Governmental Communication and Brand Advertising During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has prompt­ed governments and brands around the world to produce short audiovisual spaces with different objectives. This research examines the governmental and business communication within the Ibero-American sphere. Audiovisual products belonging to YouTube official channels of govern­mental institutions were observed. These productions have been categorized ac­cording to their intention (informative, appealing, emotional or poetic). Results show a predominance of refer­ential videos in government commu­nication, followed by the appealing intention and somewhat less by the emotional and poetic intentions. The intention of the business spots can also be categorized into the follow­ing: informing about what companies do during the COVID-19 crisis, their support of the StayHome campaign, messages of encouragement, sales of products or brand image, gratitude campaigns towards professionals and citizens, and focusing on the return af­ter the pandemic. It is concluded that governments and businesses are marking arduous me­dia efforts during the health emergen­cy, with special differences in terms of quality and quantity. Finally, recom­mendations are made in this regard. Keywords: COVID-19, coronavirus, crisis communication, governmental communication, brand advertising.