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In demonstration of its commitment to make sustainable living commonplace through its operations, Unilever Nigeria has commenced donation of its food and hygiene portfolio brands, Lipton, Knorr, Royco, Glen Tea, Lifebuoy, Omo, Sunlight soaps, Pears, Vaseline, Closeup, and Pepsodent, across the country to complement government’s efforts in helping citizens to stay well and maintain hygiene necessary to fight the virus in this period and beyond. 
Speaking on the initiative, Mrs. Soromidayo George, director, Corporate Affairs and Sustainable Business, Ghana and Nigeria, commended the states and Federal Government for leading effectively in the COVID-19 crisis and demonstrating capabilities to stem the spread of the virus with adequate preparation of the right infrastructure set up for affected people to be treated.
On the rationale for Unilever’s donations Mrs. George said, “As a purpose-driven organisation, we understand the need for proper hygiene during a crisis of this nature. We are also aware that the restriction of movement has affected the livelihood of many, that’s why we are sending food and hygiene products worth N200 million to Nigerians who need them.”
There is more. “So far, we’ve been able to achieve this by partnering with the ministries of health in Ogun and Lagos and we are rolling out to other states in Nigeria, as well as partnering with several non-profit organisations who have direct reach to the most vulnerable people within different communities in Nigeria. It is really heartwarming to see the impact of donations being felt across the country, in the places where they matter the most,” she said.
In a recent communication, Unilever Plc committed to donating 100 million infernoes to help fight the pandemic globally. The company continues to make efforts to complement the work of several governments in different countries all over the world.
Advertising and creative development during COVID-19
Daren Poole
Should I be advertising now, or should I be pulling my spend?
Strategically, brands should invest for long terms outcomes. While the cause of the current crisis is different, the effect is similar to that which we saw during the financial crisis of 2007-2008. Then, we saw that brands that continued to spend were those that remained strongest and recovered most quickly afterwards. Long term effects come from delivering lasting impressions that help to keep the brand salient and position it as meaningful and different for when the consumer comes back into the category. Importantly, that meaningful difference doesn’t necessarily have to be functionally or product-driven, it can be brand driven or more emotional.
Tactically, decisions will need to be made on a brand by brand basis. There are some brands that should consider slowing down or stopping spend now:
• As more countries close their borders or go into lockdown, it is not a time to be promoting travel and tourism.
• Similarly, be sensitive about advertising categories that people have been told not to use, such as restaurants, out-of-home entertainment, or sports.
• Take care with advertising products that in short supply such as toilet paper, personal cleaning products, store-cupboard essentials. Creating demand that cannot be satisfied could drive consumer frustration. It may also be seen as profiteering from the situation.
While early Kantar work in some markets has seen consumers reporting that they will spend less in luxury, alcohol, and health and beauty, we saw that these categories performed very well during the global financial crisis as people sought out affordable indulgence and small vices. Carefully created content for these categories may not be rejected by consumers.
We’ve also seen projections of reduced spend in infrequently purchased categories such as household appliance, cars and apparel. No advertising in these categories should be intended to drive immediate purchase, so with the right creative, it is likely to be a good time to build brand predisposition.
There are some categories that can make people’s lives easier during the crisis and they may want to increase spend in the short term. These include supermarkets, food delivery services, home entertainment providers. Content from these brands should put people ahead of profit and demonstrate how their products and services can help people adjust to a different way of living.
What type of content should I be airing/publishing?
There cannot be any blanket guidance here. The most important thing, as Nigel Hollis says, is for marketers to suspend their own viewpoint and put themselves in the consumers’ shoes. In some categories, that will mean that advertising needs to be very product-centric, focussing on people’s reported needs to be assured that products and services are safe to use. In other categories, it might be about suspending product advertising and providing emotional support by showcasing positive values or suggesting solidarity and togetherness. For brands that can’t do either of these things, simply demonstrating that they are thinking of people is a possible approach. Whatever the strategy, it is, of course, critical that it is seen as authentic, in line with the brand’s values. The brand mustn’t be seen as taking advantage of the situation.
Often in a time of crisis – and indeed in many countries and categories over the last couple of years – we have seen a tendency for brands to drop brand building communication and move to more performance or activation-type advertising, in order to maximise sales in the short term. While that might indeed work as a short-term strategy, as discussed earlier, that may not prime the brand for success in the future, post crisis. Think carefully before airing promotional content: it can be seen as self-serving. However, there may be cases where this is appropriate, such as in the UK where Disney is offering a one-year subscription offer to Disney.
