Top 22 Brand-Moves During Covid-19
Marketing as usual has been put on hold until further notice.
Brands that are getting it right are leading with empathy, doing good, and building community – all while encouraging consumers to respect social distancing guidelines.
Here’s my top 22 list for the things I’ve seen brands do well in the Covid-19 environment, from both creative and CSR perspectives.
22. Activision Pizza Delivery
Activision launched a campaign to give Call-Of-Duty fans free pizza while they #stayathome. The brand collaborated with a number of local pizza shops, and provided custom boxes. Since the games have cultivated such a strong community of players, this gesture proves just how well Activision know their consumer. Encouraging social good one pizza at a time.
21. Airbnb Experiences
Airbnb is meeting their audience’s need for exploration and connection. The brand introduced an impressive roster of digital experiences ranging from Pasta with an Italian Grandma to Goal Setting with an Olympic Gold Medalist. Each experience can cost anywhere from a few bucks to up to $65 per person per activity.
20. Oscar Meyer – Front Yard Cookout
A social media campaign introducing front yard cookouts, a way for friends and neighbors to socialize while still respecting social distancing guidelines. Oscar Meyer will donate 1 million meals to Feeding America and up to 1 million add’l meals if followers post photos of their cookouts with #FrontYardCookout.
19. Schick Hydro – Shave From Home
Schick hired out-of-work barbers to create grooming tutorials for its social accounts. The #ShaveFromHome campaign is encouraging people to donate to the National Association of Barbers and will match up to $50,000 in donations.
18. Red Lobster— Date Night Deals
Red Lobster saves date night by giving couples everything needed to recreate in-restaurant dining experiences with downloadable Zoom backgrounds, curated Spotify playlists and Date Night Deals for both virtual and in-home date nights.
17. Bud Light Seltzer — Boo the Commish
Bud Light’s #BooTheCommish Twitter campaign was a lighthearted effort to engage fans during the NFL draft while raising money for a good cause. Anheuser-Busch pledged to donate $1 to the NFL Draft-a-Thon for every tweet of a fan using the hashtag. Bud Light will give as much as $500,000 to the Draft-a-Thon, which will go towards COVID-19 relief.
16. Stella Artois — Stella Sessions@Home
Stella Artois launched an IGTV cooking show, Stella Sessions@Home, to entertain people at home while supporting efforts against COVID-19. Hosted by notable personalities including actress Eva Longoria and celebrity chef Marcus Samuelsson, the show consists of cooking classes and features local eateries that consumers can support.
15. Spotify — Supports COVID-19 Relief Efforts
Spotify pledged $20M relief to the music community and will match donations made via their website up to $10M. They also announced forthcoming features, making it easier for artists to fundraise on Spotify.
14. Guinness — We Will Toast Again
Diageo brand Guinness doubles its commitment to support US-based organizations from $500,000 to $1M, and pledged another ￡1M to support bartenders across the United Kingdom.
13. GoPro — HomePro Challenge
GoPro issued the #HomeProChallenge, challenging homebound adventure-seekers who are unable to travel to share their most creative, most inventive, weirdest videos. Five lucky winners will be chosen and awarded a GoPro camera and a 5-year GoPro PLUS subscription.
12. Amazon Audible — Audible Stories
Amazon launches a new Audible service that offers free audiobooks to children, teens stuck at home during the quarantine. Audible Stories allows unlimited streaming of hundreds of titles for kids and families, for free, for as long as schools are closed and people are quarantining at home.
11. Allbirds donates shoes to healthcare professionals
Allbirds has already given $500,000 worth of shoes to healthcare professionals and continues to look for ways to help by asking consumers to join in the effort.
10. Headspace & Sesame Street — Monster Meditation
Headspace and Sesame Street joined forces to create “Monster Meditation” video series, appearing on YouTube & YouTube Kids, to teach mindfulness, meditation, and social skills.
9. Celsius — Donates Product to Healthcare Workers and First Responders
Celsius, a fitness energy drink brand, has dropped off over one thousand cases of product to over three hundred hospitals and fire and police stations. They are also offering first responders and healthcare workers a case of product if they direct message the brand (@celsiusofficial) on Instagram with a picture of their ID.
8. Pepsi — One World Together at Home
Pepsi sponsored a global entertainment special, organized by the World Health Organization (WHO) and Global Citizen, on April 18 to support the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. The virtual concert featured top talent, including Lady Gaga, Paul McCartney, Stevie Wonder, Billie Eilish, and Lizzo, and celebrated healthcare workers on the frontlines of the fight against coronavirus. The special raised $127M.
7. Ford — Built to Lend a Hand
Ford pulls its national vehicle ads and replaces them with a coronavirus-response campaign, which offers car payment relief to Ford customers whose lives have been disrupted by COVID-19.
6. Tito’s Vodka — Making 24 Tons of Hand Sanitizer
The vodka brand was one of the first major alcohol producers to use its distillery to produce hand sanitizers to mitigate the shortage caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
5. Microsoft pays hourly wages
Microsoft will continue to pay the hourly workers who support their campus and will pay all vendor hourly service providers their regular pay during this period of reduced service needs.
4. Cottonelle — Share a Square
Cottonelle pledges to donate $1 to COVID-19 relief for each time someone uses hashtag #ShareASquare in a social post, through June 1.
3. Burger King — Stay Home of the Whopper
The “Stay Home of the Whopper” campaign encourages fans to be “couch po-ta-triots,” and stay home to help prevent the spread of Covid-19. Burger King is waiving its delivery fee on app orders over $10 and donating 250,000 Whoppers to nurses through the American Nurses Foundation.
2. Nike — Play Inside, play for the world.
In addition to assisting local communities, and manufacturing personal protective equipment for first responders, Nike is equipping athletes to stay active while they stay at home.
1. Dove — Courage is Beautiful
Dove pays tribute to health care workers who are battling the coronavirus pandemic on the front lines by releasing an inspiring video featuring health care heroes at work. The personal care brand also announced that they made a $2 million donation to the nonprofit Direct Relief, which will fund PPE, medicine, and ventilators for front-line health care workers.