Marketing fun with Pfizer and Sinovac

 

[Avatar with syringe*]

With a plethora of COVID-19 vaccines on the market or in the pipeline, it is clear that within the foreseeable future, oversupply and competition will occur. As humor is often the best medicine, it would be entertaining to consider how these mighty and not-so-mighty brands can market their products to the future masses that will require the initial or booster doses. As the Chevy’s marketing department in the 1950s and 1960’s insisted, the key for a successful ad is the story, not the technical details. I playfully propose two vaccine ads:

[Red carpet]

Scene: an elegantly dressed couple walks down a street in New York with confident strides, almost ignoring the people around them, who seem to move of their way. They resemble a New Yorker cartoon, for those who remember those. Imagine a deep, male voice.

Script: Some people have it. The confidence to feel in control where ever they are. What gives this couple that feeling of invincibility? It is not the tailored designer clothes they are wearing. Nor is it the elegant but comfortable Italian leather shoes on their feet. No, it is the Pfizer vaccination they took just a week ago. They could have settled for any old vaccine but they insisted on the best and know, with Pfizer on their side, they can conquer the world. Do you want that feeling?  Get yourself a Pfizer. You are worth it.

To quote Monty Python, and now for something different:

[Chinese wise man]

Scene: a Chinese couple dressed in simple traditional clothing sits at the head of a large table covered with food delicacies and surrounded by their family.

In China, being wealthy does not earn you respect but how you get there does. Believers in the saying that a fool and his money are soon parted, they seek and respect value. Anybody can pay more and receive less but only the wise know how to attain the perfect product at the perfect price. That is why these parents chose to take the Sinovac vaccination over the more expensive brands and now serve as a shining example for this family and community. Show your wisdom. Insist on the Sinovac vaccination.

Granted that modern ads are often on YouTube, Tweeter, Facebook and other social media and have a very different style. In addition, by law, these ads would be followed by one minute of the fastest possible recitation of the potential side effects and a reminder to consult your doctor, which would spoil the whole effect. Still, in my opinion, the message would still work as it does for perfume. Besides, we all need a good laugh and a reminder that some kind of normal will eventually and shortly return.

* The blind need captions for access. All picture though Pixabay.

The upcoming train of pent-up demand

                                         [Railroad track with clouds in the distance*]

Worldwide, the corona virus has shut down almost all businesses, big and small, and hit the income of almost workers, salaried and independent. In regards to the day after, when social and business activity is allowed to fully restart, the latter group, the independents, are especially worried. While it is difficult to accurately predict the future, one concept seems relevant in regards to forecast for the short-term future: pent up demand. It is clear that certain professionals will be extremely busy for months to come.

Accountants, doctors and attorneys always finds a way to profit. Given the need to take advantage of the various government support programs and their complexity, accountants will be quite busy and even gain new customers. Their cousins, the financial service providers, will be active helping people manage their debt and get into more debt. On the medical side, the stress of these months on everybody, not just healty care workers, will be boom of those doctors that treat the effects of it, including dermotologists, alergists, cardiologists, dentists, psychologists and psychiatrists, as if their clientelle was not large enough already. However, the lawyers will enjoy the greatest boom. Whether handing divorce, estates, breach of contract or payment issues, the courts are going to be busy. Jewish mothers knew something when they wanted their children to enter these professions.

The busiest service providers, at least in the short term, will be in the beauty care industry. Tens of millions of women will not have had a proper heart cut, dyeing, manicure, pedicure, injection or skin treatment for months. To clarify, I do not state that in derision but in appreciation of their need and its impact on those that provide this service. In fact, it is possible that these businesses will more than make up for the lost income. I also expect to prices to rise in these industries as many women will not want to wait an additional month for an appointment.

To misapply Newton’s 3^rd law of motion, every action has an equal but opposite action. After several months of no serious physical exercise or social activity, people are going to go extreme on sport and going out. The gyms, sports centres and country clubs are going to be jammed the minute such activity is considered safe. Many people will feel the absolute requirement to lose the kilos (or pounds) that they gained while stuck at home. It is unclear how long these people will maintain their enthusiasm but demand for such services will be initialy very strong. Cafes, bars and sports stadiums will be also be packed. These places represent the polar opposite of being stuck at home: lots of noise, talk, non-family and vicarious pleasure. The coffee or beer may the same but everything else is different. Vive la difference! Flights probably will  be packed as people travel to see their “long-lost” loved ones. Any professional involved this social approaching will gain.

