While many will have brought in the New Year hoping for an early end to the pandemic, 2021 has so far proved to be not that different to 2020. Many sectors are badly hit and unable to do much proactively.
However, some brands have been able to bring their resources or experience to serve the public good. One example is the pharmacy chain Boots, setting up three COVID-19 vaccination sites which are due to start giving vaccines this week, with potentially more sites later on. Boots said that their “extensive knowledge and experiences of mass vaccinations” such as completing the flu vaccinations last year, meant they’d developed a COVID-19 vaccination model to help the NHS.
New YouGov BrandIndex data shows that since Boots offered its services the brand’s Buzz scores (a net measure of whether consumers have heard anything positive or negative about the brand in the last fortnight) have risen from 6.4 to 13.9 – a 7.5 point increase in 8 days.
Impression scores (whether someone has a positive or negative impression of a brand) also rose 6.4 points while Reputation scores (whether someone is proud or embarrassed to work for a brand) grew 11.6 points.
Superdrug has also offered its stores as vaccination hubs to support the roll out, and saw Impression and Reputation scores grow by 9.2 points and 9.7 points respectively.
While Boots and Superdrug are more obvious choices to aid the vaccine roll out, other brands have also stepped up, such as brewery and pub chain BrewDog who have offered their staff and refrigerators to aid the vaccination efforts. BrewDog’s Buzz score has since climbed 4.0 points, their Impression score by 8.6 and their Reputation score by 10.5.
BrewDog have been quick to offer their services since the start of the pandemic when they first adapted their distilleries to produce hand sanitiser, and saw a subsequent boost to their brand perception. YouGov data shows that once again brands which are quick to offer their services in the interest of public health reap the benefits in the eyes of consumers.
Image: Getty
