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Editorial

Editor David Nothling-Demmer david.nothling-demmer@icg.co.nz Staff writers Courtney Devereux courtney.devereux@icg.co.nz Mollie Edwards mollie.edwards@icg.co.nz Designer Conor Fox ICG Media CEO Marcus Hawkins-Adams 021 331 602 marcus.hawkins@icg.co.nz Contact Marketing in Lockdown is produced by NZ Marketing and is published by ICG Media. 19 Lyon Ave PO Box 77027, Mt Albert, Auckland 1350 09 966 0998, 09 360 5702 (fax) www.icg.co.nz About NZ Marketing NZ Marketing Magazine provides essential marketing intelligence. It is New Zealand’s only publication targeted specifically to marketing oriented executives and is required reading for marketers in this country. Its highly practical editorial stance and in-depth examination of the latest marketing trends has earned the magazine a reputation for contributing to the lifting of marketing standards in New Zealand. Copyright Marketing in Lockdown is subject to copyright in its entirety. The contents may not be copied without written permission from its owners. All material sent to NZ Marketing will be deemed to be publishable unless marked ‘not for publication’. NZ Marketing invites contributions but takes no responsibility for unsolicited material.

Unlocking marketing’s post-Lockdown Potential Covid-19 health concerns aside, the virus and resulting Lockdown has been a massive disruptor for the New Zealand economy. Boarders were shut, people confined to their homes, and SME’s – accounting for 97 percent of all New Zealand businesses – were forced to close their doors (physical ones at least) with a mere 48 hours’ notice. The New Zealand economy was in Lockdown. As the virus became less of a health threat and more of an economic one – forecasts of higher unemployment rang alarm bells – and the Government was forced to engage in increased (unforcasted) spending to financially aid Kiwis and their businesses. Navigating this ever-changing economic climate has also seen the need for the private sector to step up as businesses continue to fight to stay afloat. If businesses and brands had a plan for 2020, an adaptation in the face of a new reality was needed. And fast. Reaching and retaining customers while in a nationwide Lockdown, amidst a global pandemic, meant that business leaders and marketers had to come up with bold and innovative solutions to keep brands alive. Now, as much of New Zealand prepares for a gradual re-opening post-Alert Level 2, this turns to visions for their next big move. Industry experts predict that the same bold approach is going to be needed for many months to come as marketers look to re-engage their customers. In this special ‘Marketing in Lockdown’ digital supplement produced by NZ Marketing magazine, we talk to leaders within the marcomms industry, as well as across a wide range of sectors including travel, tourism, retail, recruitment and financial - to hear their insights on brand strategy during and post-Lockdown. From those first responders who crafted creative Lockdown messaging to the marketers looking to revive industries, their insight is unique in helping shape marketing in this new reality.

David

David Nothling-Demmer, Editor

Contents 2 Marketing the Economy Key players from those sectors hardest hit by the Lockdown share their thoughts on marketing strategies that will help revive the economy.

7 Jobs Report Redundancies, pay cuts, the rise of WFH and a favour for freelance. We get insight into job prospects within the creative space.

12 First Responders From AI Easter Hunts and OOH Teddy Bears we explore the creative thinking that went into advertising during Lockdown.

20 Marketing Morals in a Time of Crisis The lines between right and wrong in a pandemic are often blurred. We explore the moral question of advertising during a humantiran crisis.

26 Vision 2020: 2.0 What’s your vision for the remainder of the year? We put the question to our leading marketers.

g n i t e k r Ma THE

ECONOMY

MOLLIE EDWARDS TALKS TO KEY PEOPLE FROM THE TOURISM, RETAIL AND HOSPITALITY SECTORS ABOUT ADAPTING THEIR MARKETING STRATEGIES IN OUR NEW COVID-19 REALITY. 2

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s a country, there are some key behaviours that define us. Patriotism, sharing a beer and DIY will possibly be stronger than ever but it appears some aspects of who we are have been rattled to the core. Consumers are clear their behaviours under Alert Level 2 and beyond will be different to those exhibited preCovid-19. As the pandemic continues to linger in New Zealand, more and more communities, industries, and businesses will continue to (even now only) feel its effects. Particularly in the tourism, hospitality and retail sectors. Data from Research First indicates that there has been (will continue to be) significant change in consumer behaviour as a result of current circumstances. Their research suggests that shopping and socialising will be post-Lockdown priorities, with 25 percent of us looking forward to spending our cash: shopping, going to the hairdresser, eating out or going to the pub. This is particularly good news for the above-mentioned sectors, and coupled with cries to support local and travel locally, should give them a much-needed shot-in-the-arm. But, with trends that suggest 45 percent of the market will continue to shop online, and many still avoiding large crowds, marketers in these sectors will need to be innovative in their strategies to ensure consumer needs continue to be met.

BIG ON BRAND NEW ZEALAND New Zealand is a renowned tourist destination, with bungy jumping, sky diving, jet boating, skiing; the opportunities are endless. Due to the extensive opportunities on offer, the tourism sector was New Zealand’s largest export earner, at least until the Covid-19 outbreak. Generating $17 billion annually for the economy and employing one in eight Kiwis, the impact that the virus has had on the industry has been devastating. When asking Kiwis how long they would wait to travel after the borders re-open, data from Perceptive revealed 48 percent of those surveyed would wait between six months to

“THE TOURISM INDUSTRY IS NO LONGER MARKETING NEW ZEALAND TO INTE RNATIONALS BUT IS MARKETING NEW ZEALAND TO ITS OWN PEOPLE .” Brodie Reid MARKE TING DIREC TOR, TOURISM NZ

two years. In terms of how often they would travel internationally post Covid-19, of those surveyed, 38 percent would travel the same amount as before Covid-19, three percent would increase their international travel and 43 percent would decrease. Tourism New Zealand marketing director Brodie Reid says the industry’s outlook for the next coming months will be heavily focused on domestic travel. “While our borders are closed to international visitors, New Zealanders will become the target market for tourism operators across the country. Kiwis previously spent $9 billion on overseas travel per year so capturing a portion of this spend domestically while our borders are closed will be critical to the sector’s recovery,” Reid says. During Lockdown, Tourism New Zealand had to be adaptable with its approach to marketing. Once it was announced the borders

were to close, preventing international visitors from entering New Zealand, the company decided to put their entire global campaign work on hold. As the country eased into Alert Level 2, the industry body has been able to increase its global campaign work in order to keep the New Zealand brand alive. This includes the Good Morning World campaign resumed on social media, with fresh content to reflect the tone of the current environment. Reid says the industry’s focus at the beginning of the year, in comparison to now, has changed drastically. “The tourism industry is no longer marketing New Zealand to internationals but is marketing New Zealand to its own people. “I don’t think anyone could have predicted back in January that we would be where we are now. The Covid-19 outbreak really did take the world by storm. Just a few months ago we were marketing New Zealand as a holiday destination to people around the world, and now we’ve had to quickly pivot our focus to market New Zealand as a holiday destination to New Zealanders. But we are up for the challenge and excited to support the recovery of the tourism sector.” If the borders were to stay closed for the remainder of 2020, Perceptive data shows that 34 percent of people surveyed would make new holiday plans within New Zealand, whereas 37 percent said they would not make travel plans within New Zealand and the remainder were unsure. To help towards recovery, an injection of $400 million has recently been issued, however several industry leaders have expressed it’s not enough. The recovery package includes funding for a domestic tourism campaign, a programme to assist businesses with their futures, and funding to project strategic tourism attractions. Speaking to Checkpoint, managing director of Pan Pacific Travel Matt Brady says the $400 million budget has come too late for many tourism and accommodation providers who have made staff redundant before knowing help was coming. Marketing in Lockdown

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“We were very clear on what we needed. The borders have been closed to international visitors for potentially a very, very long time,” says Brady. “We needed certainty, and we were saying if you extend the wage subsidy to cover the core staff for the duration of the closure, we would have probably applauded that.” For an annual $17 billion contribution to the economy, many within the tourism industry are unhappy with the $400 million recovery budget. Owner and CEO of social media company The Goat, Vaughn Davis, believes the best solution going forward is to change New Zealand from a destination brand to a content brand. “It works like this. Every year, of all the people in the world with an interest in New Zealand, only a tiny fraction will come here. Right now, it’s even tinier. “What if we used our talent and infrastructure to create the most stunning scenic videos on the planet, and sold them 4

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THE BEST SOLUTION GOING FORWARD IS TO CHANGE NEW ZEALAND FROM A DESTINATION BRAND TO A CONTENT BR AND. Vaughn Davis OWNER AND C EO, THE GOAT

via an online subscription for all those people who’d love to come here one day,” says Davis. Turning New Zealand into a content brand, Davis suggests using the world’s best travel writers to use their New Zealand experience as a potential documentary series. Another idea Davis says could boost the tourism economy is virtual reality. He says people across the world could use an Xbox and virtual reality headset to experience a yoga session on New Zealand’s 90 Mile Beach for just $5 a turn. “What if we turned our focus from recapturing our 1.5 million tourists the old, carbon intensive, virus-friendly way and instead imagined a world of 7 billion fans, paying for and enjoying New Zealand content on any platform, every day?” Mango Communications has also jumped on board to help the tourism sector navigate the next few months by issuing its own white paper. Offering travel and tourism industry expertise, the paper was created from Mango’s client portfolio spanning aviation, regional travel

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organisations, accommodation providers, travel tech, museum and local attractions. The white paper includes key insights provided by Mango’s senior practitioners, Tourism NZ CEO Stephen England-Hall, and COO of Accor Asia Pacific, Simon McGrath. Managing director, Claudia MacDonald says the white paper aims to arm struggling Kiwi tourism businesses with a framework to bounce back. “The impact of Covid-19 on Aotearoa’s tourism industry has been devastating. There is no ‘best practice’ or playbook on how the industry is supposed to respond under such volatile circumstances. We issued this report initially for our travel and tourism clients but felt it might be beneficial for a wider audience,” says MacDonald.

