5 Marketing Campaigns That Stand Out During COVID-19

There’s no doubt that COVID-19 will continue to dictate how we live our lives for the foreseeable future. On the positive side, it seems that this crisis has not affected our resourcefulness, with many brands launching creative marketing campaigns that are relevant and meaningful. Here are 5 of our favourite creative campaigns that have been launched in response to the crisis.

1. Bpost brings people closer together with their free postcards

Do you remember the last time you sent a real postcard to someone? Well, we don’t. Birthday wishes arrive via Facebook and when we’re on holiday we use WhatsApp to share our latest travel adventures.

But actually, receiving a real-life postcard – one you can put on the fridge – can mean so much more, especially in these times of social distancing.

Belgian postal operator Bpost completely understood the need for some extra connection, and launched a campaign to bring people closer through this simple, personal greeting. With their Bpost app, anyone could send 10 personalised postcards for free to their loved ones.

This heart-warming and creative marketing campaign turned out to be a great success, with over 1.5 million postcards sent. Thank you Bpost for bringing us all a bit closer together!

2. Connections takes us overseas with Studio Corona

It goes without saying that travel agencies are being severely affected by the Covid-19 crisis. Nevertheless, Belgian travel agency Connections is doing its best to remain operational and maintain the connection with its customers and ambassadors.

Through Studio Corona, Connections gives its audience a better understanding of how this crisis is being dealt with across the globe.

Every few days, one of the Connections ambassadors living overseas does a livestream. They share how COVID-19 is affecting the country they’re living in and how they are experiencing the safety measures themselves. The livestreams also allow for interaction, as viewers can ask questions directly.

This marketing campaign takes us across borders – albeit virtually – and at the same time, teaches us something about the cultural differences between our own country and others all around the world. We can only encourage this kind of eye-opening initiative that brings a real human touch.

3. ‘Stay At Home Museum’ in collaboration with Tourism Flanders brings Van Eyck into your living room

‘Van Eyck. An optical revolution’ was supposed to be the exhibition of the year, even of the decade. Almost all tickets had been sold out and the city of Ghent was expecting hundreds of thousands of visitors. Needless to say, Covid-19 had other plans, and threw a proverbial spanner in the works.

Because postponing the Van Eyck exhibition wasn’t an option, Tourism Flanders in collaboration with its museum partners came up with a solution: Stay At Home Museum. This initiative takes people on a virtual tour of Ghent’s Museum of Fine Arts, guided by one of the co-curators of the exhibition.

The initiative has also extended to other museums, with virtual tours of the world’s second-largest collection of works by Bruegel at the Museum of Fine Arts in Brussels, and a tour of the Rubens House in Antwerp.

The best news is that these virtual tours are completely free of charge. An admirable marketing campaign that is sure to win over art lovers both at home and abroad.

4. LVMH stops production of perfume to produce disinfectant gel

Let’s not forget about all the brands who are concretely supporting the health care sector and its workers. From sewing face masks to donating money or medical equipment, the current crisis is bringing out the best in many brands these days.

The initials LVMH might not immediately ring a bell to you. But Christian Dior, Guerlain and Givenchy – the brands that belong to this group of luxury goods – definitely will. The French luxury cosmetics and fashion company is temporarily stopping production of perfume so that its facilities in France can create its own disinfectant gel.

The gel will be donated to French health authorities. A very noble initiative, to say the least!

5. Crocs supports health care workers by donating over 200,000 pairs worldwide

However you feel about Crocs – most people love them or hate them, with few in between – there’s no denying that they are one of the most popular choices among health care workers. Made from a hard-wearing synthetic rubber, they can be easily cleaned. This makes them ideal for use in hospitals and care homes where special hygiene precautions need to be implemented.

Crocs launched a marketing campaign whereby they donated over 200,000 pairs of shoes to health care workers worldwide. The donations were made in the United States, Austria, France, Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.

Another great corona initiative that makes a real difference on the ground!

Wrapping up

As well as the initiatives mentioned above, many brands have been launching commendable marketing campaigns and taking concrete actions to help in the fight against Covid-19 over the last few of weeks. Despite the seriousness of its threats, this crisis is connecting people, brands and organisations, in a way we’ve never experienced before.

The world is uniting against COVID-19. At 4P square, we launched several initiatives to cope with this situation.

To every organisation that has decided to use (part of) its resources for the good cause, we salute you. Of course not every brand has the means to do something big. But these days, even the smallest gesture can make a difference!