How Citizens, Consumers and Brands are Shape-Shifting in the COVID Economy

Leapfrog Strategy Consulting Pvt Ltd, a brand and semiotic consultancy has released a second report analysing the Government’s actions and communication to change the meaning of the Pandemic Experience; studying how consumerism and related values have been reshaped; identifying how advertising and brand communication has shape-shifted during COVID.

The lockdown in India has brought businesses to come to a point of re-evaluation, changing the values of Consumerism, Materialism, and Aspiration (CMA) for India’s consumer economy. This has further affected the communication, identity, and meaning of brands. To secure their future, businesses/brands have converged their brand communication into a set of codes – Friend and Well Wisher Stance, Attitude of Gratitude, Voice of Hope and Sensitivity over Opportunism, to name a few. Many brands, including Lifebuoy, Dettol, Google, Cadbury, Coca-Cola, Bhaane, Taj Hotels, JW Marriott, and Byjus have followed these communication codes to sustain consumer connect. There are many businesses that have even responded as patriotic citizens, and not as economic agents. On designing Mahindra Ventilators, Pawan Kumar Goenka, MD, Mahindra and Mahindra Limited Tweeted, “SkanRay/Mahindra ventilator, specially designed for Coronavirus, is ready for production. Thankfully there is no demand. Despite the ingenuity and many weeks of hard work by our engineers, we hope the machines never have to leave our factories. @MahindraRise” To which Anand Mahindra, Chairman, Mahindra Group replied, “Whether or not they are used, I want to express my appreciation to SkanRay, you, Velu and the joint team for your outstanding commitment and effort… You all made us proud.”

The Semiotic Analysis of advertising and brand communication during COVID reveals a new rule book where citizenship, consumption and CMA ideologies have reshaped; brands have shifted the stance from commerce to humanism and patriotism.

Semiotics, the study of signs, symbols and their embedded meanings in the socio-cultural context can help brands in their efforts to adapt to the changing context and regenerate growth. At Leapfrog Strategy Consulting Pvt Ltd, we can identify how to use the new codes in your brand’s packaging and communication, and how to deliver value to the consumer while offering premium and aspirational indulgences.

 

Content Source: https://www.prlog.org/12828372-releases-second-report-on-how-citizens-consumers-and-brands-are-shape.html