To advertise or not to advertise?

There have been plenty of opinions flying around the world of advertising since the COVID 19 pandemic broke in Australia, with some marketing and advertising gurus screaming from the tree tops “Advertise now, Advertise now, it’s the best time to do something!!”whilst others have been more cautious.

Not everyone is Gerry Harvey, not everyone has a war chest sitting in the corner purely to increase share (he is very good at this during down times) and a business that will survive and even thrive during this challenging period in our history . Whilst I agree that a business can increase their sales, share of voice and brand presence during these times, I do consider the following before shouting “advertise” no matter the size of the business we represent

  • Which of these businesses have had to downsize during these times, losing people they respect and even love
  • Which if these businesses have had to restructure finances within the business simply to survive
  • Are some of these business owners, CEO’S or Marketing Managers carrying personal or family debt that would need to be attended to during these times
  • Have we actually found out how these owners and their workforce are actually feeling about the situation
  • Do they have a business that will benefit by what we do during these times or are we best to bank this marketing money for when it is best for THEIR business
  • Can we increase sales
  • Can we increase brand presence

And for most of our clients the answer has been yes, but for some it has not

Empathy

We have continued to use this word and feeling as a guiding principle to understand how our clients have been feeling and what their biggest needs are during this time. Showing compassion and understanding your client’s actual needs both in business and personally have always been a major benchmark in how business is done at QA, and no more so than in the past few months. We have clients adapting and thriving, and those that this time has hit hard through no fault of their own. Our mantra has been to continue to work with everyone with the highest amount of care and empathy no matter what position they are in.

Some of the key points that QA have considered for our clients and assistance we have sought and provided include

  • Anything we can do regardless of whether the client will advertise or not?
  • Continue to leverage our strong relationships with our media partners in order to assist campaigns
  • Re do strategies based on the new world for our clients
  • Understanding and Presenting the shifting media landscape consistently
  • Surprising them
  • Do our job at the highest level no matter what or who we are dealing with
  • Do our clients just want a coffee and a chat?

There are many things we can do to help our clients, and these are just a few. By thinking care and empathy in everything we do, and every decision we make at this time, will only enhance our customer and people relationships and business overall.

Author: Roger Delaney, Managing Director

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