A NEW TASTE FOR LIFE As tourism numbers began to drop in February, the hospitality industry soon felt the domino effect. Marisa Bidios, chief executive officer at Restaurant New Zealand, says Covid-19 has been devastating for the sector and the impact it has had on members is expected to last well beyond a year. “We’ve had a four-week complete closure period followed by several weeks of operating at reduced capacity with increased costs. We’ve been monitoring the impact to our members each week and the issues continue to be the cost of managing their fixed costs, and the increased costs of compliance coupled with falling revenues. Most members are reporting figures that are dramatically lower than last year,” Bidios says. At the beginning of March, the hospitality industry was losing $10 million per week. When Alert Level 4 was announced and restaurants were forced to close their doors, revenues stopped completely. Overall the industry fell by 30 percent in March, 95 percent in April and a projected 40 percent in May. As an association, Restaurant NZ’s focus is to listen to the issues their members are facing and to lobby hard to ensure the industry gets the assistance it needs. Another factor is ensuring the industry is complying to

government regulations. “Now our focus is switching to putting in place a clear and bold strategy that will see our industry not just survive but thrive,” says Bidois. “When revenues began falling we quickly pulled together a small team which included a political lobbyist and PR professional to start driving public and government awareness of the situation. We believe we were the first industry to publicly speak out on the impact to business which created somewhat of a snowball effect in the media.” Since then, the organisation has started campaigning to directly target the dining public, linking with RTO’s, media and influencers with a promotion to encourage people to buy takeaways. Bidois says the team remain optimistic for the hospitality industry post Covid-19. They have seen continued growth and believe if any

sector has the resilience and ability to bounce back, it’s hospitality. “We know that our hospitality businesses are a really important part of the communities that we serve. Having said that, the trading environment will be tough so it will require a bold economic strategy from our government combined with a clear vision from the industry.” In line with supporting local thinking, New Zealand Trade and Enterprise projects general manager, David Downs took it upon himself to set up ‘SOS Café’ website which has since gained a tremendous response. SOS Café was designed to act as an agent for businesses, offering consumers vouchers or gift cards for their local café and restaurants which could be redeemed post-Lockdown. “If you used to buy a coffee and a muffin every day, then buy a voucher every day instead, or a whole lot, and give these cafes a fighting

“THERE IS NO ‘BE ST PR AC TIC E ’ O R P L AY B O O K ON HOW THE INDUSTRY IS SUPPOSED TO RESPOND UNDER S U C H VO L AT I LE C I RC UM S TA N C E S .” Claudia MacDonald MARKE TING DIREC TOR, M A N G O COMMU N I C AT I O N S

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chance. Our local businesses add so much colour and culture to our suburbs, it’s now our turn to give back,” Downs says. The website’s process has been both timely and costly but has brought incredible results to the hospitality industry. Initially, Downs believed that many of the vendors on the site would be unable to reopen, however since entering Alert Level 2 there has been fewer than ten that can’t continue service. Downs and the team also don’t make any profit from the website, they are just happy to help the hospitality industry. Downs says the response from both vendors and their customers has been incredible, with over 2500 businesses on the site and $1.5 million in sales, all of which goes straight to the business.

LEAPFROG Another sector that has been hard-hit by the Covid-19 pandemic is the retail industry, which saw sales drastically decline in February before collapsing almost completely in March. The majority of retailers were unable to trade at all throughout the Lockdown period, and revenues across the sector were down by 80 percent. Typically heavily reliant on week-to-week cashflow, a prolonged period of heavily restricted revenue is unsustainable. Chief executive of Retail NZ, Greg Harford, says the recovery of the retail industry began when the country moved to Alert Level 2. However it is suspected that consumer spending will be depressed for some time. “This will negatively impact retailers over the coming months and possibly years. We will likely see a number of retail firms cease trading, so retailers will need to be focused on playing the long game, delivering outstanding customer experiences, and be nimble enough to keep up with changing consumer demands,” Harford says. In terms of marketing, Harford says the industry has seen a range of approaches. Many firms have been focused on brand marketing, with positive “kia kaha” messages and no direct sales pitch. When businesses were allowed to start 6

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“NOW OUR FOCUS IS SWITCHING TO PUTTING IN PL ACE A CLEAR AND BOLD STR ATE GY THAT WILL SEE OUR INDUSTRY NOT JUST SURVIVE BUT THRIVE .” Marisa Bidios CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, RESTAUR ANT NE W ZE AL AND

“RE TAI LE RS WI LL BE LOOKING TO IMPROVE THE IR E - COMMERCE AND FULFILMENT OFFE RINGS.” Greg Harford CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, RE TAIL NZ

re-opening, retail messaging focused on the fact that customers could still shop online and were notified when stores could physically open their doors. “In January, retail marketing was all about discounted sales and encouraging customers to get to the stores. During the Lockdown, the focus has been more on brand and availability.” As we move through Alert Level 2 and then eventually Level 1, Harford believes online sales will continue to rise. Although online shopping has been an ongoing trend for years, the industry has seen a significant jump towards e-commerce during the Lockdown. “Customers appreciate the convenience and ability of shopping anywhere 24/7 and having goods delivered for them. “Retailers will be looking to improve their e-commerce and fulfilment offerings, as well as reviewing their in-store offerings, to be differentiating themselves and making sure they are delivering great value for products and great service.” For Lohit Kalburgi, executive general manager - corporate strategy & customer experience at ASB Bank it’s all about using the latest tools available to continue to drive strong customer experiences – in spite of the challenges. He says that this is important in the retail space as customers are increasingly using e-commerce tools to make transactions. At the same time it’s about ensuring that Kiwis have the information and resources to be able to make informed decisions when spending. “At ASB, our purpose is to accelerate the financial progress for all New Zealanders, and I feel that it is more critical now than ever before. As Kiwis face significant uncertainty in our everyday lives, it’s important to be focused on supporting customers through the crisis by helping them manage their finances, whether it’s through reassurance, more information or education about their finances, providing tools and tips etc. This allows customers to live their life, choose their own path of financial progress and ultimately, focus on what matters most to them,” he says.

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JOBS REPORT Covid-19 has had a significant impact on employment and work culture in New Zealand. From wide-ranging redundancies and pay cuts to the rise of WFH and a favour for freelance, recruiters share their impressions of the current job market and what needs to be done to get ahead post-Lockdown.

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n May, Treasury revealed that it forecasts unemployment will more than double from the current 4.2 percent to a peak of 9.8 percent by the fourth quarter of 2020. Companies have been forced to change the way in which they operate and many talented Kiwis are being made redundant due to financial struggles. The media and advertising sectors have been particularly hard hit. The closure of Bauer Media which resulted in 274 jobs lost as well as the 200 freelancers they supported, and the 200 staff from NZME made redundant, point to the difficulties these creative industries face. Recruitment agencies operating in this space say that while companies have continued to employ freelance, contract and some permanent staff post-Lockdown, this has not been at a volume seen pre-Covid-19 – pointing to tough times ahead for job seekers. Louise Lawton, director at The Creative Store, notes that the majority of this employment has come from the client side as opposed to creative agency. “Lockdown saw clients almost immediately put their jobs on hold and a lot of freelance assignments cancelled, this has made things tough,” she says. The recruitment agency has since had a steady stream of candidates get in touch who have been made redundant, including designers, copywriters, client service, digital marketing and digital producers. Talent director at The Pond, Leighton Howl, tends to agree with this sentiment stating fulltime recruitment within the sector is dead unless the business is not affected by Covid-19. “This however equates to only about 10 percent of companies,” he estimates. Added to the drop in fulltime employment, many companies have cut existing employee salaries by between 20-30 percent in the short term, making recruitment post-Lockdown challenging to navigate. “This makes it very hard to hire someone in a team when team members have taken a percent pay cut in hours or dollars. You can see the awkwardness - and why it would make hiring difficult,” says Howl. Howl does say that companies are still hiring contractors as rates are often confidential and hiring is more flexible and task-focused. “We’re expecting an increase in the need for freelancers and contractors in the coming months. The flexible nature of using freelancers or contractors reducers risk and employee costs for the company - they are ‘off 8

