There is nothing positive to speak about the pandemic. While medically and economically it has set the globe in a regressive orbit there is a harvesting of wisdom of sorts. We as a race have intellectually evolved. From “I” and “You”, the narratives are more moving on the streamline of “we” and “us”. We have higher levels of social responsibility today with beliefs in togetherness and trust on a collective strength. And this trust will go a long way, when not just India but the entire globe can come together and pushback the visible and the invisible enemies of humanity. India has stood head and shoulders tall among its counterparts, not just in combatting the coronavirus (considering the huge population that we have) but also in self-reliance, self-sustenance and its geo-political decisions & responses. There’s inspiration to be found on all fronts, but as far as the invisible war of the COVID 19 assault, we are building our immunity!
Brands across categories are evolving themselves from Chyawanprash to Plywood all are rearranging their communications to boost and empower the song of “immunity” that the whole of India is singing. Recalliberating core offerings to provide dual experiences that empathise with human insights during pandemic while engaging with the relevant consumer groups is the new mantra today. Disruptions in digital experiences to interactivity and gamifications, brands are turning the rule book on its head to create immersive experiences that would get consumers to break out of their sedentary lives and jump into a more meaningful era post COVID.
Staying contextually relevant is the biggest challenge that brands are facing today. Brands would need to refocus on how to procure enhanced performance. They would need to remain flexible, transparent, sensitive, responsive and budget layouts that would demand discretion in such a scenario. While it is true for FMCG, Lifestyle and other brands, things are not hunky dory for Healthcare brands as well. In fact healthcare brands need to be extra careful, so that they don’t get viewed by the lens of being exploitative of the current situation. It is like a walking on a tight rope with ethics and empathy (read, insights, engagement, etc…) to balance you. Talking from our own experience – we had a portfolio of products that were driving a cosmeceutical market. As market leaders we were answering a certain call of the consumer. With the advent of COVID, which rapidly took pandemic proportions, the wellness angle of our products had to take a back seat and we had to answer a much more core and a crying need and that is “immunity”. Thankfully our entire product portfolio is built on a strong scaffolding with immunity at its core. Both our Glutathione & Vitamin C products were answering the national demand.
Having said, push strategy is not going to work in this market. It is a demand driven market and we needed to carry out a much more strategic conversation that is both responsive and responsible. Along with contextual marketing, we at Adroit have been focusing on also the content that would bring in more engagement. #IndiaKiImmuneNiti is one such conversation that has caught the national imagination. A peppy dance step is taking the millennial crowd by storm. Zumba experts, Fitness gurus and social influencers are urging people to support this initiative with has the immunity of India at its core thought. But promotional campaigns are not an answer today. Clearly a brand has to reinvent itself in the new normal. #IndiaKiImmuneNiti is not only about making India understand the importance of boosting immunity, it is also about urging the netizens to engage and share their ways about how they are boosting their immunity and their families too. All brands are trying to educate their consumers about the importance of immunity but we at Adroit not only believe in educating our audience but also creating innovative ways to make them engaging. Investing in research and creating an institution based knowledge know-how builds the brand credibility and we are doing that, by engaging with expert, researchers and scientists from across the globe. It is a brand’s social responsibility to empower the bigger brand that we can ever have – OUR OWN COUNTRY!
Authored by Sushant Raorane- Co-founder- Director Adroit Biomed.
