Advertising & Marketing in times of COVID-19: Should Brands in Kenya spend or not?
COVID-19 has swept the globe, spreading unpredictability and disruption wherever it goes. These are undoubtedly anxious times, in which everybody is worried about the health of their families and employees, first and foremost, yet are also overwhelmed with business challenges.This is no ordinary economic downslide: Fundamental changes in consumer behavior, supply chains, and routes to market are knocking companies in Kenya. At such unusual times, businesses have been heavily affected by the Corona pandemic in Kenya. Customer buying-power has dropped, and as a result, businesses in Kenya are facing some losses due to the Corona Pandemic.
From a marketing perspective, what are businesses in Kenya to do? Most brands in Kenya shifted to a conservative mindset and stopped their marketing spends due to the impact brought about by the COVID 19 pandemic in Kenya. A few others have drastically reduced their marketing budget. Some have shifted their budgets from traditional media to digital marketing. While some other brands in Kenya still are of the mindset where they believe they need to hold their same budget. Well, which is the right way to go?
Not making the usual revenue, hence no marketing-budget is a wrong way of looking at things.
The negative impact of COVID 19 on companies in Kenya should not be under-estimated. While large corporations and companies may have a budget to withstand the hard times, that is not the case with many small to medium enterprises. Truth be told, with a dwindling purchase power, most small scale businesses do not have the revenue hence resulting in lay-offs and cost-cutting measures.