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“Employees will be expected to be open to change within their role in this new postLockdown world as the job pool gets fuller.” Louise Lawton DIRECTOR, T H E C R E AT I V E S T O R E

the books’ as they say,” he says. Despite the tough times ahead, Debbie Kitson director at Portfolio Recruitment, is optimistic about the future of recruitment within the sector. “During [Lockdown] we met amazing new talent and when clients are ready to start recruiting again, they’ll have the choice of some fantastic people.” She does however caution that prospective employees will need to be flexible in terms of their offering and pay. “We’d like to think that employees who have managed to retain their roles will be grateful for this, as it has certainly not been a given for everyone. Overall everyone will need to demonstrate kindness, flexibility and patience with the ‘new normal’, whatever that might be.” Howl reiterates the importance for job seekers to be open to new ways of performing their roles. “This could mean adapting to new processes, less admin, more stepping outside your ‘skills’ comfort zone. i.e. you may be in a small agency and need to take the rubbish out as the intern role is gone.” When it comes to remuneration for new roles, Lawton says that employees should lower their salary expectations, at least in the shortmedium term. “Employees will be expected to be open to change within their role in this new post-Lockdown world as the job pool gets fuller. With redundancies, job functions may change and morph, which on a positive, will give employees the chance to learn new skills. There is a real mix out there, we are hearing about a lot of reduced hour and reduced pay. How long companies are going to do this for is an unknown,” she says.

FREELANCE FRENZY

“We’re expecting an increase in the need for freelancers and contractors in the coming months.” Leighton Howl TA L E N T D I R E C T O R , THE POND

Due to staff cuts, a freelancer market could be on the horizon. Lawton believes it will be the first area to step up, while companies recover and build up revenue. “Clients who have perhaps been hesitant to go down the freelance route, will be more open to using this flexible solution to save money.” Kitson agrees saying that a freelancer market may be the case initially as studios get back into the swing of things and as their requirements become more clear. She adds it will be very much dependent on the specific role and situation. “Candidates without work will of course need to be open-minded about opportunities. Roles they might have been in prior, might not necessarily be options moving forward, it’s certainly going to be a time for reassessment of needs all round.”

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“There’s a lot to be said for being in a studio, by nature its generally a collaborative environment.” Debbie Kitson DIRECTOR, PORTFOLIO RECRUITMENT

“100 percent. It is a freelance and contractor market. Both are different in recruitment. Why? They enable the business to roll out ebbs and flows of workload and project value and pin things harder to budget and mitigate lost margin. “Contracts are on a fixed rate and price so are an accountants dream employee. They’re also skilled, fast, senior, dynamic and bring a newfound energy to a company, as they often have opinions, experience to back up their existence,” says Howl.

THE WFH PHENOMENON Working from home and the flexible working hour has also increased in recent years, particularly intensely since Covid-19 hit. Many companies utilise flexitime, which will continue to increase within sectors where employees are not required to be in the office full time. Working from home has certainly shown that it is feasible and Portfolio are hoping there will be more flexibility with this. Kitson says some people work exceptionally well in the working from home environment, while for others it is unnatural. “There’s a lot to be said for being in a studio, by nature its generally

a collaborative environment, and as a result works more effectively face-to-face than in a virtual one. “It has been great to see the sharing that has gone on through Lockdown and the ‘human side’ of virtual meetings, where you’re seeing people in their home environment.” Despite the fact that many are still working from home during Alert Level 2, Howl tends to disagree with the above sentiment, saying there’s a 90 percent chance that our working habits won’t change as we emerge out of the pandemic. “We’re humans and we’ll revert back to what we’ve been doing for centuries. Some roles require different levels of team input and can be just as effective WFH. In others, collaboration is key to productive and success. “If you are growing, perhaps that move to a bigger space can be put on hold for now by utalising WFH for suitable roles. “However, for every yin there’s a yang. Unfortunately not great for the commercial property sector, leasing and new office developments will take a hit as companies will be able to do more with the space they’ve already got,” says Howl.

TOP JOBS Insight from the StopPress Jobs portal points to the following jobs within the advertising, creative, marketing, media and PR space as getting the most traction: 1. Content Writers and Editors 2. Digital Freelance Roles 3. Copywriters 4. Account Directors 5. Design Directors For more job opportunities, visit www.jobs.stoppress.co.nz Marketing in Lockdown

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on March 25, 2020 marked a significant date in a once in a lifetime event that has resulted in much uncertainty for many. For me, the key question on my mind during the almost 5-week long Lockdown (apart from how long until the next 1pm Covid-19 briefing) was how are we going to get business thriving again? In my mind, marketing plays a huge part in helping businesses understand their customers and figuring out, in the words of the great Spike Milligan, “What are we going to do now, what are we going to do now?” Marketing should be an integral part of getting New Zealand business thriving again. Critical to this is recognising how these very different market conditions are impacting customer needs and wants. “The more market orientated a manager and the company he/she works for is, the faster it will grow, the more profit it will make and the more successful its new innovations will be. It turns out knowing you’re not the customer bestows massive marketing advantages,” says Mark Ritson, brand consultant and former marketing professor.

JOHN MILES, M

Reviving the industry 10

Amidst a global pandemic, New Zealand begins to emerge in a new postLockdown world. A world that is much changed for businesses and their customers. But as John Miles explains, the key to reviving our industry is unlocking the potential of marketing.

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Voices A New Market So how well do you know your customer in this new environment? Our market conditions in April were radically different to that of January/February 2020, and will continue to change as the year progresses. Marketers need to be at the forefront of understanding this new market and identifying opportunities, not from their viewpoint, but the customers’ perspective. Marketers in the short term should be thinking about how they can add value to their market whether it be through product innovation, new distribution/place of sale or using pricing. Using tried and tested formulas from February 2020 and before probably won’t cut it. Over the course of the Lockdown I had discussions with many CMO’s, trying to understand their marketing strategies and how these have all been dependent on which vertical one is in. Most reported that it has been business as usual but working in a different way and on very different priorities. One of the better descriptions on this working culture that I’ve had is around aligning teams around common objective and focusing on things that matter. The most over-used word in current business jargon, and one I’ve heard being used on many a Zoom meeting, is pivot. My take on this is simple – what do we own that we can sell (i.e. meet a customer need)? What do we need to adapt to our current offerings that can sell? Essentially, focusing on things that matter and are relevant to the current climate (whatever that may be). Those companies who have identified this and moved quickly on what they can or could own, will perform better through this next period.

Micromarketing for Macro Impact Marketers in banks and insurance companies were extremely busy in Lockdown, albeit with different priorities from what they normally have. The big brand launches and campaigns were on hold, indefinitely, and instead they were working on how they improve their communication so customers know where they can get help. In contrast, retail and FMCG had to scale back and rethink their approaches and offerings. Media spends have been cut (and we have seen the impact of this on certain sectors of the media), however this

”How well do you know your customer in this new environment?”

has opened up opportunities in the media world as there are great deals to be had for those with something to say. Most industry marketers said that, other than focusing on looking after their customers, they were planning for transition – a transition we now find ourselves in as the majority of the economy begins to open up. With marketing departments focusing on the short-term this has created opportunities for agencies to assist marketing departments in thinking. How can we add value in the shortterm and long-term by solving our clients’ problems? Helping clients create relevant, useful content that will help customers has and should continue to be a priority. Those agencies that have been proactive, without waiting to be asked, will come out very strong on the other side of this. As we move through Level 2 and beyond, my biggest concern is helping SME’s survive as they are the backbone of the New Zealand economy – and what as marketers can we do to help. Already, the likes of Stanley St have come to the party with an innovative digital tool kit to give a voice to businesses impacted by Covid-19, while encouraging Kiwis to get behind them. Initiatives such as this one, in my opinion, are exactly the type of creative thinking needed by agencies and marketers to revive industries. We are about to embark on an initiative where we will upskill small businesses in all things digital with the Digital Bootcamp and helping them develop a SME Marketing Action plan through our

new Core Marketing Skills course. With the regional business grants these will be available at half price. Key to these SME’s is the tourism industry. An important and significant industry, (tourism generates a direct annual contribution to GDP of $16.2 billion, according to Tourism Industry Aotearoa). It’s imperative that marketers help boost domestic tourism through identifying local new market opportunities. Take Cape Kidnappers or Kauri Cliffs Golf courses as examples. Normally for a New Zealand resident it costs $280 plus cart to play there. I imagine they are highly dependent on international visitors. Why not create a package where it is say $180 all up including cart? Boost local demand, get people travelling to the areas which then improves the local economy. There are bound to be many types of products/services around New Zealand like this that can generate demand. This brings to mind an iconic domestic tourism campaign from the 1980s: “Don’t leave home until you have seen the country”. Maybe change this to “You can’t leave home, so see the country!” Marketing will play an integral part in stimulating New Zealand business as we progress through 2020, and beyond in this new Covid-19 world. I am confident that marketers of New Zealand understand their customers and are going to be instrumental in reenergising growth for the country. John Miles writes in his capacity as CEO of the New Zealand Marketing Association.

