Consumer responses to brand communications involving COVID-19

Abstract

ABSTRACT Building on social distancing theories, we present how brands use social media content involving COVID-19 and how consumers respond to it. Drawing from the literature on social marketing, societal marketing, corporate social responsibility (CSR), brand activism, and crisis communication, we theoretically classify branded COVID-19 content in social media environments. We argue that brands – limited to the German market – utilise COVID-19 in manifold ways, involving themselves in social causes and, furthermore, in many cases, assuming a role as a spokesperson for crisis communication. Our findings demonstrate that the Coronavirus pandemic and the corresponding reinforcement of social distancing act as amplifiers of consumer sensitivity. However, even in situations of external crisis, marketing managers can build brand equity by showing empathy.