Coronavirus

From Payment Relief to Blood Drives, Big Brands Pivot to Match Message of the Moment

Companies are tweaking commercials to underscore the new financial and societal realities.

Big brands like Burger King, Anheuser-Busch and Papa John's are rethinking the hard sell when it comes to marketing and advertising during the economic slowdown caused by the pandemic.
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From payment relief to blood drives, big brands are switching out their high-energy promotions for more muted social messaging that aims to bring thoughtful pause to Americans — while reminding them of their favorite products, according to NBC News.

In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, advertisers are having to radically rethink how they talk to customers to reflect health concerns, growing unemployment and social distancing policies.

Most major brands have pulled back on the hard sell and are instead emphasizing how they are helping, or pivoting to direct-to-consumer sales options.

For fast food advertisers, the overriding message is that delivery is still safe. Ford will run new ads about payment relief, instead of a campaign it had planned for the now-canceled March Madness basketball championship. And Budweiser, a long-term sponsor of the NBA, has put its sports dollars into a Red Cross blood drive.

Read the full story at NBC News.com.

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