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FIRST Responders From AI Easter Hunts and OOH Teddy Bears to kids shows and thank you messages, Courtney Devereux gets unique insight into the creative thinking that went into marketing in during the Lockdown.

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t the end of March New Zealand was thrown into Lockdown with a mere 48 hours’ notice. Marketing projects were suddenly shut down with many clients’ hands shackled as spending was slashed. Marketers and creatives were forced to respond in new ways in a time of economic and social uncertainty. And respond they did. During the first four weeks of Alert Level 4 many brands broke free of their isolation constraints to produce content that has been compelling, considerate and bang on brand. I chat with some of these first responders as we go behind these scenes of notable creative initiatives for marketing during the Lockdown. Here’s my wrap on how creative agencies responded to the pandemic and how their marketing initiatives have evolved to reflect the state of the country.

CHILDS PLAY Method’s AI Easter Egg Hunt, which premiered Easter weekend, was one of the first memorable Lockdown marketing moments. The digital agency created in a matter of days a fully functioning artificial intelligence Easter egg hunt and website for kids stuck inside over the holiday weekend. Sam Ramlu, managing director of Method says the initial plan was to create something that focused on joy during a time of hardship for many. “We set up an ideas board, everyone fed into it and a digital Easter egg hunt came out on top. Then the question – how could we make this unique? How could we ensure the joy of Easter egg hunts wasn’t overtaken by a fully digital experience.” In what was already a busy time for the Method, finding its new normal after Lockdown, Ramlu says that the hardest thing was narrowing down what they should be spending their time on as a business. Working remotely didn’t allow for the usual agencystyle, face-to-face meetings at which everything creative is hashed out in a single sitting. “I was conscious of not wanting to burn out the team but also thought it would be a feel-good factor across the board - from our team to the public… It turned out it was a wonderful way to unite us early in Lockdown, over a single project that almost everyone had a part to play in. It set the scene for the weeks to come and got us off to a strong, separate but together start.” Another impressive hunt that was seen in windows across New Zealand was the national Teddy Bear Hunt. Created to spread the message of kindness and entertain Kiwi kids, the hunt would see kids staying active during Lockdown taking trips around their neighbourhood more than ever. Teddies of all backgrounds and diversities came together in windows to wave at strangers. This caught the eye of the creative team at oOh!media who soon joined in on the fun. The OOH company digitally created images of at least eight different bears which could be found hiding across bus stops nationwide. “The teddy bear creative would change depending on what was happening in the local area being triggered by the weather, special events and also the time of day. Families got to spot a hungry teddy with a knife and fork, a sleepy teddy and even a teddy with bunny ears celebrating Easter. Our design team created the teddy bear images while working from home and our digital Street Furniture signs are scheduled remotely so it was a smooth

process,” explains oOh!media New Zealand general manager, Nick Vile. The company saw the hunt as a fun and innovative way to keep kids entertained while the country self isolated. “As a public space medium, oOh! is passionate about doing what we can to support the community through the technical capabilities of our digital product and our ability to reach into neighbourhoods nationwide,” Vile adds. Kiwi kids were an obvious main point of discussion when the Lockdown was put into place. How do you make sure they don’t fall behind, how do you keep them occupied, how on earth do you wear them out? Luckily for many parents, BC&F Dentsu and Meridian came up with an idea that ticked all those boxes. Entering the third week of Lockdown, BC&F Denstu alongside Meridian teamed up with KidsCan Charitable Trust and OMD to bring a high-energy half-hour TV show to Kiwi kids’ screens. The daily show, Amped, featured experiments, pranks, cooking, workouts, magic, interviews, and daily challenges, direct to living rooms via Walter Nielands and MediaWorks. BC&F Dentsu’s managing partner, Luke Farmer, says the concept came about in March before the heavier restrictions. BC&F Dentsu had taken an early WFH policy the team was already adapted to communicating remotely. “We predicted that we’d be going into Lockdown, so we were able as a team to get something planned with the client before all the restrictions were set in. We got the right people in

Marketing in Lockdown

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“In these unsettling times, our ability to be a platform for good is at its most powerful – which is why we are using our network to say, ‘Thank You’. Our role right now is to help connect, support, and educate communities.”

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| Marketing in Lockdown

the room for a very quick session with the client, and we explored what the world would look like in the next few weeks and how that could work for us.” For the team at BC&F Dentsu, there was a new expectation to get something done that was quick and effective. “What Covid-19 has done is to force processes to move quicker, so it took a lot of formality out of it in the early stages. There were no written briefs or anything, it was more this is the situation what can we bring and how can we make these partnerships work.” Famer also recognises the hard work of the MediaWorks production team and their ability to jump through hoops as the main reason they could create the entire show remotely in just two weeks. “They pulled together content and talent. They really jumped onto it and got the show together, all the real grunt work in terms of what would make people keep going back and enjoying it they ran pretty effortlessly.” This, Farmer says despite the team having to constantly rethink and alter methods of the show as new information and the Governments’ educational channel scheme was announced. “Unlike an ad or a campaign that goes out and you get a feel of it pretty quickly, this was a different time for us. This was a slow build, we had to learn and adjust and just wait for numbers to come in overtime. We had a few moments of having to rethink a few things, such as where we sat after the Government launched their live education programme. To counter that we took a lot of it to online so kids could still be involved and watch on their schedule.” He says the ability to have the online demand viewing worked for them better, as people’s schedules during the Lockdown were all over the place. This meant that they had to change their platform so to be consumed when convenient for the viewer. “The show has been doing steadily well in terms of numbers. But, the important thing was to help get our clients’ voice out there without being forced. Making sure we were helping Meridian and their partner KidsCan and making this accessible to as many kids as we could.”

A SHOW OF THANKS OOH players took the lead in thanking those that soldiered on while the majority were camped up safe at home. Our essential workers became superstars overnight, and the service industry showed its importance in keeping our economy ticking over. Frist to use their network for the task was Go Media, who at the end of March thanked essential workers across New Zealand, from supermarket workers and dairy truck drivers to nurses and couriers, many deserved the recognition. QMS followed close, and in the first week in April encouraged Kiwi kids to thank essential workers with rainbow drawings, which were then displayed across the QMS network. MediaWorks outdoor media director, Mike Porter, said at the time that the rainbows were a symbol of New Zealand’s nationwide gratitude. “Outdoor media is ultimately a giant creative canvas and seeing young children create visually stunning messages of positivity in these challenging times has been wonderful.” April 20 saw both ThinkTV and Augusto deliver messages of thanks. Augusto and its client, Wendy’s used partner team The Warriors to encourage Kiwis to stay at home. While ThinkTV used its prime space to thank advertisers for their support.

Not to be left out, JCDecaux used its nationwide network to thank, well, everyone. The ‘Thank You’ campaign by the OOH company, saw a series of kind messages directed at our essential workers and everyday Kiwis for their sacrifices during the Covid-19 pandemic. Seen across the OOH network which spans the country, digital boards were programmed to represent the suburb they’re in. Specifically targeting each area and sending heartfelt messages down onto the streets. JCDecaux ANZ senior insights and strategy specialist, Victoria Parsons, says the thanks was extended past essentials workers, as almost everyone has made large sacrifices to help flatten the curve. “In these unsettling times, our ability to be a platform for good is at its most powerful – which is why we are using our network to say, ‘Thank You’. Our role right now is to help connect, support, and educate communities,” Parsons says.

