GM of Americas Kathy Bachmann recently sat down with Paul Talbot at Forbes to discuss the impact of the current pandemic on marketing strategy. Read on for an excerpt from the conversation.

Paul Talbot: There is an assumption, and in some cases for some products, a reality borne out by data, that online sales are spiking while offline sales are sagging. How should we put this scenario in proper perspective?

Kathy Bachmann: A clear shift to e-commerce has impacts across the organization, from supply chain to resourcing to marketing. The health crisis seems to be driving larger basket sizes for offline retailers as households stock up and would further push the trend that many of our clients are already seeing with consumers switching to online purchases.

Talbot: Marketing mix modeling… is it reasonable to expect that some current mixes will be under review and potentially significant changes made?

Bachmann: We’ve already been working with clients on modeling scenarios for marketing investments considering the spread of Coronavirus through our LIVE Model framework that allows for ‘real-time’ insights as data is made available.

The Coronavirus is impacting consumer mobility, shifts in media consumption habits, supply chains, such as shortages of and concerns over goods manufactured in China and economic volatility. With this dynamic situation, companies need to plan their next marketing moves wisely to either mitigate downside risk or capture all the upside that’s possible.

Some advertisers should hold dry powder while others should double-down on marketing investments to seize opportunities. It's crucial for organizations to pay attention to how this situation is altering the landscape and plan scenarios accordingly, rather than wait and hope that no changes are necessary.

Read the full Interview.