Page 25 - Seniors Toady - September Issue 2020

Advertising

How has Covid-19

impacted advertising?

Brands are increasingly under pressure to be seen as just and egalitarian,
writes Prabhakar Mundkur

The Covid-19 pandemic has changed most damage on the Indian economy is supposed
things around the world. It has dramatically to be even greater given the large informal
changed the way we work, live and sector in the country.
communicate. It has naturally also affected
advertising, as an industry and as a creative
function.
Firstly, there has been significant drop
in advertising spending. Print advertising
perhaps was the most affected because
for a long time, people were not reading
newspapers due to the fear of contamination.
Lockdowns disrupted the entire newspaper
distribution system. Reassuring consumer
There is a rule of thumb that says Conny Braams, Chief Digital and Marketing
advertising follows any rise or fall in GDP. Officer of Unilever, which is one of the
The Indian economy is known to have largest advertisers in the world, said
shrunk 23.9 % in the second quarter of 2020 this: “Unilever is guided by three beliefs:
ending June 2020. After hitting $ 2.9 trillion brands with purpose grow, companies
in 2019, and predicting a $ 5 trillion economy with purpose last and people with purpose
by 2024, India’s decline was the worst thrive.The pandemic will not waiver [sic]
among the world economies with the US our commitment to purpose-led business,
contracting by 9.5% and Japan by 7.6%. The nor will it change how we position our
construction, manufacturing and transport brands. More broadly, we are witnessing
Incredible Brideshwara, Tanjore industries were the worst hit. The full a change in consumer behaviour. We

SENIORS TODAY | ISSUE #15 | SEPTEMBER 2020 25