The Only Thing A Brand Should Do– Help Ukraine Defend The Land, Stop The War
“The article was posted on March 18th, the 23rd day that Russia invaded Ukraine.”
On the night of February 24th, I firmly argued that lots of citizens in Kyiv were disturbed by loud noises. Their sluggish heads couldn’t believe it, but their emotions knew — Russia had attacked Ukraine. Since I had no idea why Russia suddenly invaded Ukraine, I immediately checked my social media. “Kharkiv is being shelled,” read the first post I saw.
As bystanders from other countries, we don’t have to figure out the reason that Russia attacked Ukraine. However, the war had started, the terrible situation has become the focus of attention in our lives.
How Is Ukraine Going?
A couple of days have passed since the sorrowful day, yet it feels like months. While Russian armed troops bombard Ukraine’s territory with rockets and airstrikes from Russian and Belarusian lands, millions of Ukrainians sleep, commute, and give birth in subways and other shelters. Children continued to study in the bomb shelters instead of their lovely rooms, elderly people who were empty-handed went to halt Russian tanks, moms were always crazy about finding food for the whole family, and most people had to wait in a longer line than the one for a new Kanye West sneaker release to donate blood. Life still goes on, but everything has changed a lot!
“Marketing companies are fighting creatively in defense of their country.”
Food is being given away for free by commercial enterprises. Those who used to create marketing strategies, produce commercials, and design for brands are now helping to forward the cause. For example, when I was writing this blog, I found Grammarly.Inc, a Ukrainian American-headquartered cross-platform cloud-based typing assistant, also appealed for donations for the broken country. Since the beginning of the Russian invasion, communication industry experts have formed dozens and even hundreds of creative units. The big united agency only has a straightforward mission: defending their land and ending the war that Russia has initiated.
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Not Only Local Firms……Global Companies Also Take Their Social Responsibilities
“McDonald’s has decided to temporarily close all our restaurants in Russia and pause all operations in the market. We understand the impact this will have on our Russian colleagues and partners,” –McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski
McDonald’s had nearly 847 locations in Russia, according to a statistical review at the end of 2021; however, it decided to temporarily shut down all retailer stores and ceased all operations and businesses in the market. Obviously, the crucial action would put pressure on McDonald’s Russian employees and suppliers. Nevertheless, I did believe this step would also bring advantageous brand reputation to this significant global brand since the fast-food leader also promised to keep paying 62,000 employees in Russia.
In addition, the big announcement also brought impacts on most brands because it appealed to other companies to suspend businesses in Russia. Just following McDonald’s, Coke, Pepsi, and Starbucks–those three corporations made their announcements within two hours.
Russia is the largest country in this world; that is to say, those multi-billion dominos indeed own a big market; however, they have decided to forgive this piece of delicious cake momentarily. For Coca-Cola company, the loss would not be so severe since Russia accounted for only 2% of the total net operating revenue and profitability in 2021. Furthermore, considering Pepsi, the beverage organization generated $3.4 billion in revenue in Russia last year, contributing almost 4% of the company’s total revenue of $79.4 billion. Therefore, Pepsi, which has been operating in Russia for 60 years, has an important place in citizens’ homes, but it would fade away recently.
Indeed, not only those food and beverage brands, other brands from various industries, including CPG, energy, fashion tech, etc., also made decisions to close operations and economic activities in the Russian market for the present. Their actions were going to decrease revenues apparently, but what can they reach eventually?
Brands’ Voices Matter A Lot!
As the war and humanitarian crisis in that country continue to develop, it’s becoming clear that this war is being waged not only on the ground but also online, as most netizens are inclined to require news and information and express their opinions social media platforms. So sometimes brands’ voices can impact a lot.
Companies produce products or services in the physical world, on the other hand, they deliver information online. Therefore, I strongly argue the reasons that some brands ceased to provide businesses in Russia are expressing their determinations related to standing with Ukrainian and representing most people in the globe as well. In addition, “stop operations” has another profound meaning–Reminding Russia kindly to “stop the war”.
Moreover, brands’ activities will create significant influences online since those actions are announcements to call on people to protect Ukrainian and defend the land together. Therefore, no matter donating or anything else to show people’s kindness, brands’ voices definitely help touch audiences’ hearts and move the situation to become better.
But All We Want Is…Ending The WAR
Once a war occurs, no country is right or wrong on this battlefield since citizens from both countries suffer the most. Moreover, all global residents are unhappy due to the severe Covid-19 pandemic, and the conflict only worsens matters. Therefore, no matter who we are, the only thing we need to do is protect vulnerable people in our ways.
