With the Coronavirus pandemic spreading with such impetus and throwing a spanner into the works of current OOH campaigns, will your outdoor campaigns be effective post lockdown?

This is the question on the mind of most Brand/Media Managers. While the city of Lagos has kicked off the gradual easing of the lockdown restrictions, marking the reopening of Africa’s biggest economy after more than 5 weeks of lockdown, there are still concerns as to the best approach. For a country as delicate as Nigeria carrying the burden of being named the ‘poverty capital of the world’, these past few weeks has been a battle over settling for the lesser evil between defeating the COVID19 virus through the lockdown, or letting the masses go hungry with their means of livelihood abruptly cut off for weeks, leading to the spread of the ‘hunger virus’.

For the masses, the 4th of May couldn’t have come any sooner, a date set aside to signify the gradual easing of the lockdown. Little surprise when the streets of Lagos became flooded with masked humans ignoring the social distancing rules.

There is no doubt that the COVID19 pandemic has affected quite a number of outdoor campaigns, as most ongoing and planned outdoor campaigns by major brands have been canceled or put on hold. Despite this negative impact, there is always light at the end of the tunnel. Social distancing is the order of the day, although there are questions as to if it is being observed. Daily reports suggest that most parts of Lagos are crowded within the first week of the post-lockdown era. Banks, markets, bus stops, and several other places are busier than usual with plenty of human traffic.

Brands and media managers are beginning to create engaging campaign plans with a focus on letting consumers know that they are not alone during these uncertain times, but also reminding them of the brand/product’s existence and its importance as the country sails through the COVID19 storm. Normalcy will be restored, brands will engage more as the streets will continue to pour out humans who are looking to make up for the lost time. At the end of the pandemic, everyone will be better for it.

Every cloud has a silver lining. Stay safe.

“ Normalcy will be restored, brands will engage more as the streets will continue to pour out humans who are looking to make up for the lost time ”