring current and past players? Or Diageo launching the Virtual Good Host Guide to help customers navigate the world with playlist planning, measuring spirits correctly and picking themes. But now the country’s collectively moving away from nights gathered around Zoom, virtual pub quizzes and single weekly trips to the supermarket, and these lockdown lifesavers now seem connected to an experience we want to move away from. So, now what?

This is the time to dig deep into each brand and explore the possibilities of new connections with consumers in this new normal where existing purchase behaviours, out-of-home experiences and on-trade actions have all been blown out of the water. Evolve out of the Response and Management stages of the crisis; the mindset is no longer there. Instead take advantage of the collective desire to want to feel normal again while also offering reassurance that the brands consumers know, and love are still rooted in the same values.

A marketing pivot

Beavertown have beautifully evolved their Covid Arms lockdown campaign as it now becomes an on-going platform to support comedy artists by hosting a monthly comedy night with tickets sold via Crowdfunder and money raised being split between the performers and The Trussell Trust. Also neatly evolving for these new times is the Jameson Connects: The Stay Inn campaign that saw the rapper Bas entertain Jameson fans through online quizzes, drinks recipes and virtual gigs during lockdown. As Bas had to put on hold the plan to run a series of youth music workshops in Sudan, the campaign has now transformed into a digital mentoring scheme to help two new artists with Bas putting together a new track with them.

Bombay Sapphire US is another great example of a pivot with their Stir Creativity worldwide platform turning into the Create From Home campaign that partners with organisations such as Hunker, Society6 and Skillshare to inspire creativity while people have more time at home. They’re also offering free memberships so people can learn new skills themselves. Based on their research that shows that 60% of people would like to hone their ‘drawing and painting skills’ they enlisted Joey Yu to guide guests through the process of drawing their own bold, modern window scene. Now in a new global initiative they’re partnering with Soho House for the inaugural Soho House Art Prize, launched in June 2020, to support emerging artistic talent.

Peroni have also shown a smart evolution of their La Passeggiata campaign which is rooted in their Italian heritage and is about the tradition of taking time to walk, connect and socialise. This they’ve evolved into a new campaign called Walk With Us which is bought to life in a letter titled From Italy to the World to reflect how people may now have a renewed sense of appreciation for the things they may have taken for granted, even something as simple as a walk. In addition, over one million premium recyclable cups and 250,000 four-pint carriers are now available for on-trade use.

Supporting the causes that matter

Showing support for causes that are relevant for 2020 is also a key theme from some drinks brands and one that’s backed up by research from Edelman that found, “Now is a pivotal time for brands, with one in three consumers claiming they had stopped using a brand that was not acting appropriately in response to the coronavirus pandemic”.

Whether its Camden Town Brewery changing the name of its signature lager to Camden Heroes to raise money for healthcare workers. Or Ukrainian spirits company Nemiroff who, in support of the drinks industry itself, launched a campaign to support out-of-work bartenders through the COVID-19 crisis with a cocktail challenge with cash prizes. BrewDog was also quickly in there, being one of the first to repurpose its equipment to create hand sanitisers.

What’s relevant now?

But what’s relevant now, in August when the country feels like it’s in Recovery? Well a lot has happened over summer that reflects inequality, injustices and a sense of instability in the world. Perhaps in reflection of this several brands are making moves into more controversial areas such as the drinks companies (Diageo, Brown-Forman, Beam Suntory and Britvic) who are suspending their social media advertising on Facebook in solidarity with the campaign Stop Hate for Profit, which is asking Facebook to stop valuing profits over hate, bigotry, racism, antisemitism, and disinformation.

Taking that one step further is Pernod Ricard who’ve just announced the creation of a crowdsourcing app that gives consumers affected by hate speech on social media the power to identify and report content they find objectionable directly to brands and companies. This means that those brands can leverage their own influence to get content reviewed and removed. All are pushing over and beyond marketing into exploring their real brand purpose for 2020.

We are entering a new consumer mindset in relation to the COVID-19 crisis and the way brands adapt to this ever-evolving new landscape. Brands will need to deliver new ways to engage that feel like a natural evolution but will also be expected to know their place within a period of vocal support for causes that are close to consumers’ hearts and minds.