Brands Can Be Useful Through Virus Crisis: GroupM’s Wieser

VIA BEETCAM  — The coronavirus, COVID-19, has come as a shock to the global economy – and the media industry is likely to feel the force, too.

Until the virus spreads more widely in the west and until more media organizations start reporting results, the full impact is hard to forecast – but brands have an opportunity to change their approach, says GroupM’s global president of business intelligence Brian Wieser.

In this video interview with Beet.TV, Wieser says how GroupM is adapting.

“A lot of it right now is just providing information, frankly, to our clients, making sure that they’re keeping the brand safe, that they’re ideally finding ways to add value to consumers, and maybe different ways than they did before,” Wieser says.

“One of the better examples I’m aware of in China was that one athletic apparel brand that encouraged consumers to exercise at home, and an emphasised, ‘Here’s how you can do it, don’t let this stop you from doing what you need to do’.

“I think different categories of marketers can find different ways to be useful. Some of it just requires some creativity, as to what the brand is able to do.”

You may read the full article and watch the full interview on Beet.TV here.