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How Marketers Can Win with Gen Z and Millennials Post-COVID-19
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How Marketers Can Win with Gen Z and Millennials Post-COVID-19

Carmen Bona, Lara Koslow, Renee Frantz, Brian Nadres and David Ratajczak
Boston Consulting Group, 2020
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You don’t need this special report to tell you that COVID-19 has caused massive upheaval in people’s lives around the world, but you may need this special report to show you how you can turn that upheaval into opportunity. According to the Boston Consulting Group’s Carmen Bona, Lara Koslow, Renee Frantz, Brian Nadres and David Ratajczak, consumers are making massive changes to their spending habits. If your marketing team does things right, your product or service may become part of consumers’ new routines for years to come.

Summary

Companies that invest in the right types of marketing during times of upheaval can expect a significant return.

History shows that consumers often make broad changes to purchasing behavior during major upheavals, giving companies a major marketing opportunity. China saw massive e-commerce growth during the 2002 and 2003 SARS outbreak. The 2008 financial crisis led to a lasting “price-consciousness” that boosted discount grocery and clothing retailers. Both changes persisted when the crisis was over. The COVID-19 crisis will likely lead to similar long-term changes.

During the 2008 financial crisis, companies had to decide whether to reduce, maintain or increase marketing investments. Those that chose to maintain or expand marketing enjoyed 6.5 percentage points more in sales growth when compared to companies that decreased marketing investment. In non-crisis years, companies that increased or maintained marketing made only 2.5 percentage points more than those that reduced marketing. Though times may be tough, the data is pretty clear – now is not the right moment for your company to reduce investments in marketing.

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About the Authors

Carmen Bona (Los Angeles), Lara Koslow (Miami), Renee Frantz (New Jersey), Brian Nadres (New York) and David Ratajczak (Atlanta) contributed to this special report from the Boston Consulting Group.

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