Ad Legend & Ex-Unilever CMO Keith Weed On How To Handle A Crisis

Last week, Jules Lund’s Tribe in partnership with Facebook launched a video series in an effort to keep the industry connected and informed as we confront our new reality.

Each week, Lund streams into the homes of the world’s most innovative marketers to uncover how they’re leading their teams to use this disruption as an opportunity to thrive, not just survive.

On Tuesday, Lund spoke with ex-Unilever CMO Keith Weed about handling a crisis, advertising during COVID-19, how to use the pandemic as a catalyst to transform consumer behaviour and how we can use our former commute time to learn something new.

Here are the highlights.

On how to handle a crisis, Weed said: “…we’re in a crisis right now, and…certainly, the most important thing that I think brands can do is remember the golden rule of marketing is to put the consumer first, to put the customer in the centre of what you’re doing – put people first.”

On advertising during difficult times like COVID-19, Weed said: “… the opportunity to engage people with relevant advertising is important and we shouldn’t forget that.

“I mean, we have to be respectful to the real challenges going on in this world. But equally, we have to be respectful of the economy, which supports everyone out there. And to turn off all activity would be catastrophic.”

Talking to Lund about using COVID-19 as a catalyst to transform consumer behaviour, Weed said: “There are new behaviours that are being learned right now. Start with the step-change in e-commerce.

“You will see post this, a step change in online grocery … and not because suddenly there are more people eating food. No.

“There are people who can come online, who would never normally have come online as quickly as they have right now as a way of getting access to goods… You have to assess in your business, what is the role of e-commerce? Because whatever it is, it is now on a 10x growth curve.”

And how can you use your former commute time as an opportunity to do something new?

Weed advised: “…turn your commute time into a passion project, whether it be learning to cook something or learning to knit, paint, play a musical instrument… and when we come out of all this, we can say, you know what? What did you do? And you could go over X, Y and Z. But I’m also now an expert in creating strawberry jam.”

Watch the trailer below, or the full ep here.

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