If your current campaign is product-focused, it doesn’t necessarily have to be pulled. While in most markets, it isn’t business as usual, delivering advertising that suggests a degree of normality can help to prevent panic and impact on mental health that is expected as a result of uncertainty and self-isolation. What’s more, as more countries are restricting free movement of people, it is likely that advertising production will be limited, so existing assets will need to work harder.
Creatively, it would be wise to ensure that content doesn’t show behaviour that is contrary to local health authority advice and government regulations around social distancing, or that would cause panic. In recent days, we’ve seen
• Insurer Geico pull an ad which features the “Perfect High Five”
• KFC suspend a campaign that features people licking their fingers after eating the chain’s fried chicken
•Chocolate brand Hershey pause its “heartwarming the world” campaign and replacing it with more product-centric ads, as hugs and handshakes are risk factors for transmission of the virus
•Personal care brand Axe suspend an ad where the character imagined his smelly underarms caused a crowd in a basketball arena to flee in fear, with airline masks dropping to give them protection.
Can I test my advertising with certainty? Will results be affected by people’s mindset?
Given these considerations, we do recommend continued use of our advertising testing tools to check how the public will receive new content. It can also be used to ensure that existing or even rested ads are suitable for use. Our agile solutions, including Link Express and Link Now, allow this to be done quickly and cost effectively. In the majority of countries, fieldwork is conducted online so Kantar’s ability to deliver should not be affected, even in markets in lockdown.
•Poole is the global head of Creative, Insights Division, Kantar
P&G supports Nigerian govt with over N90m humanitarian package
Under P&G’s Protect Our Heroes missions, Procter & Gamble is stepping up as a Force for Good and has committed over N90 million worth of humanitarian packages to support government in combating COVID-19. This intervention will include hygiene products, handwashing stations, and personal protective equipment for frontline healthcare workers across the 36 states and the FCT. As part of this contribution, P&G has launched a nationwide media awareness campaign to promote handwashing among Nigerians.
P&G Nigeria has launched the first phase with a donation of Safeguard antibacterial soaps and handwashing stations to enable preventive hygiene. Ariel detergent to ensure hygiene and comfort of homes for frontline healthcare and Pampers diapers, and hygiene products to support over 200 thousand vulnerable households in Ekiti, Ogun, and Oyo states. The states supported in the first phase of this intervention include Cross River, Delta, Lagos, Kano, Ondo, and Osun.
Speaking on the initiative, Dr. Temitope Iluyemi, P&G’s Africa director for Global Government Relations and Public Policy, said, “P&G is committed to touching and improving the lives of people in the communities where we live and work. Through our Protect Our Heroes Mission, we want to help impact the quality of life of everyday heroes, especially during a global pandemic of this unprecedented nature.
“As a force for good and a force for growth, we believe we have an important role to play in protecting the heroes in the frontline of pandemic. We appreciate the government’s efforts so far and we are honored to partner the state and federal governments to promote hygiene amongst the general public, ensure that frontline health workers are protected, and ultimately curb the spread of COVID-19.”
#PeakBreakfast table talk: Lasisi, Tomike, others ‘edutain’ Nigerians
From the line-up of Instagram celebrities, one could already tell that the Peak breakfast table talk was going to be something not to miss. The online breakfast show, which ended on April 28, saw Nigeria’s popular Instagram comedians and personalities share exciting details about their lockdown experience while taking their audience through the process of preparing their favourite nourishing Peak breakfast recipes
Hosted on Peak’s Instagram page, the live shows featured personalities like Lasisi Elenu, Tomike, Temisan, Kie Kie and Elozonam – who excited their followers with fun and educative conversations about healthy nutrition and diligently observing the lockdown directive. They also prompted their followers to recreate the breakfast meals as seen during the Instagram live conversations.
Also, in line with this commitment to nourishing Nigerians and helping them reach their peak, the dairy giant partnered with the government to support over 100,000 low-income families across the country who are at risk of compromising their nutritional needs with relief packages of Peak dairy products to help them stay nourished while they stay safe at home. The brand also partnered with several non-government organisations including Lagos Food Bank, Bayo Omoboriowo Foundation, made Great by God Foundation, Tahara Collective and Mothers Outreach; providing relief for another 27,000 families comprising low-income earners, vulnerable children and healthcare workers at the infectious disease hospital Yaba and Lagos University Teaching Hospital.