SUPPORTING SME’S While some supported through messages of thanks, several businesses also took a hands-on approach. Creating initiatives set to help businesses get back on track and supporting them where they could. Early in April, Sky offered $1 million worth of free advertising to initiatives aligned with Covid-19. From charities, support systems, awareness marketing, or fundraising, the announcement offered Sky’s support to those who needed it. While on May 1, MediaWorks announced the MediaFund, which offered $20 million worth of advertising directed to help SME’s get back on track. The fund was planned to give small businesses, community organisations and new brands affected by Covid-19 access to free advertising space in both local and national markets across MediaWorks’ and QMS’s stable of Radio, TV, Out of Home and Digital assets between May – July 2020. Glen Kyne, MediaWorks commercial director said at the time that Covid-19 had hit businesses hard, and they wanted to be able to help where they could. “Covid-19 has had a devastating impact on businesses across New Zealand. The MediaWorks MediaFund is designed to support and stimulate those businesses as well as the New Zealand economy in the coming months.” ‘Initiative’ was the buzz word of April as IAB and Manaaki paired up to provide support for businesses who may be struggling due to the Lockdown. The online platform allowed businesses to ask questions and receive advice from national and international experts. Federation agency also released its plans for #AdoptaKiwiBusiness. The plan was centered around the hard-hit SME’s who make up 98 percent of our economy, with Adopt a Kiwi Business having a simple goal of supporting those who needed it. “An online shot, a future booking, some extra work right now, or just a shout out on your social media and business networks is enough,” says managing director Sharon Henderson. “We have 500,000+ small businesses in NZ who together employ more than 2 million people and contribute more than $232,324 million to our economy. That’s 30 percent of New Zealand’s GDP. We need these businesses to get through Covid-19. As a nation of Kiwis, we can lend a helping hand where it’s needed, in the way that each of us can.” Creative agency Run launched paywhatyouwant.co.nz, which allowed

their business clients to create quality websites for a fee of their choice. Covid-19 has had a huge impact on Run, who had several clients within the tourism sector, meaning a big suffered loss in business. Although Run primarily assists with advertising campaigns, strategy, and identity design, the agency also offers websites as an add on service. “We’re a small team and this is a tough time for everyone, so we wanted to come up with a creative solution to use this period to help people and support other Kiwi businesses,” says Run design director Laura Cibilich.

INFORMATION INFLUXES Also created to help businesses where it could, was Dentsu Aegis Network’s up-to-date online hub, Covered-19. The website came from the need to provide clearer information for clients and colleagues and how it would affect everyone involved. In addition, the up-to-date online hub was populated with expert opinion and advice from Dentsu and industry leaders, as well as current local examples and case studies of work that the Dentsu Aegis Network turned around in record time for many of their clients. Marketing in Lockdown

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TBWA mid-April released an 85-page report which was created by the agency for all businesses to help provide practical and constructive advice to those facing uncertainty in their business. The report titled ‘Navigating Uncertainty’ was a stellar 85-pages of business strategy, which carefully look into the eight emerging Kiwi values that TBWA has identified. Speaking with Matt Kingston, head of planning of TBWA, he says the need for this report came from wanting to provide a more practical and constructive framework for client conversations. “So that was the background question, how do we craft something that feels locally right and relevant as well as something that feels practical and constructive and helps us think about what next?” One of TBWA’s core values is generosity, which is the reason that the agency decided to end this report out publicly, rather than use it to give only their clients a leg up. “We made the call that this wasn’t something we were just going to present to our clients, this was something we wanted to just put out into the world… It’s times like this where we have seen the generosity of other agencies and organisations include the community at large. We just thought it was the right and decent thing to do, to let it out into the world and let people read and take from it what would help them the most.” Another hands on approach came from OOH company Lumo and Pitchblack Partners, where on April 28 they announced ‘Up and Running’, which was posed to help businesses do just that. 16

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Lumo provided the screens, Pitchblack the creative, and together they offered free ad creation and promotion to businesses through a newly created website. Within 36 hours they had over 500 requests and also had responses from other media networks offering billboard space, and creative agencies coming on board to offer design resources. MBM, True, Wood Studio, and EightyOne as well as other media suppliers, including JCDecaux, also added their billboards to the mix. Phil Clemas of Lumo says they are still backed up with requests, but it was important to be able to support businesses with their network how best they could. “We wanted to encourage people to support those smaller businesses that we knew were having a hard time in lockdown. We started with a little preparation but that moved to higher importance with the Levels, but that also meant we as a business had to hunker down and just watch what was going to happen,” Clemas says. The broad idea was created before Lockdown yet wasn’t implemented until both businesses felt it was safe to resurrect in Alert Level 3. “We had to change the idea, which is how Pitchblack came in. We shared the idea over a Zoom meeting and they were keen to come onboard and help where they could.” What they didn’t expect was the sheer amount of people looking to use the network and creative services, now, having helped over 500 businesses with even more to go.

Feature A GOOD CAUSE A charity initiative that stood out was EightyOne’s work for the Women’s Refuge, which provided Kiwis with the opportunity to gift a safe night for women in need. Partner and business director at EightyOne, Matt West and executive creative director, Chris Bleackley, have had ties with Women’s Refuge for several years and are always looking at unique ways to reach supporters, and now knew they were needed more than ever with domestic violence climbing in Lockdown. West says after looking through Women’s Refuge data, it was discovered that the database had become stagnant as a result of not attracting new donors. “So we asked ourselves, ‘What if, instead of acting like a charity, Women’s Refuge began to behave more like an accommodation provider?’” Then came the birth of the “Safe Nights” campaign. Where for just $20 people could book a Safe Night anywhere in New Zealand for those suffering from domestic abuse. The move saw a significant rise in donations, and was able to help hundreds of women by providing them with a safe space during the Lockdown. Another good casue came in the shape of ANZ’s sport grant, brought to life by TBWA. In order to help netball and cricket teams get back on their feet post-Lockdown, ANZ pledged $1 million in the form of its Good Sports Community Grants. The pledge aimed to help support the positive impact sport has on Kiwi communities. Another hands-on approache we saw was DDB’s and KidsCan instant pivot to making sure the children of New Zealand who were living in poverty were still being fed and looked after. The partnership saw a series of campaigns come out of DDB, while charity drives and awareness of the situation were increased tenfold. The $19 for Covid-19 was an appeal set up by KidsCan and DDB to help raise money to keep the operation supported as demand grew. The goal was to raise half a million in two weeks, after two days they had already met over half that goal with $300,000 donated. Justin Mowday, DDB’s CEO said at the time that as KidsCan usual operations of delivering to schools were no longer feasible, a new plan was needed quickly. “We needed to bring unity around the number 19. Thanks to the support from partners such as OMD and Liquid Studios we were able to launch $19-for Covid-19 in less than a week. “We know that Kiwis will always support one-another during challenging times, it’s part of our DNA. To know that there are families out there battling Covid-19 uncertainty, hungry, is heartbreaking. It was time to let our kindness prevail,” Mowday said. It’s clear from the above snapshot that marketers and creatives alike have been bold and embraced the Lockdown for what is was – a time to unite in new ways (albeit distant) for a common cause. Through messages of kindness shone a Kiwi spirit that will be forever remembered by the brands who embraced it. Through Zoom series, future planning, and a lot of opinion pieces, it was clear to see the competitive side of our industry had taken a backseat, as the main focus shifted to how we could bind together and help those in need.

MARKETING THE INVISIBLE When it comes to building stronger brands in times of crisis, Simon Bird says thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s more to marketing than meets the eye.

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few weeks ago, I read a humorous post from someone saying that climate change should get a hold of Covid-19’s PR department, alluding to the fact that Covid-19 has garnered far more attention and action than climate change. This is interesting because whilst Covid-19 is a global pandemic it does not pose the existential threat to human existence that climate change does. Over the past two months there has been an exponential growth in people writing about epidemiology and economics. There’s been predictions about second waves, mutations, u-shaped recovery, v-shaped recovery and my favourite, a reverse square root recovery. In the short term no one really has a clue what will happen. There are too many unknown variables at play. Nobody needs yet another article on Covid-19, and I’m not particularly qualified to write about epidemiology or climate change. However, I’m going to write about both, but only in terms of how they might be metaphorically useful when thinking about approaches to marketing across 2020 and beyond. A lot of people in our industry are fond of saying that people make decisions emotionally and not rationally. It’s not really true. Ask someone if they want a pint of lager for $7 or $10 and you’ll get $7 every time. It’s when you ask someone if they want a pint of Mt Eden lager for $7 or a pint of Heineken lager for $10 that things get a little less clear. We are happy to use rationality when it is easy, but in decision making it is rarely so clear cut. So, we default to intuition, which is in part emotion, part gut feel, part mood, part recency, part situational and part whimsy.

