Marketing in the Time of Corona
Oh, marketing in the time of COVID-19. What an interesting time for a marketing graduate student, wouldn’t you say?
Much like the rest of the world, many companies are taking a hit from this global health pandemic that is shaking economies, our day-to-day lives, and our mental health. Mercedes-Benz, one of the most iconic luxury car companies out there, is just another company that is scrambling to figure out what to do and how to marketing themselves in the age of Corona.
A quick Google search will let you know that much like other car companies, Mercedes has had to halt production in all of their factories globally to stop the spread of the virus among the workplace. Moreover, they plan on disinfecting their facilities top to bottom in order to make sure it is corona free. Pretty incredible, especially because they acted quick and vowed to pay their employees as they work remotely. While this is protocol for many businesses, it is great to see such a large company act as quick as they could in order to appease the situation as best as they currently can.
Now onto the social media channels…
While more information is pretty scarce regarding Mercedes’s exact plan of action during and following this pandemic, a peek at their social media hints that things are… not amazing. While browsing their website, Twitter, Instagram etc… I can almost feel the anxiety of whatever social media intern is responsible for coming up with COVID-19 content that must be somehow relevant to thier own brand. Their website is pretty tame with a simple press release on the landing page alerting customers that production and business is at a halt while also urging customers to contact their local dealer for more questions.
Twitter and Instagram paint a much more desperate picture, with random posts about Corona that does not have anything to do with the brand. One of their bleaker Instagram posts is a coloring book, asking their audience to color it in if they were bored. Now I am not judging, I still color on the menus at Chilis, but this is too much. Mercedes is a sophisticated brand, surely their marketing department can do a little better in this regard. Who do they think follows this account? The Kushner toddlers? It’s almost bizarre and surreal that a juggernaut like Mercedes is now urging their customers to wash their hands and color in pictures via their official channels to millions of people.
But that’s it, and honestly what else can we expect them to do?
This seems to be the problem of many brands though… how does one keep marketing themselves in this very odd, hysteric climate? Of course, I am a marketing graduate student that is dissecting every inch of their media channels to see how they are handling the current crisis, so I am a little critical when reviewing their latest activity. No one, especially no fortune 500 company, could anticipate that this would be happening in 2020, so it’s a little more forgiving when given the unfortunate circumstances. They are damned and selfish if they don’t say anything, but they also seem transparent and desperate to insert themselves and stay relevant in the COVID-19 conversation.
Will they bounce back? Of course they will. Mercedes is an established, iconic luxury car brand that will always find it’s way into the hearts of the elite. But, the people are loud and speaking, and I truly wonder how the inevitable paradigm shift in society will affect companies both big and small.
