dentsu report on “Brand resilience and prosperity in the COVID battlefield”

In their latest report on brand resilience and prosperity in the pandemic battlefield, dentsu provides unique insights from the industry and marketers from over 100 survey respondents across the dentsu China group.  The insights and implications in this report will support their critical decision making as they strategise to get ahead of the COVID recovery curve.

The research is based on in-depth interviews across Shanghai, Beijing & Guangzhou, with over 100 marketing and media experts to capture sentiment and brand impact as the situation develops.

dentsu’s team of analysts and strategists worked with these proprietary data sources to produce the unique and actionable observations, insights, and implications. There’s a lot of data, and considering what is most pertinent to their clients, dentsu has summarized and curated the most valuable and relevant content.

The observations have been broken down into the following themes, each with implications for brands for marketers to consider. For each observation, dentsu proposes a variety of recommendations for brands. 

dentsu is a champion for meaningful progress. dentsu partners with their clients and provide them with their best-connected solutions and more online related industries are less affected.

Together, these can help brands successfully navigate the forces shaping their immediate future and plot a course to get  ahead on the COVID recovery curve.

5 takeaways from marketer sentiment snapshot

• Sentiment among marketers is optimistic and many anticipate change to be short term. Many opting to delay extreme shifts in strategy, focus on maintaining core foundations for business.
• Retail and high-value categories are experiencing the most short-term impact, while FMCG and Luxury marketers see new opportunities to explore during this period as some are willing to increase spend.
• Exploring new routes of growth through market prioritization, shifting to online channels and building brands are seen as top strategic shifts from marketers in response to current conditions.
• Ecommerce, social, content and performance are the top capabilities marketers say they will look to in order to build or enhance their go to market strategies. This speaks to the shift in investment towards more short-term metrics and more direct impact channels within the next 3-6 months.
• As in 2022, dentsu expects to see a V-shaped recovery, while the categories that enjoy this may differ, food and beverage, culture consumption and finance.

5 trends in shifting consumer behaviors

• Return to rationality and an increased willingness for trust will make it harder for new brands to grow quickly. More granularity into the insight of new consumer needs to find new connection points.
• Consumers are now more responsive towards emotional and purpose driven marketing due to increased social awareness. Being empathetic and offering authentic companionship by providing psychological support to alleviate anxieties and create fun moments with a range of “cloud” entertainment and social options.
• As work-from-home becomes a new normal the home living style changes and adapts. Brands should build diverse occasions and contextual experiences to suit different home lifestyle needs.
• The way people socialize with each other has changed through more blended experiences. This presents brands with an opportunity to bring more consumer driven live streams and online events to connect communities virtually.
• Community commerce has grown exponentially with the 1km proximity economy being a standout consumer shift especially with the tiered opening of cities post-recovery, hence it is important to use community media and agile strategies to incorporate in the new zoning.

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