#fail: How to Create a Pandemic Marketing Strategy as Tactless as a Maskless Shopper Coughing in the Checkout Line

A global pandemic, civil unrest, out-of-control wildfires, economic disaster, locusts, hurricanes and marathon Zoom meetings: it’s been an apocalyptic year no matter how you spin it.

But marketing rests for no crisis – as they used to say in the marketing department at Pepsi – so let’s wade into some strategies that boldly go where angels fear to tread.

There’s always a “silver lining” if you ignore a substantial percentage of what used to be called “reality” before there was Facebook and the Kardashians.

Here are some tips designed to ensure that your marketing campaign lives up to the standards set by the hot mess inside a dumpster fire wrapped in a train wreck known as 2020.

When 2020 Hands You Lemons…Make Clichés

If we’ve said it once, we’ve said it a million times: a good cliché never goes out of style.

Because now, more than ever, we must navigate these uncertain waters and overcome the unprecedented challenges during this global crisis because we are all in it together.

Clichés are a gold mine of marketing opportunities for messaging that says nothing while sounding exactly like what everyone else is not saying. Is it wrong to suggest that there is a silver lining in a global health crisis? Probably. But who will even notice when you say it with language as tired as spilled milk before a storm?

Speaking of clouds…

Suggest that there is a Silver Lining in a Deadly Crisis

Your prospects and customers will appreciate you taking the time to point out the advantages of doing business in a pandemic. Who else is going to do it, the CDC?

Give them a soft sell wrapped in the language of an inspirational poster. There’s always a silver lining if you ignore a substantial percentage of what used to be called “reality” before there was Facebook and the Kardashians. If nothing else, 2020 has taught us a lot about how customizable reality can be.

Flaunt Your Social Media #Savvy

Speaking of conspiracy theories, don’t ignore the marketing potential of stumbling into the latest social media #sideshow where you can engage your virtual audience with interactive posts and puns around “going viral.” Mask or no mask – what’s YOUR pandemic style? Comment below!

Social media is generally not a great source of leads in B2B marketing. But you can make a lot of noise. Speaking of noise…

Keep Those Press Releases Coming!!

Hype-marketing and communications prefaced with [BREAKING NEWS] are a great way to break the monotony of actual news and grab the attention of a weary audience who can’t help but wonder Good god, what else could possibly have happened?

Still, there is is another way you could go….

You Could Go for Results without Pandering

If you’re the sort who prefers results to drama, we can help you develop and implement a marketing strategy that capitalizes on doing what you do best: providing solutions for the real needs of your clients. We have deep expertise in strategies for B2B marketing that work without a lot of gimmicks or phony sentiment.