Marketing leaders on staying energised after the lockdown adrenaline rush

During the first days of lockdown many brands kicked into action at unprecedented speed in response to the Covid-19 crisis.

Decisions were made at record pace, as the barriers of the corporate world were torn down in favour of new strategies, campaigns and positionings. In many cases more was achieved during those first weeks than would typically be done in months, as brands shifted media spend, accelerated their digital transformation and adapted to a remote workforce.

But with the initial adrenaline rush of the crisis now over, how are brands keeping the energy high as they shift into the next phase of life amid Covid-19?

Used car startup Cazoo had just come out of its launch when lockdown was imposed, meaning the team had already built up lots of momentum when the crisis hit. Chief customer officer Darren Bentley explains that the lockdown did not feel like a novelty, because the team had not yet settled into a period of normality. He did, however, experience a real sense of momentum across all levels of the business.

“It does create an urgent point of focus and that creates energy and momentum. The challenge is then how to ensure it doesn’t become negative energy and it’s not for a sustained period, because otherwise it becomes a distraction to what we’re trying to achieve long-term,” says Bentley.