How Marketers React to the War
The War
The date that won’t be forgotten in this generation — is February 24, 2022. On this day, Russia invaded Ukraine. It’s our first time to see a war that happened in our world instead of in the history book, and this may be the most significant world crisis since World War II.
Putin claimed he would demilitarise and de-Nazify Ukraine but not occupy the Ukrainian territory. However, Putin kept invading Ukraine brutally and eventually asking for a neutral Ukraine.
How do people react?
Now, it’s been almost a month since Russia invaded Ukraine. Yet, somehow, the war brought people together to fight against the bully and wish for peace.
According to a survey Gartner, technological research and consulting firm, 8 in 10 people think marketers should take at least one step to stop Russia. 60% of the U.S. respondents supported reconsidering doing business in Russia or with Russian partners. In addition, 55% of them cared about personnel safety in regions embroiled in the fight, and 46% focused on minimizing disruptions that could affect product supply and pricing. Only 16% of the respondents said they don’t think brands should do anything regarding Ukraine.
So, most of the people in the survey are expecting brands to take action against Russia and hope the pressure will make Putin stop the war.
How do marketers react?
To make an effort to stop the war and to respond to their customers, more and more brands are taking action to do their part.
For example, Netflix, Ikea, Ford, Apple, and Disney started to peel back Russian operations. Disney paused releasing “The Batman” and other films in Russia to protest the unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. McDonald’s temporarily closed all of its restaurants in Russia and paused all operations in the market. Starbucks, Burger King, Amazon, Unilever, L’Oreal, Meta, etc. These well-known big brands were also using their power to impact Russia’s economy.
Moreover, Airbnb not only suspended operations in Russia and Belarus but also offered free short-term housing for up to 100,000 Ukrainian refugees and long-term stays in neighboring European states.
My Thoughts
In my opinion, it’s a good way that marketers react to the war is by shutting down their operations in Russia. First, of course, is that they maybe can do their part to make Russia stop invading Ukraine. Second, although it seems like the brands will lose certain amounts of revenue by peeling back Russian operations, for the long-term, they build peace, positive, and keep up with current affairs brand image in customers’ minds.
I’m impressed with how the internet and social media affect marketers, and marketers’ decisions may affect the war. This is what I’ve never thought of before. In the past, those who could affect the war were soldiers, politicians, and protest people. But now, everyone can become a person to speak on social media and mold public opinion to affect the war trend.
