LEVERAGING CULTURE: Key opportunities for Swiss brands

in COVID-19 recoveryCOVID-19

Special edition

In the past few weeks we have been following this chart, hoping it will guide us

into COVID-19 recovery.

Source: NZZ, “ Coronavirus: Sars-CoV-2”, 2020.

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Yet, if there is one thing that COVID-19 has reminded us -

people must come first.

Source: Morning Consult “Weathering the Storm”, April 2020

Staying in touch with humanity, and recognising

people’s emotional and functional needs will drive

trust & loyalty.

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As Swiss, our cultural strength is we are always prepared. No other culture has invested so much in preparing themselves for

adversity.

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How can brands leverage our Swiss culture to successfully move into COVID-19 recovery?

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The current Swiss mindset:

“I am looking forward to embracing my old lifestyle again, but I’m still anxious for our health and future”

Nearly 40% of Swiss claim they are worried about not knowing when normal life

will return.

Nearly half of Swiss (45%) are worried about infecting

their family or friends.

Source: Marketagent, “Stimmungslage, (Kauf-)Verhalten und Mediennutzung während der Corona-Krise”, April 2020

More than one third of Swiss (38%) state COVID-19 has completely turned their

life upside down.

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As brands enter COVID-19 recovery there is a clear cultural tension:

We are nervous to return to daily behaviour as the risk vs return is unclear.

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To overcome this tension, brands need to consider the following:

How can we embrace traditional lifestyles?

How can we promote reassurance, trust, optimism?

How can we enhance positive experiences?

How can we create a sense of familiarity?

Positive customer experiences will aid in

driving growth. - WARC, Jan 2020

“Deliberate calm” is a key leadership trait needed as

we move into recovery - McKinsey, March 2020

Confidence with some optimism is essential as we

move forward, but it must be realistic and not excessive. - McKinsey, March 2020

Source: McKinsey, “Leadership in a crisis: Responding to the coronavirus outbreak and future challenges”, 2020 WARC, “2020 is the year marketers re-invest in their brands”, 2020

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For us to successfully enter COVID-19 recovery, brands need to embrace our Swiss cultural values & use these to their advantage.

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Four Swiss cultural values for brands to amplify in recovery

Conformity in crises.

Stable achievers.

Community closeness.

Comfort through preparation.

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1. Conformity in crises

In the face of crises, as Swiss we are happy to conform. The high levels of respect we have towards rules, guidelines, authorities and higher order, means we willingly conform to instructions and expectations when needed. As a masculine society, we take personal responsibility to ensure we adhere to the rules.

Source: Hofstede Insights, “Switzerland”, 2020

How can brands leverage this value in COVID-19 recovery?

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THE COVID-19 RECOVERY BRIEF

THE INSIGHT

Move from conformity in crises to seeking conformity in lifestyle.

Regulations are the springboards to creating new lifestyles.

90% of Swiss adhered closely to

government guidelines during COVID period,

showing conformity on a daily basis, during in a

time of crisis.

Two thirds of Swiss agree, the measures adopted by

the Federal government to be appropriate.

The impact of COVID-19 has meant we actively follow the rules and the majority are comfortable to conform on a daily basis. Our daily behaviours, attitudes and thoughts follow what is expected of us based on rules, regulations and advice.

Source: Marketagent, “Stimmungslage, (Kauf-)Verhalten und Mediennutzung während der Corona-Krise”, April 2020

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CONFORMITY IN LIFESTYLE TRENDS FOR INSPIRATION

Brand Gangs Brands come together and join forces around shared industry challenges and good causes where they can have a greater collective impact. Consumers think brands can do more to solve social problems than governments.

Empathy Age In a more interconnected world where one country’s crisis impacts us all, empathy is the new currency.

Amplify the ‘karma’ economy and new ways to pay it forward.

Drive audience participation at eye level in a way that plays a part in daily behaviours.

Identify new partnership opportunities, which encourage equality.

Focus on long term solutions that benefit people’s every day lives.

BRAND ACTIONS IN COVID-19 RECOVERY

Leverage your brand purpose to support weaker or vulnerable groups.

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2. Stable achievers

As Swiss we place emphasis on education, innovation, development and progression and even more so, at a personal level. The aspirational, hard-working active side of us, ensures we have a constant strive to achieve more, gain more, and get more out of life. Complacency and volatility are not appreciated.

Source: GWI, 2019

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How can brands leverage this value in COVID-19 recovery?

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THE INSIGHT

Move from stable achievers to diligent learners.

When life seems to stand still, it’s no excuse to be complacent.

More than three-quarters of Swiss agree that it is

important to continue to develop new skills

throughout life.

Search demand for the keyword “tutorial” has

increased by 25% in CH in March 2020 compared with

one year prior, without COVID lockdown.

During lockdown, we should find a product that

focuses on increased happiness as the main

goal.

Source: GWI, 2019 Google Keyword Search, 2020 La Fédération Suisse des Psychologues, “Prendre soin de soi malgré la quarantaine”, 2020

The impact of COVID-19 has provided us with an internal sense of urgency to explore and learn more. We want to use this time to do things that will provide a sense of value back to us: learning more, understanding more, innovating more, progressing more and we are taking an open mindset.

THE COVID-19 RECOVERY BRIEF

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DILIGENT LEARNERS

Ageless Age is nothing but a number. From perma-adolescence to adulting, life isn’t measured in years, but in milestones.

DIY EDU Who needs the ETH when you have an Internet connection? People seek to empower themselves with the skills of tomorrow.

TRENDS FOR INSPIRATION

Celebrate the small and simple new skills or victories.

Communicate with positivity, optimism, openness as an emotional tonality.

Promote new innovative experiences that encourage self-development.

Adapt existing products or services so they can help to generate personal value.

