It has been more than 40 days since the country went into lockdown mode due to the pandemic. We are hoping against hope that the lockdown is lifted on the 17th of May. The recent outbreak of the COVID –19 is also seeing a tectonic shift in most people’s lives. There are so much stress and anxiety about job losses, loneliness, and other factors. But this lockdown has also changed the way organizations are thinking, the way they work, etc.
The outbreak of covid-19 is bound to make some significant and everlasting change in the way brands communicate with their consumers and its stakeholders.
MediaNews4U spoke to Josy Paul- Chairman & Chief Creative Officer, BBDO India
An unprecedented lockdown, how are you coping and boosting the morale of the team? What are the challenges you are facing at this time of crisis?
It’s amazing how everybody has adapted to a new way of working. Meetings start on time, and we are getting more done. There’s no lockdown for ideas. Of course, we miss the corridor chats and the terrace conversations and the canteen gupshup. But we try to work it out between team video calls while being mindful of the situation at home and the environment outside. Social distance is making the team come closer!
How your clients dealing with this lockdown, and what are the suggestions and strategies you are offering them?
Ideas, ideas, and more ideas! That’s what we are offering. Ideas create energy, ideas create hope. And we are sharing these with our clients. We are fortunate that many of our clients are initiating relevant action. The amazing thing is that the lockdown is unlocking things – it is opening new possibilities.
What will be BBDO’s strategy to stay ahead of the curve?
We are keeping our machine well oiled. We are at home and creating continuously, furiously. The plan is when things start getting better outside, we are ready and in full motion. The important thing for us is to stay true to what our brands stand for and communicate sensitively keeping the human context at heart.
COVID 19 has also seen anxiety issues, job losses, brands rethinking their ad spends, what will be your one positive Mantra to think positive in these trying times? What is your advice to them?
I still believe in the old adage ‘What doesn’t break you only makes you stronger’. We are all going through a rebirth. You’ve got to trust the universe. It’s all you’ve got. I believe the millennials and all who are starting out in the world of advertising and marketing will create new value for the world. This experience is a university degree for them and for me. All of us are graduating at the same time. There’s a whole new world waiting for us.
Post-Covid what would be your advice to your clients on ways to do effective communication
The only way to respond to the changing times in our business is to let go, and let flow. The unpredictability, the surprise, the new learning will be our reward. Experts say that it is going to be a slow return to normalcy. In advertising, we’ve always liked slow motion.
Time to enjoy every detail of what we are going through now. Slow is patiently waiting to show us the better picture!
