ABSTRACT

The novel coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) and its consequent mobility restrictions have led consumers to a state of uncertainty and astonishment never seen before. Brands experienced a similar situation, hesitating about how and when to act in response to the pandemic. Some brands opted for a cautious strategy, waiting to see how the pandemic developed. Some others stood up rapidly to express their understanding of the situation and accompany consumers in the process. Cautious brands, however, could have been perceived as selfish companies looking after their own interests and not caring for people in distress. Especially those brands that benefited from the lockdown, since their service demand increased notoriously, should have communicated with users from day one. In addition, personified brands may be expected to stay closer to consumers since, as posited by identification theories, they use anthropomorphic elements-resembling human traits – to engage them. Most of the personified brands missed an opportunity to early engage with users by showing some empathy at the beginning of the pandemic to increase brand credibility and loyalty. Brand theories talk about failures and transgressions. Most personified 2brands seem guilty of omission at some point of time by doing nothing about pandemic until there was an official position from World Health Organization (WHO). This theoretical paper based on a throughout literature review and evaluation of the Alexa brand performance during the COVID-19 pandemic adds to brand transgression literature by assessing the moderating effect of brand personification.