BRAND ACTIONS IN COVID-19 RECOVERY

Die-versification 'Pivot or die' is less of a strategy and more of an ultimatum. Brands are eking out a new lease on life by diversifying their offerings into entirely new industry sectors.

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3. Community closeness.

While we may be an individualistic society, we value community closeness and we invest in ensuring the wellbeing of our immediate communities. Our involvement, participation and effort into our communities are important to us as we feel a sense of security and closeness. As a result, we are unlikely to shift away.

Source: Hofstede Insights, “Switzerland”, 2020 Le Temps, “L’amour, l’amitié (et tout le reste) au temps du Covid-19”, 2020 Swissinfo, “Switzerland is finding strength through kindness amid Covid-19”, 2020

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How can brands leverage this value in COVID-19 recovery?

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THE INSIGHT

Move from community closeness, to community accountability.

Attitudes to strangers determine our livelihoods.

More than 900 support groups have been

established in Switzerland to keep locals in contact with

their communities.

These support groups have been created ground

up by individuals on whatsapp, telegram, that are

hyper localised on ‘hilfjetzt.ch'.

The impact of COVID-19 has made us realise that everyone in our direct community will determine how well we will all cope. We recognise that we are directly accountable for the wellbeing, health, and livelihoods of neighbourhoods.

THE COVID-19 RECOVERY BRIEF

Source: Hilf-jetzt, 2020 Bieler Tagblatt, “Schweizweit bereits mehr als 500 Gruppen auf hilf-jetzt.ch eingetragen”, 2020

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COMMUNITY ACCOUNTABILITY

Geo-tailored We’re shifting from an era of globalization to an era of localization.

IRL In a lonelier, more automated world, we seek deeper, real-life human experiences; opportunities for physical connection (e.g. local community meet-ups).

Acknowledge community champions - the unseen and local heroes.

Create new marketplaces that can better facilitate voluntary help amongst communities.

Facilitate open communication and interaction between strangers.

Identify key neighbourhood tribes and adapt experiences & languages to them.

Amplify local media opportunities and hyper targeting.

BRAND ACTIONS IN COVID-19 RECOVERY

TRENDS FOR INSPIRATION

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4. Comfort through preparation

No culture is more prepared than us. As Swiss our social foundations are built on preparation and we take great pride and also comfort in knowing that we are prepared, risks are reduced or averted, and back-stop measures are actively in place.

Source: SimilarWeb, March 2020

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How can brands leverage this value in COVID-19 recovery?

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THE INSIGHT

According UBS, Switzerland could spend

almost three times as much money on crisis management as it does without losing its

top credit rating.

Swiss researchers are already starting to work on coronaviruses to prepare for

future epidemics.

Despite being one of the most overly

insured countries in the world, we see a rise in

website visits to the top ten insurance websites during

COVID lockdown.Move from taking comfort in preparation to preparation as a return on investment.

Preparation is no longer just peace of mind, but a piece of the future.

The impact of COVID-19 has made us see first hand, the return of preparation. From witnessing how our preparation has saved lives and ensured ample hospital capacity, to the strong government investments, that help to protect small businesses and safeguard employment.

THE COVID-19 RECOVERY BRIEF

Source: SimilarWeb, March 2020 USZ, “Coronavirus”, 2020 NZZ, “Coronavirus; Wenig Patienten auf Schweizer Intensivstrationen”, 2020 Swissinfo, “What Swiss researchers are doing to beat Covid-19”, 2020 UBS: Schweiz könnte weitere 100 Milliarden Franken Schulden stemmen”, April 2020

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PREPARATION AS A RETURN ON INVESTMENT

Survivalism Today, disaster feels imminent. Climate anxiety, looming financial crises, and political instability are driving consumers to hope for the best but prepare for the worst.

Guide Us People are searching for guidance in uncertain times and there’s a growing industry to help them do it. The self-help industry is getting younger and predicted to significantly grow by 2022.

TRENDS FOR INSPIRATION

Focus on easier and innovative customer experiences and services - leverage digital technology & new platforms.

Facilitate new help & guidance materials, particularly targeted towards younger audiences.

Encourage preparation behaviours beyond finance and insurance.

Test and trial new solutions that help to solve people’s problems - no matter how basic they are.

Embrace simplicity.

BRAND ACTIONS IN COVID-19 RECOVERY

Convenience Economy People are increasingly relying on algorithms and smarter tech to predict and send what they want before they even know what that is.

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Final takeaways

COVID-19 has resulted in a number of new cultural shifts which, Swiss brands can leverage in recovery -

Conformity in lifestyle

Regulations are the springboards to

creating new lifestyles.

Diligent learners

When life seems to stand still, it’s no excuse to be

complacent.

Community accountability

Attitudes towards strangers determine

our livelihoods.

Preparation as ROI

Preparation is no longer just peace of mind, but a piece of

the future.

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And brands can continue to build on overarching trends -

Ageless Die-versification Survivalism IRL Convenience Economy

Empathy Age Guide Us DIY EDU Geo-tailoredBrand Gangs

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It’s clear COVID-19 will have an ongoing impact on our lives. Consumers are living a ‘new normal’ and this may result in

permanent shifts in consumer behaviour.

Source: WARC, “FMCG, COVID-19 and recessionary practices”, 2020 IRI, “ANTICIPATING LIFE AFTER COVID-19”, 2020

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Which is why, brand’s COVID-19 recovery actions should continue to put people first and be culturally relevant.

So that in the end, we all contribute to the wellbeing of society.

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Stephanie Trachsel Strategy Director

Matthias KiessCEO

Contact us to find out more

TBWA\ Switzerland AG Seefeldstrasse 19 CH-8008 Zürich

+41 44 913 31 31 hello@tbwa.ch

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