Intuition is useful because it’s fast. Speed of decision was clearly evolutionarily beneficial when confronted with predators, it’s also cognitively efficient, which is important as the brain is roughly 2% of our body weight and yet uses 20% of our energy. Our intuition has been baked in over the last 150,000 to 200,000 years of Homosapien existence. Along with a bit of luck this system has helped keep our species alive, but it is less well suited to the lives we live now. We used to live in groups of 50-150, now we live in groups of hundreds of thousands to millions. Our intuition is optimised for the visible feedback loops of small groups, but it doesn’t scale well. We are naturally empathetic when we can see the effect of our actions on someone starving or in pain but not always when we cannot. We naturally moved fishing grounds or hunting grounds when prey got less frequent but now we are prone to over fishing and over hunting. Which brings me back to Covid-19 and climate change, and lessons from the two for marketing. We care about things we can see, and we learn by fast feedback loops. The effects of climate change from week to week are invisible to us yet they are an existential threat. The effects of Covid-19, tragic though they are, are not existential but they are there for all to see. So, we feel much more threatened by Covid-19 than we do by climate change, even though it is far more threatening. After the last recession marketing budgets were cut and, of the money left, more went into promotional/ and direct response style tactics at the expense of brand building. This is understandable. We can see the returns from this type of spend immediately and

it can help drive much needed cash flow. In contrast the immediate effect of brand building is negligible but, like climate change, it is a much more powerful long-term force. Strong brands make people happy to (intuitively) pay more for your product, making business more profitable and they drive up share price as can be seen in the long running Milward Brown brand Z study. The chart clearly shows how much faster strong brand’s share prices bounced out of the last recessionary period. Covid-19 will help society be better prepared for the next pandemic but it won’t help us prepare or mitigate the effects of climate change. This will need ongoing analytics, science and effective communication. Similarly, promotional/ and direct response marketing will help get some much-needed cash flow going for companies affected by the current business environment. However, longer term, the companies that outperform the market will use analytics, science and effective communication to ensure they are as focused on the stronger, less visible, forces of brand building as they are on the easy to see but weaker forces of promotions or lower funnel activity. Despite all the evidence of the value of brand campaigns and stronger brands performing better in and out of recessions spending on brand campaigns is not going to feel intuitive, which is why many companies failed to do it last recession. Many will not do it during this one, some because they simply can’t, but those companies that can find a way to blend the visible with the invisible, promotional with brand will find, over time, that it is evolutionarily beneficial.

Covid-19 will help society be better prepared for the next pandemic but it won’t help us prepare or mitigate the effects of climate change. Marketing in Lockdown

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MARKETING MORALS IN A TIME OF CRISIS Courtney Devereux explores the ethics of marketing in a Lockdown, and gets a gauge for how our moral compasses may have shifted when it comes to advertising in this new Covid-19 reality.

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Feature

t the start of Lockdown, The Warehouse Group announced that they were essential and would remain open. This resulted in public backlash from many Kiwis who felt it was wrong for them to do so. After a petition with over 52,000 signatures and a Government warning, the Group announced that it would only open online and highlighted the cautious measures it would take to ensure staff safety. However, the damage had already been done. Early on, consumers had developed a clear idea of their moral expectations of brands during life in Lockdown. Results of a Pure Profile survey of New Zealanders appetite for advertising during this period further reinforced this. Of the 800 Kiwis surveyed, 76.4 percent said that while they still wanted to hear from brands, they wanted to hear about what they were doing to help customers. In addition, 83 percent of responders said ‘normal’ advertising wasn’t something they wanted or deemed acceptable at that moment. For the most part, marketers and agencies took this sentiment (warning) as a call to rise above during Alert Level 4. Not only did they continue to produce innovative, responsible brand messaging, but they sold what the people of New Zealand wanted, and needed: messages of hope and unity. Brands had to adapt their messages to communicate their moral standings to consumers as a means of remaining relevant in a time when their products and services were no longer first thought. They did this by adopting charities, fostering business unity and offering advice and expertise in the form of workshops and innovative information services. Others simply advertised to survive – pushing their brand as a means of remaining relevant and viable during a difficult time. While it may not have sat well with the morality of many Kiwis, was this ethical? Well that depends on your interpretation (see our ethical theories guide on page 23). The point is, advertising during times of crisis isn’t all black or white, and relies on marketers and brands being heavily conscious of the market that they’re in and responding in an appropriate way.

Ethics vs. Morals Ben Fahy, former editorial director for Bauer Media, who was hyper-aware of the messages that came out of Lockdown, says

“Marketers have a good idea about what they can and can’t get away with.” BEN FAHEY

that advertising is a signal to the market about where your strengths are. “In many cases, it was obvious to see now that places are closed, that strength wasn’t there. Stopping advertising can have a lot of drawbacks. But a few of those companies who legitimately showed their charitable sides by putting money into some of the causes that need help, will long stick in the minds of consumers in a good way,” he says. Although, Fahy suggests that when it comes to ethical marketing during times such as this, the lines are blurred. Between doing what needs to be done for survival and what should be done for the greater good. “Yes, many brands have adapted their messages to communicate their moral standings to consumers, but there is also the task of trying to survive in any way possible – and whether this is ethically okay as it benefits the greater good. Keeping jobs, moving the economy forward,” he says. He adds that marketers and creative agencies who know their clients will know what is acceptable and what isn’t, as knowing how to resonate with consumers can be done carefully if that trust is already there. “Marketers have a good idea about what they can and can’t get away with, and what they’ve been doing for clients in the past often dictates that. For example, FCB’s Stickman could get away with doing a humour-based campaign

at the moment, but if ANZ tried to do it, it wouldn’t strike the same response.” Damon Stapleton, regional chief creative officer at DDB, says consumers are savvy when it comes to buying into messages, especially in a highly sensitive time. He says the first few weeks of Lockdown were a moral test for both DDB and the clients they were trying to help navigate these new, very sharkinfested waters. “We just had to be human beings for a second and take a breath while realising how much of a shock this would be for everyone. There was a period of about a week or two where there was a lot of meetings going on in terms of how do we respond, what’s the right way to respond, should we even respond? We had a range of clients with so many different capabilities, so there was that moment in time where everyone had to get their bearings and figure out what forward looked like.” Stapleton says that the morality of advertising is a question of what you’re doing at that moment to benefit yourself and the masses, which in this stance would be ruled by social justice and social contract theory. “A brand is a promise, it’s not always about selling. It can be about doing or hoping, and you can see that in the way brands have changed their communication. As an agency, our responsibility is to try and help brands grow because that keeps people in jobs. Of course, we want to advertise because that’s what we do, but I think the best thing we can do with our skills at the moment is to keep people employed.” All ethical standings circle back to theories that define how we view the world.

Marketing in Lockdown

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Utilitarianism, for example, would suggest that the most ethical choice is the one that will produce the greatest good for the greatest number. So a business advertising non-essentials which in turn may keep their hundreds of workers employed would be considered ethical. Stapleton makes the argument that the terms essential and non-essential bring in more grey space into the area, especially as we enter a second economic crisis where financially businesses will be hit even harder. “On one hand you have a humanitarian crisis, and on the other, you have a global financial crisis. You could probably say that advertising is the strange bridge between the two. The question will remain when do we go back to normal? Is it a good idea to say absolutely nothing as a brand or businesses and just die? It feels like every single question as it relates to the morals surrounding advertisings during a pandemic comes down to timing. And some people will get it right, and some people will get it wrong. “I think that on the one hand, the most responsible thing an advertising agency can do is to try and keep the client in a positive space. What we can do is not just communication. Sometimes it’s solving business problems. Sometimes it’s looking at things from a different perspective, but I think at the end of the day, you have to be aware of your market and how they’re going to respond.” There is a connectedness in New Zealand that Stapleton says is unique, as our community will call out brands for being “full of it” if their marketing or message seems disingenuous or goes against our current moral standpoint. “The issue is, as soon as you start questioning or debating on if advertising is ethically right, then you start getting into the ethics of capitalism. And that, is a separate conversation. I believe that people will listen to you if you give them something. If you connect with them in the right way, they’ll give you their most precious commodity which is time. However, when it comes to Covid-19 and pandemic marketing, it relies on how useful you are as a brand to the wider community.”

Tone It Down Phil Clemas, CEO of OOH company Lumo agrees saying that tone, product, and placement all weigh in on whether a brand’s 22

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“On one hand you have a humanitarian crisis, and on the other, you have a global financial crisis. You could probably say that advertising is the strange bridge between the two.” DAMON STAPLETON, DDB

messaging sits well with our morals and wider ethics. “I think there are some examples where the message was very appropriate. But there have been some examples where it’s been naive or a little ignorant and very self-centred. I think it’s those sorts of messages that are most disappointing when it’s so obvious that what you’re doing is self-serving rather than genuinely thinking about the goodwill of people out there. Sometimes it’s better just to shut up, be quiet for a bit. Preserve your thoughts and then come out when you have something genuine to offer.” Many brands opted for PSA-style messaging around the importance of social distancing. The “we’re here for you” style ad has become common for most large international brands that some would agree don’t need to say anything at all. Internationally we’ve seen Nike and Guinness encourage social distancing. Jack Daniel’s was quick off the mark with a spot that reflected the realities of social distancing, showing friends and families hanging out over video

chats. The slow piano music and heritage gloats are a quick distraction from the reality of the pandemic. Of all the categories of crisis-specific advertising, Support is the one marketers can use to hide behind emotional manipulation and easy gestures. “Those are the most disingenuous ads,” says Clemas. “There are a few brands that believe that message, but it has that tinge of virtual signalling in my opinion. These companies want to be seen as a good corporate citizen without actually going out and doing stuff that means something to them or their consumers.” Locally, out of the brands that promoted their services during the Lockdown; Les Mills online classes, MyFoodBag giving food parcels to at-risk families, Pak’nSave promising job security and Good George Brewery producing hand sanitizer to name a few, 60-79 percent of Pure Profile survey responders thought they made a meaningful difference. While only 21 percent thought the same of Rebel Sports’ TVC about supporting social distancing. Clemas believes that the good deeds of a company should be done through actions as opposed to having to put it up on a billboard, television, or in a newspaper. Yet he doesn’t believe there is a moral expectation that companies shouldn’t be advertising in or around a pandemic. “Advertising is a great way to convey information. And not only about selling, but about providing information about what I can do and can’t do, and where I get the stuff that I’m after. Citizens still need that information even in a pandemic.”

