Dare and Endure

This was Winston Churchill’s rallying cry as he stared down the Nazi war machine’s rapid domination of Europe in 1940. Historians pinpoint this mindset as the fuel for Britain’s role as the uniter of allied powers who ultimately overcame long odds to emerge victorious in WWII.

The US and its marketplace has been under attack since the COVID-19 pandemic hit three months ago. Success will demand a like mindset. Consumption patterns have changed. Finances have changed. People have changed. New leadership will emerge. Will your brand dare and endure to be great?

Blu is starting a new blog series that answers these and many other questions to help guide and challenge your thinking so you can endure and thrive in the new marketplace.

We are calling the series Dare to Endure, inspired by the famous quote above from Winston Churchill.

Are you ready for what’s ahead? Do you have what it takes to challenge your thinking? The future of your business depends on it.

>Take a look at the article from Gartner below, then follow our Dare to Endure series over the next several blog posts.

Critical Gartner information to consider.

The following from a Gartner report describes what has worked best in China during the coronavirus outbreak. It is critical thought leadership since China’s marketplace response is about 2.5 months ahead of the US.

One key takeaway in China was that time spent online shot up 20% as people confined themselves to their homes. Social networking continued to be people’s favorite activity, but there were surges in time spent playing mobile games (up 44% between January and February 2020), watching short videos (up 14%), and reading news and other information (up 14%).

The report’s other key findings were that brands should:

– Shift marketing efforts online where consumers are spending more time.

Louis Vuitton’s physical stores were closed in the lead-up to Valentine’s Day, so the brand launched an online pop-up store within the WeChat app with live chat for pre-sale consultations and promotions shared via store associates online. Online sales were double those of Valentine’s Day 2019.

– Use online video to win consumer engagement.

People isolating themselves at home are hungry for entertainment and information. Activewear brands have been quick to promote in-home exercise content at a time when usage of the short video app Douyin (known as TikTok in the West) has seen usage as much as double. Nike began posting workouts to the platform, and its account has amassed 346,000 followers and more than 2 million likes.

– Focus on delivery options and be transparent.

Consumers expect that there might be delays, but they want brands to keep them updated. In the early stages of the crisis, household cleaning brand Dettol took to its Weibo account to detail how it was handling the spike in demand.