Digital Communication in Sport Sector: A Brief Analysis of the Pandemic Crisis Period

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic changed the general behaviour of the society regarding leisure and entrainment in social media. The pandemic had huge impact in the world of marketing and communications. Sta9rting from the social distance to the lockdown period, the society converted their actions to access and consume content from the different social media channels. Some marketing practitioners argue that making money is critical right now whereas others strongly believe the opposite. The strength of digital and social media communication in times of crisis has been proven in the past and it has been proven during this pandemic as well. During this pandemic we have witnessed similar communication practices that are adapted by the global companies. It became evident that brands must make tough choices affecting customers and develop the right message through right channel while ensuring the honesty and trust in their campaigns. With the uncertainty of next quarter or even next months, brands have had to adjust their marketing budget drastically. Whatever they have planned in the beginning of 2020 was no longer applicable and it leads to quick and sweet adoption of new realities in their communication strategies. Being transparent, supporting local communities and overall focusing on brand awareness rather than product push have been the common practices amongst brands. In addition to successful communication practices, we have also witnessed common pitfalls such as brands communicating the same message without giving any solutions to their customers when it comes to products or services adoption. This research aim to analyze the digital communication strategies adopted in crisis during pandemic period.