Changing Moral Compass As life continues in this new post-Lockdown Covid-19 world, Clemas makes the point that advertising will benefit now that the general consumer is sick of hearing what they need to purchase, and are keen to go back to hearing about what they want to purchase. However, he warns the market will be sensitive for some time. “I think marketers need to be subtle about getting back into the landscape. If clients allow agencies to think about how best to message what is it they want to say in the content of the current pandemic mindset, that would be the smartest move.” The Colmar Brunton 2020 Corporate Reputation Report showed that consumers still connected with local brands who

Feature have shown resilience during the Covid-19 crisis mostly due to charitable acts. Wright Communications’ managing director Nikki Wright says the polling during Covid-19 showed many top-performing brands included a strong sense of purpose, good leadership, fairness, and responsibility to citizens and trust that brands would behave in a way that alleviates public anxiety. “Companies who do the right thing by the public and tell their stories well have a resilience that enables them to ride out occasional setbacks and bad news. Conversely, companies that don’t constantly communicate how they’re dealing with their issues find their reputations suffer,” Wright says. Stapleton says how the landscape has changed to meet these new consumer expectations has been interesting, yet he acknowledges how difficult it will be for brands to find their ‘new normal’ and still connect with consumers in the way they find acceptable due to new ethical standards.

“These companies want to be seen as a good corporate citizen without actually going out and doing stuff that means something to them or their consumers.” PHIL CLEMAS, LUMO

“There are ads on TV now that say ‘shot before Covid-19’ on them. So that brings in this social expectation that you can only make ads where people are clearly two metres apart. There will be a very weird transition period where you will have to think about whether people want ads to be normal? Or do, they want ads that reflect the reality we’re in now,” Stapleton says. A common mistake that marketers may make at this time is to forget that brands don’t act in a vacuum but a complex, competitive space. This means that the outcome of how the consumer reacts is out of your control. Therefore, the only way to avoid consequences and act ethically is to make the decision based on what the decision-maker knows, and could have known, at the time. The toughest thing about morality is that it differs from person to person, no two people will ever have the same moral outlook of what is right and what is wrong. So it comes down to brands and marketers being acutely aware of their market. Morality and marketing go hand-in-hand in that regard. They both have a range of different theories about what would best benefit the masses, both determine the way many individuals operate day-to-day, neither can be ‘wrong’ or ‘right’, but both can be interpreted in different ways by the individual.

Engaging ethics The top four ethical theories that we still use in society today.

Utilitarianism. Argues what is accepted by the individual must be accepted by the masses without exception. For example, if Countdown can advertise, so can Pandora.

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Deontology. What is right or wrong is determined by a set of rules. The most common theory used today. Social justice and social contract theory. The freedom of the individual with government restrictions for the greater good. The lockdown is a prime example.

Virtue Ethics. An approach to ethics that emphasises an individual’s character as the key element of ethical thinking, rather than rules about the acts themselves (Deontology) or their consequences.

Marketing in Lockdown

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RIDING OUT THE STORM

THE

SOCIAL MEDIA WAVE AS MARKETING BUDGETS ARE SLASHED AND COMPANIES LOOK TO MAXIMISE ROI WITH MINIMAL SPEND, MELANIE SPENCER SAYS BRANDS NEED TO BE MORE SOCIAL MEDIA SAVVY THAN EVER BEFORE.

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| Marketing in Lockdown

Voices IA

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he past few months have been a tricky time for many businesses trying to navigate the economic challenges brought on by Covid-19 and the Lockdown. For me, it’s been a whirlwind watching some businesses run for the hills and others leaning in, pivoting and turning lemons into lemonade. We all know that advertising spend is often the first thing to go for companies when the world reaches crisis mode, and it was a case of hanging on to our hats when it all hit. However, notable examples show that by doing the opposite and increasing ad and marketing spend, brands are able to carve out a significant place for themselves in the market and reap long-standing benefits. As a historic example, Kellogg’s doubled advertising spend during the Great Depression to promote their Rice Krispies cereal. As other products stagnated or collapsed, Kellogg’s profits rose by almost 30 percent and they were able to create a strong and long-lasting brand identity. Having been in the marketing industry for over 20 years it’s absolutely heartbreaking to watch the more traditional mediums being disseminated, and jobs and livelihoods lost. Wendy Thompson (my co-CEO) and I knew that social media would be a medium that businesses would have to leverage and maximise. After all, this was not a time for brands to go quiet on their community. This was when our brands tribe were hungry for information, inspiration and entertainment. And the brands that quenched their community’s thirst were the ones that would come out stronger. Since the outbreak of Covid-19, Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp have seen a 70 percent increase in time on app and a 21 percent increase in Instagram Story impressions, with individual users seeing their screen time increase between 30-50 percent. As users turn to social media as a news source, communication tool and a source of escapism; brands have the ability to create a presence online that reaches engaged, key audiences like never before. Challenging times often make customers rethink the value they get from their purchases. How consumers are shopping now has the potential to change the way they shop in the future. In short, the brands they choose now have the power to become

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THE DOs & DON’Ts of social media and influencer marketing

1. Be authentic and genuine in everything that

“AS USERS TURN TO SOC IAL MEDIA AS A NEWS SOURC E, COMMUNICATION TOOL AND A SOURC E OF ESCAPISM ...” their new ‘normal’. Millennials are likely to turn to people of influence for entertainment, as well as for product and lifestyle recommendation purposes during this time. New World, for example, worked hard and incredibly fast to produce content that would bring their community together and turn a tidal wave of negativity into something really positive. From Anzac Day Poppy making with New World bags, to an #athomewith influencer series on IGTV, a fitness campaign with Les Mills (to keep our community fit and healthy) and a partnership with the Student Volunteer Army, the company leveraged the power of social media well. Coming out on the other side, we expect the social media and influencer industry to assist brands through the new norm. More than ever, brands will need to monitor the return on their spend, and social allows us to pull accurate results for every post and measure the results accordingly. Brands will also need to be more strategic in how they allocate their budgets and will be looking for costeffective platforms with high returns such as social media and influencer marketing. It’s a no brainer for marketing teams looking for ROI and numbers to take to the CEO and CFO for a signature. Melanie Spencer writes in her capacity as Co-CEO of Socialites and The Social Club.

goes live. Your community is super sensitive to anything fake and won’t tolerate being shouted at. 2. Listen to your community and talk to them. Make them smile (when appropriate) and always be empathetic in every situation. 3. Be nimble with your content, much can change and quickly. 4. Now more than ever influencers and brands need to review their collaborations to make sure their values align, that you’re doing it for the right reasons with the right influencers and that you are being sensitive to the situation and not trying to make a “quick buck” off the back of it. 5. Don’t say anything you wouldn’t want your Mum to hear or see. 6. Don’t speak negatively about competing brands - remember we’re in this together!

FOR BETTER OR FOR WORSE... • Experts are predicting the global influencer marketing industry is on track to be worth up to USD$15 billion by 2022 (+Source US Business Insider). • Influencers are looking for other revenue sources. While sponsored content has long been a predictable (and essential) source of income for digital creators, the industry has matured well beyond only branded posts, and the influencer economy won’t be destroyed by the economic downturn. • Live content is taking off. “People are more apt to spend 30, 60, or 90 minutes on an influencer or branded livestream, whereas they’re typically only engaging with a static photo on a feed for a couple seconds,” says Ellie Jenkins, an influencer-innovation manager at Mavrck. • Brands are focusing on philanthropy and ‘feel good’ messaging for influencermarketing campaigns.

Marketing in Lockdown

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| Marketing in Lockdown

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Feature

The world has changed dramatically since the start of the new decade – a mere five months ago. From swinging into the 20s to being shackled by Covid-19, many have had to change their outlook on the year that remains. So, what’s your vision 2020 2.0?

