“In a crisis, be aware of the danger — but recognize the opportunity” John F. Kennedy.
The Coronavirus or Covid-19 has become part of the list of world pandemics of the 21st century; It causes great fear due to the ease and speed of its spread. Its origin is still uncertain, but what is certain is that its arrival will be one of the events that will mark our time and force us to rethink, as human beings, our practices of hygiene.
In China, where the first cases of the disease have been identified, informal street vendors selling exotic animals have been banned, as one of the theories suggests that it is the product of poorly cooked bat soup. In Europe, the disease has claimed a large number of deaths, which can be explained mainly by two factors: the ease of spread due to the lack of personal hygiene and the high percentage of senior citizens, the most vulnerable demographic, along with children, pregnant women and people with chronic diseases.
In America, the phenomenon of so-called “panic purchases” has been a trending topic: thousands of people in supermarkets buying non-perishable items for several months and in some cases, it’s got to do with essential items to fight the crisis such as liquid soap, antibacterial gel or toilet paper. People who fill their carts with the latter have become the banner meme of quarantine, why? Although it seems to have no correlation with the coronavirus, as psychology professor Britta Krahn explains, for people it means taking control of a situation that causes them distress.
As of now, Covid-19 has paralyzed the financial and social system globally, to the point that economic losses in most infected countries are causing a recession. So far, the only beneficiaries seem to be cleaning and personal hygiene brands. However, this crisis has opened the door to new discussions that can be exploited by your brand, in modalities such as e-commerce, sectors such as tourism and the involvement of greater social awareness, transparency, health and hygiene.
At Mijo! Brands, a leading creative agency in digital marketing, with a presence in Mexico City, Guadalajara and Puerto Vallarta, we have a team of multidisciplinary professionals who will help your brand find areas of opportunity in different settings and circumstances.
Carlos Becerra is Community Manager at Mijo! Brands. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Social Communication from Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana, UAM. He has experience in different marketing tasks with direct customer service; He considers his main strengths to be empathy and the search for creative solutions. Fanatic of stories whether its in digital or analogical format; animal enthusiast as confirmed by his dog Toto, adopted in distant lands — Merida, not Kansas — and his cat Luis Miguel.