Dunzo has prioritised self-care and helping others over everything else for now: Sai Ganesh, Dunzo

• The role of a Chief Marketing Officer has changed as a consequence of the global pandemic. It has now transformed into Chief Motivational Officer during the second wave of coronavirus.
• In India, brands are trying to figure out the right way to communicate with their audience during a national emergency and change their message, which makes marketing – and the role of CMO – more critical than ever.
• In our latest interview series, we speak to a few CMOs to understand how they are helping out their organisations find the right ways to connect with consumers.
• Third-party delivery platform Dunzo has been using its social media platform to amp up people’s SoS requests. Sai Ganesh, Marketing Lead, Dunzo tells us how this lockdown has changed his role as a marketing officer.

With India’s healthcare system severely stretched, many brands have been leveraging their social media presence to either amplify citizens’ SoS for ICU beds or to spread awareness around vaccination registration. One such brand is Dunzo. It was quick to convert its social media page into an SoS helpline for its users. Very early on during this on-going pandemic, Dunzo also reminded consumers that we are all in this together by swallowing its pride and uplifting its competitors in its social media posts.

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Lately, Dunzo has stayed away from all promotional posts. After the cases started rising in India during April 2021, Dunzo decided to pause, reflect, rework its strategies and most importantly, prioritise consumer interest. It was after an internal discussion that Dunzo decided it should use its reach to help people, who are crying out for help.

The delivery platform also started using Instagram Reels to beat misinformation around COVID-19 vaccination and spread awareness.

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Dunzo is also using its humor to bring a smile to our lips and help us laugh in the face of adversity.

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So, Dunzo has been using its advertising tools to encourage people to get vaccinated against COVID-19, amplify user requests and express its gratitude for frontline workers. Apart from that, the platform has reduced the number of posts on social media and is only focusing on helping out its users.

Before the pandemic, organisations were looking for CMOs who were data-driven, focused on the customer, and were able to anticipate needs people didn’t even know they had. Today, a CMO is also required to be agile because consumer needs are changing overnight and most importantly, the need of the hour is a marketing leader who is empathetic and caring.

CMOs set the right tone for the organisation at the top and lead the brand to connect with consumers. They are also expected to protect the health, safety, and well-being of their employees. And when all of this is over, it will be brands like Dunzo that will be remembered by consumers for its humanitarian aid and looked up as examples by SMBs and start-ups.

So, as a leader who is supervising these much-needed marketing activities during a crisis, we reached out to Sai Ganesh, Marketing Lead, Dunzo to understand how this lockdown has changed his role as a marketing officer.

Excerpts:

Q. How has your schedule changed during the second wave? Can you draw a comparison between last year's lockdown with this year's?

To be honest, it is similar in many ways, but except that this time the pandemic feels more intense and closer home. Last year, we were getting used to the WFH setup, taking care of our mental health while doing great work. This year, it has gotten more exhausting personally to witness the pandemic unfolding the way it has, so we do ensure that each of us takes regular breaks to recuperate. People who are known to us have passed away or are struggling to survive, so it's definitely overwhelming. For a creative team especially it's even more difficult to work during these times. So, we have prioritised self-care and helping others over everything else for now.

Q. No communication or relevant/empathetic communication, which route should a brand take during difficult times like these?

ALWAYS relevant empathetic communication. Without any doubt! We saw that last year and this year, consumers don't want brands to be “salesy", but they also want brands to stand up and help others in trying times. The power users on Social media call out brands that are tone-deaf / not able to take a stance during tough times. So yes, consumers are going to call you for inaction so "No communication" is a bad idea.

Q. As a leader, how are you trying to be there for your employees?

Ensuring that employees are safe and healthy (both mentally and physically) is our top priority. We have been trying to do that by having regular non-work calls, making sure there is a balance between ensuring people have clarity on work to be done, at the same time, giving them enough freedom to take breaks.

Q. How are you using your advertising tools to help out other people?

Right in the beginning, when we saw that people on Social media were looking for ways to help each other out, our focus has been on using our communications platforms to amplify such calls for help. We are also connecting those who can offer help to those who need help. Like last year, we are also using our communications to spread awareness on Social distancing and precautions to stay safe.

Q. How have your goals changed due to the second wave?

Goals haven't changed much, just revised as per the external macro-environment.