Marketing in Times of Disruption (and How to Avoid a #marketingfail)

Excerpt: 

The Covid-19 pandemic has changed the ways we work and how we live. The nation’s collective outrage over the murder of George Floyd is an acute, and painful, reminder of the immense work needed to end systemic racism. Like many, I have been reflecting on what all this means to me, both as an individual and as a professional, and where the two intersect. This article focuses on my professional reflections.

By trade, I am a marketer. Marketers are trained to be empathetic so that we can better understand and communicate with our customers. What do you do when the emotions you and your customers share are sadness, anger, and fear? How do you market when you are unsure what tomorrow brings? Marketing, at the best of times is hard, and in a time of crises, it can feel near impossible. But market we must – colleagues depend on us to develop programs to bring in revenue, which keeps people employed and enables the mission of scholarly publishing to move forward. Customers depend on us to stay informed.