The whole world was on an attacking spree on marketing when COVID-19 struck. A very noble profession, like marketing, was provoked and attacked on all frontiers without proof. Companies that market their products stopped marketing and directed attention to protecting human lives, forgetting that marketers are humans.
Other companies in luxury items like the automobile and jewellery felt the hit most. Hospitality had its fair share as airlines stopped operating, conferences suspended, movement restricted and many more. In all these, no one ever wanted to talk about marketing because it is the least understood profession in the Management School. Marketers were perceived sometimes as noisy, high spenders and sometimes wasteful. This is the time for cost-cutting, they say, ignorantly smiling.
Today countries are beginning to talk about post-COVID-19. The conversation has centered around the recovery of economies and the question that comes to mind is, did economies collapse because of COVID-19 or the actions of the leaders during COVID.
The most pain that was endured by marketers during COVID-19 is today showing clearer and making the post-COVID-19 activities in favour of marketing very sweet.
All of a sudden, companies have woken up to the realities of life that teach that you cannot survive in this world without the movement of people and logistics. When we say this is a global village, we mean, that no one can live without interdependence and reliance on another. In all these someone must be there to inform the people of the movement of persons and the logistics and this is the work of the marketer.
Today countries are suffering because their citizens are refusing to get vaccinated, either, they do not know where to get the vaccines or they have not been properly informed. No matter how good one’s intention about a product or service is, the human being can only be convinced when properly informed through the appropriate media. The marketer will continue to smile until those who halted the wheel of marketing lubricate it, else the cost consequences may be difficult to contain
Why do we have to shut down whole economies and disrupt the whole world’s logistical flow? What did we inform the people about? Nothing. We acted in a panic state with little or no regard for human activities. Borders closed and opened but COVID-19 still remains.
As Marketers, we believe and know from practice that panic actions never produce solutions and panic communication rather worsens economies and takes away opportunities. Most economies suffering today are the result of poor communication during COVID-19 and not the aftermath of it.
Marketing as a profession though least understood has proven that without the appropriate message, content is meaningless and without the use of the appropriate forum, content becomes less important. Marketers shall continue to smile no matter how people and institutions perceive them; the reality still remains that marketing communications solve societal problems at little cost than the creation of problems using the same communications.
Post-Covid has brought back the essence of marketing and to the marketer post-COVID, -19 is sweeter.
About the Writer
William Yaw Ansah is the Chairman and CEO of Origin8 Limited. He is a member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing, Ghana and also a Member of the Institute of Directors Ghana, an Accredited Member of the Institute of Public Relations, and a member of the Chartered Institute of Marketers, U.K
Over the years, he has been a mentor and advisor to a number of new ventures in Ghana.