, CE

O at FCB New

2020 REBOOT

Some time before Lockdown, travelling north from Auckand on SH1, I was forced to divert, bypassing the Northern Gateway tunnel. This sparked a flashback – me at 10 years old, excited because we were stuck in a traffic jam crawling through Waiwera on the old SH1. Some time during Lockdown, LinkedIn posts seemed to either pray for a new way of life or predict a return to sameness. Lockdown wasn’t long or severe enough to fundamentally change enduring human behaviour, or even to break most daily habits, but it was long enough to reassess. The forced break from automaton life will nudge life as usual. Covid-19 has three clear phases. The first was to React. The second to Reset. And the third (from 2021) to Rebuild. In NZ, we reacted with Alert Level 4, and now coming out of Lockdown, our Reset will become the remainder of 2020. A new version of 2020, I call “20 2.0”. Fundamentally the same, but different. Whilst business now needs to think about both Reset and Rebuild, your Reset in 20 2.0 is the most immediate and will demand immediate thinking and action. Decades on from that traffic jam I still head North, that 3km re-routing of SH1 has irrevocably changed the bustling Waiwera of my childhood into today’s peaceful backwater. 3km isn’t far off the beaten track, but we all know that in business seemingly small differences can make material differences – profit or loss, a bonus or not. We all play the game of inches. Nudges count. Right now, nudges might define a business’ survival and next decade. Some behaviour change will be intentional and overt (e.g.: middle-class on paycuts or reduced hours trading down to meet their new budget), whilst some will be consequential and hidden (e.g.: my regular physio has no system set up to take Alert Level 2 appointments so I have moved to a new physio). There are small and larger butterfly effects everywhere. Covid-19 has many mutations and symptoms, attacking different people in different ways. Similarly, no business model is affected the same way. There’s no business vaccine, no one-size-fits-all solution. Some will be most affected by the supply-chain disruption that the lean, just in time thinking created (P.S.: it would be foolish to not prepare

le ha

We put the question to a few industry leaders.

for a second wave, even in New Zealand). Some businesses will reinvent based on the forced adoption of videoconferences and e-commerce. Each business model has different diversions to deal with. For those facing new customer behaviours, the nudges you will need to focus on will be unique to your business. Even compared to your competitors. Each business will need to work through this with a start-up mentality. Personal experiences, social interaction, distractions and uncertainty make behaviour pathways dynamic. The improving ability to respond immediately to live data (fail fast, follow fortune) has replaced the managerial mindset requirement for measurement. Any linear, locked-in, lovely-looking customer journey can now be archived. Post-Lockdown, Behaviour Dashboards are not a vanity marketing project – they have an immediate impact on both your 20 2.0 results and the following horizon which is to Rebuild from 2021. A rapid and iterative blend of quant and qual identifies and prioritises critical behaviours. Data-based dashboards monitor changes that matter. We’ve all learnt to React with agility. TVCs on air the day they were briefed. e-commerce sites up in weeks. But in Reset and Rebuild, these urgent efforts and resources need to be focused, especially when teams are cross-functional. Real-time marketing responses need feedback and insight. If you have a map of a new highway nudged a mere 3km over, you can innovate and adapt services to prevent important parts of your business being relegated to recessionary backwaters. If the Lockdown taught us anything, it was that a customer behaviour makes or kills business. Customers are revenue. For once it is abundantly clear that everything else is second. You cannot achieve profit by cost-cutting in a business with no revenue. Merging two businesses with no revenue equals no revenue. We know from normal times that moments of re-evaluation allow customers to reassess loyalties (e.g.: mortgage renewals and the entire subscription economy). In an environment where clarity of focus on customer revenue will be king, it’s time for Behaviour Dashboards to have their day.

By Paul Shale, CEO at FCB New Zealand.

Marketing in Lockdown

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S N CA N H A N D

JEN ROLFE

WHAT’S YOUR REBOOTED 2020 VISION?

Duncan Shand – Managing Director, YoungShand Things have certainly changed. Pre-Covid-19 we were very excited about the opportunities that 2020 was going to offer. We still are, but it’s fair to say that things have fundamentally shifted and it’s going to be different. We’re still excited, right now the promise of an integrated creative and digital approach has never been more important. Being with a local independent agency that is built on a foundation of digital and performance values and has been through a recession already is comforting. We have seen a shift in the work already. The fundamentals are still going to be important. Now more than ever ensuring our clients are strategically strong is going to be critical; what has changed, do they need to pivot in terms of product, positioning or proposition? There will also be a focus on ensuring everything we do is driving to a result quickly. What is the return in the next 60/90 days? Yes, everything needs to be considered and on brand, but it’s going to be critical to show how we are driving results right now. Strategically strong, fast and results - no pressure!

Jen Rolfe – Managing Partner, Rainger and Rolfe It’s fair to say, it’s been a weird and often cruel few months. We see some clients and our industry being deeply financially challenged. Some had to close their doors. No customers, no revenue. It has been absolutely brutal. We’ve seen a shift from a strategic to tactical focus. We have seen a growing importance on messaging tone and manner. Not just marketing teams reviewing content, but boards involved and focused on ensuring their messaging is on point. For us, our business model has been comprehensively built around customer insight – knowing how and why people act is a big part

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BENTLE

of being able to develop the right messaging and build and nurture brands through all channels. Right now, getting to know how people are feeling and what their priorities and drivers are, both as consumers and businesses is our priority. We are focused on ensuring our clients are using these insights to improve their businesses across the board – from brand, CRM, CX, digital, channel strategies and even innovation. Maybe we can be the first-responders to customer insights. Our agency has strengths in the four areas we think are right for this time: creativity, digital delivery, cost efficiency and understanding the New Zealand market through data led insight. We really think that data and digital skills will be even more important, as business and consumer markets have just been through a fairly comprehensive trial period of having to work and live in a more digitally centric world. Our strategy will be to double down – to add as much value as we can for clients, to be proactive, insightful and work together as partners.

Louise Bentley – Managing Director, Energi Zoom, MS Teams, Blue Jeans and Slack are our new platforms for working remotely and managing demand, these will be maintained going forward. Being agile and empathetic are key too. During lock down we created a pivot from a brick to clicks business to optimise Mother’s Day sales and an eight-part video series for bubble fitness workouts. Neither of which were on the drawing board four weeks ago. Neither will change our fortunes, but were the right thing to do. Now we need to keep holding on tight and maintain the gains made during our first quarter of 2020. Winter upon us, it is much easier to fall into hibernation at a time we need to be ‘hypernation’. A good Covid-19 initiative we tapped into, the Mark Ritson #wfh Bootcamp through the Marketing Association. Four weeks into the 12-week programme, it has given a tremendous boost in knowledge required to navigate these unprecedented times we are in.

“NOW MORE THAN EVER ENSURING OUR CLIENTS ARE S T R AT E G I C A L LY STRONG IS GOING TO BE C RITICAL .” Duncan Shand

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Feature

“THE NZ MAGA ZINE MARKET REMAINS RICH AND VIBR ANT.” Sally Duggan

David McIndoe – Chief Strategy Officer, Saatchi & Saatchi

Sally Duggan – Executive Director, The Magazine Publishers Association

Well, what hasn’t changed? Brand strategies remain consistent; the core story, promise and emotional value of your brand is the same as it was last year and the year before. As is the need to build your brand consistently by creatively winning salience. But, the overlapping forces of Covid-19, social distancing and the looming recession continuously shift the playing field; the competitive landscape, consumer behaviour, price sensitivity, risk aversion, not to mention available budgets. In some categories we’re seeing an explosion of smaller competitors, while in others the main competition has shifted entirely. What is normal consumer behaviour after a such a brutal upheaval of daily life? What slow moving trends have now been shunted into the everyday? Ultimately, the changes aren’t behind us. We’re in the thick of it and there’s more coming. So, for us it’s a case of deliberately identifying and challenging our muscle memory and institutional wisdom, hunting and collecting information to educate ourselves on the new shape of things. As a result, strategies have become much more flexible, modular and with contingencies in place. We’re focusing our efforts on doing less, but with greater impact and finding moments that will create lasting effect beyond the shortterm disruption.

Magazines have had a tough time during Lockdown – but they’ve also had some wins that will help focus the industry’s efforts in the months ahead. Despite the Bauer closure – which saw the loss, at least temporarily, of titles like the Listener - the New Zealand magazine market remains rich and vibrant, with mass circulation magazines like TV Guide; beautiful lifestyle publications like NZ House & Garden, and a whole host of specialist publications with highly engaged audiences. In 2020, the MPA’s focus will be on reminding Kiwis – and particularly marketers and advertisers – that these great magazines are out there, and that they are the perfect environment for uncertain times. Research insights consistently show that magazines are trusted and engaging, and that they lower stress levels among readers. Magazines in New Zealand are cross-platform brands, and publishers used Lockdown to expand their reader communities through non-print assets, with significant increases in EDMs, website traffic, digital editions and social platforms. Globally, magazines have seen success with educational material during this period, and local titles also responded to the plight of homeschooling parents with the likes of NZ Geographic producing ‘Together at Home’, a digital resource with magazine content and activities for kid. Significantly, subscription drives are working well too, with iSubscribe reporting a 30 percent uptick in subs sales YOY post Level 4, particularly among lifestyle, home and food magazines.

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“ U LT I M AT E LY, THE CHANGES AREN’T BEHIND US. WE’RE IN THE THICK OF IT AND THERE’S MORE COMING.” David McIndoe

Marketing in Lockdown

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