Expert opinions, INVESTMENT CLIMATE

Coronavirus marketing: anti-stress sales time

A feverish demand for stress relief products is the flip side of any turmoil in global markets. The coronavirus pandemic is no exception. How soon will we see products marked “anti-coronavirus,” as in “soy-free” or “GMO-free”?

Businesses are already looking for ways to monetize their consumers’ apocalyptic mood. There are a lot of options for boosting profits without violating any advertising laws.

Vending machines with facemasks, gloves, goggles, antiseptic tissues and even overalls. A carwash offering disinfection services for your vehicle interior. Restaurants with separate booths sanitized after each visit. VIP wards for quarantine with high-end catering and service. Food deliveries in special containers from a special warehouse that allegedly meets high sanitary standards to prevent the spread of the ‘Chinese plague.’ Facilities for disinfecting cash. Anti-coronavirus diets and detox programs to rid your body of toxins.

There have to be other ways to protect yourself from the novel COVID 19 coronavirus, quite as effective as garlic, after all.

Safety is an underlying value for consumers. In this sense, it is not so important how effective the “anti-coronavirus” labeled goods and services actually are. Buyers seem to be willing to go any lengths for their own peace of mind, and to spend much more on this. Healthy lifestyle has been a steady trend and an example of successful monetization of consumer fears and stresses. The coronavirus, in this sense, is another extraordinary driver for the stress relief products and services market.

Analysts predict several outbreaks of the COVID-19 around the planet. Experts believe that the coronavirus, like the flu, cannot be completely destroyed. This means the coronavirus marketing, or stress marketing, will also gain momentum. This kind of marketing strategy focuses on the salvage properties of the goods and services offered, promising a simple and quick deliverance from impending threats. Buy it and have one problem less (including due to the placebo effect)!

Consumers are already unbalanced due to the coronavirus. It does not take much effort to direct their explosive energy towards a peaceful purpose: grocery or other kinds of shopping, beauty, pleasure, entertainment services and much more. There is a distinct niche for miraculous cures and unique ways of getting rid of the coronavirus and related fears. This is exactly where a business should go to survive and rebound amid the plummeting markets.

Anti-coronavirus cigarettes and alcohol. Laundry detergent with antiviral additives. Plastic dishes and household appliances with antiseptic properties. Now is the time for such products, which can reduce consumer stress at least to a degree.

By Igor Pylayev, Co-Chair of the Delovaya Rossiya (Business Russia) Committee for the Development of the Film and Television Industry

Previous ArticleNext Article