D Shivakumar's tips on brand strategy and practices for a post-covid-19 world

D Shivakumar of Aditya Birla Group recently conducted a presentation on the importance of brand strategy and a concrete action plan, post covid-19.

As the world struggles to curb the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, brands need to recalibrate their strategies for a changing world. It's no secret that the way we live and work has changed forever. Shiv Shivakumar, the group executive president of corporate strategy and business development at the Aditya Birla Group took to LinkedIn to announce that The Aditya Birla Group is doing sessions with all its customer globally on a few topics. This initiative is led by Prakash Nedungadi, who handles the Bosstomer program for the group. He uploaded a presentation on the first session - which focussed on strategies that brands can adopt in a post-covid world.

The presentation began with a preface to brands, warning them that this was not a time to be inactive, or to stay silent. Rather, a good strategy is one that responds to change by stretching and adjusting resources to give a brand an advantage in the market. The second part of the presentation focussed on facts and figures - the first set of facts was relating to the number of those infected and the number of deaths in each of the major countries in the world. There was also reference to the magnitude of losses that China faced as a result of the lockdown. Their economy saw a decline to the tune of nearly $12 trillion.

As a result of covid-19, there are also many sub-themes and conversations that have popped up in the world. This includes conspiracy theories surrounding China and the source of the virus, the US Presidential elections 2020, the role of central banks and the future of supply chains, world over.

The presentation also acknowledged the debate surrounding reopening the economy - that of lives vs. livelihood. Elaborating on his 'pivot or perish' strategy, Shivakumar stresses that this is not the time for a 3 or 5 year plan. The emphasis is on agile strategy; since the world is on the cusp of a dramatic change. Changes are similar to what happened in the world after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The things that are most valuable to a brand at this time are reputation, ecosystem network, valuable customer base, and capable people. Some metrics that brands need to chase include cash, employee engagement and customer continuity.

View the full presentation below.