Time will tell if how correct these predictions are. Clearly, for some independents, the return to the “good old days” before the corona device will take time, possibly years.  For others, the shutdown period will be an unpleasant but short hickup in their business development, even a shot in the arm. It is the challenge of independents to figure the route of the recovery train and somehow catch it.

* For the sake of the millions of blind, always post a description of your picture.

Image by <a href="https://pixabay.com/users/Larisa-K-1107275/?utm_source=link-attribution&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=image&amp;utm_content=163518">Larisa Koshkina</a> from <a href="https://pixabay.com/?utm_source=link-attribution&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=image&amp;utm_content=163518">Pixabay</a>

Sport in the time of the Coronavirus

Like many people, I find this whole coronavirus situation disquieting. I am not worried about being sick although there is a statistical possibility that it may happen. Instead, I find it strangely upsetting that my whole world is turning upside down. The certainties of life are no longer automatic, rendering any planning for the foreseeable future impossible. I find it so disconcerting that I do not want to watch the news or talk about “it”. On the other hand, “it” is a rather difficult to ignore when it starts creating barriers to human interaction and interferes with making a living.  Instead, the only issue of the virus that I can talk or write about directly is a marginal aspect, relatively speaking, specifically because it is less obtrusive. Specifically, I keep on thinking about suspension of major sports worldwide, including the FIFA, NBA and MLB. Instead of crying about it, I like to consider some admittedly questionable options to provide people with safe options for vicarious living.

For example, worldwide, many people escape their hot, cramped flats and go to sports bars to watch life action or turn on one of the ESPN channels.  What do these bars and channels have to offer now? Video of last year’s World Series or Classico? Honestly, how interesting is the Rose Bowl game of 2002?  On the other hand, using cable access to news programs worldwide, people can keep track of the number of new cases or latest measures by this government or another.  As there is constant action and news, it would certainly be entertaining and even provide a basis for betting, the ideal way of forgetting your troubles.

Speaking of betting, all those sports betters, bereft of any professional team game, can now hone their poker skills. I imagine that the online betting sites are making a fortune these days on those unfortunate thousands in insolation. Is there a better way to kill time than playing poker online?  Your family cannot even criticize you for not going out and getting a job.  As the British adverts say, when it stops being fun, stop playing.

Another victim of the sports suspension are the thousands of hawkers in the stadiums around the world who would be otherwise busy (and employed) bringing hot dogs, beer and ice cream to your seats.  True, some teams are arranging some compensation for them in the short time but who knows how long the suspension will last.  However, there is another way for them to use their skills of yelling and hauling that would combine public service and private relief. In cities under curfew, they could circulate affected residential neighborhoods calling out: “Get your burritos, hamburgers and hot dogs”. Even the most addicted poker player needs food from time to time. On the other hand, the amount of fat, cholesterol and salt in these foods probably is more dangerous than the virus.

As for the athletes themselves, neither of these options are relevant as they need neither the money from poker nor the calories from junk food. On the other hand, it might be a great opportunity for them to read books.  Professional athletes do not have the reputation of being great intellectuals, although there must be some exceptions even if I cannot think of any particular player. Both electronic and paper books are very popular and accessible now. The knowledge attained in a month or so (we hope) of active reading may be useful for them in the future when they retire or have to help their children with homework. As Mr. Buffet says, opportunity comes to those who seek it.

I am not making light of the disease nor intending to show disrespect to the families of those that have died of it. I simply find that laughter is the best medicine even it is not omnipotent. I personally cannot change the reality and know that this too shall pass. In the meantime, to keep my sanity, I have to laugh. Still, I find it extremely upsetting, albeit understandable, that the baseball season is suspended. For that and all the much more important reasons, let’s hope that the corona virus becomes as forgotten as the Toyota Corona.