After we were flooded in the second quarter with pompous ads related to the mission of fighting Covid, now the time has come to show how brands prepared for a return to reality or for a new reality. We can notice three trends around which they operate:
1. Creating a completely new reality
The new reality according to Burger King
Here it is worth looking at Burger King restaurants and their project "RESTAURANT OF TOMORROW". Burger King knows what its consumers' concerns are about whether food is prepared safely, whether the people working on meal preparation are definitely healthy, and whether the place is certainly clean. Burger King's idea seems to address all these concerns. We used to see such restaurants in science-fiction films; now they are becoming reality. click
2. Making it easier to navigate the new reality
Contactless technologies in practice
And all of this is happening through the creation of technologies that facilitate impersonal and contactless contact. Two big brands, McDonald's and Starbucks, followed this path by creating apps that enable ordering and payment online. In its advertising campaign, McDonald's explains how the app works and that after ordering you can pick up your order at the restaurant or at the drive-thru window. Starbucks, in addition to online ordering and payment, also communicates help in finding the nearest restaurant. click and click.
3. A return to the familiar reality, but perhaps on slightly different rules
Campaigns by Apple and Heineken
The Covid reality can be hard: working from home, lockdown, closed schools and kindergartens. Referring to its previous ads "Apple at Work" with the same actors, Apple showed how its devices can make working from home easier and, as always, did it perfectly. click
The back to the new normal advertising trend – what does it mean for brands?
Many rankings were created in Poland and around the world showing that during lockdown people really missed the opportunity to leave home. Now it is possible, but there are many orders and prohibitions imposed in public places. With its ad, Heineken announced that bars had reopened, but at the same time reminded us that this is already a different reality and that we should behave safely. click
Brands must take into account that today they are facing completely new challenges. The market has changed, people have changed, new behaviors have emerged, which we mention more than once on CMOInsider.pl. Brands should learn to function in the new normality and modify their marketing communication. For consumers, this may mean many new, convenient and unexpected solutions, that is, the positive experiences we love, which develop business.
Article author: Kinga Lendo, Spark Foundry / CMO INSIDER: www.cmoinsider.pl
Summary
The article discusses three advertising trends after the peak of the pandemic: creating a new reality (Burger King and the "RESTAURANT OF TOMORROW" project), facilitating impersonal contact (McDonald's and Starbucks apps), and returning to the familiar reality under new rules (Apple and Heineken campaigns). The authors emphasize that brands must modify their communication to match changed consumer behaviors.
An interesting fact is that these campaigns refer to earlier advertising series, such as "Apple at Work", which shows continuity in building the narrative, but with a new message of safety and hygiene.
