A new study offers insight into how brands manage their image during times of crisis

Media Effects  Media Industry and Consumers 

In March 2020, people around the world retreated to their homes for the first lockdown of the COVID-19 pandemic. As we adapted to our new conditions, staying inside for several weeks, advertisers also had to adapt to the unique situation. Between March 2020 and July 2021, hundreds of pandemic-themed ads were created, using messaging like “we’re all in this together” or “these are unprecedented times.” Now, more than five years after the initial lockdown, ads like these give researchers the opportunity to examine impression management strategies during times of crisis, and a new study out of UF does just that.

“Like any researcher observing the pandemic and its historical significance, I was curious about how advertising ‘behaved’ during the pandemic,” said Juliana Fernandes, an associate professor of advertising at the College of Journalism and Communications and the lead author on this study. “While much of the research on pandemic advertising focused on the effects of messages on consumer responses, my co-authors and I turned our attention to the ads themselves: what messages brands were putting out and what were they trying to communicate?”

Fernandes and her team of researchers looked at almost nine hundred ads for this study, examining a sample of 438 ads produced during the pandemic era and an equal number produced from 2018 to March 2020. They not only compared how strategies shifted from before to during the pandemic but also created a timeline showing how strategies changed with the pandemic, like different phases of reopening and the “new normal” of remote or hybrid work and alternative shopping behaviors like contactless or grocery delivery.

Their main goal was to compare their impression strategies, of which there are four key categories. The assertive strategy sees brands focus on creating or maintaining their image through tactics like ingratiation, self-promotion, exemplification, supplication and intimidation. The illustrative strategy uses a broader approach that highlights overall goals without focusing on any specific initiatives, and the demonstrative strategy is the opposite, highlighting specific actions taken by a brand to improve their customers’ experience. Finally, the defensive strategy sees a brand reacting to changes in its image through methods like apologies, excuses and justifications. Additionally, the team compared aspects of the ads like tone and message.

Comparing ads illuminated several interesting patterns. For one, before the pandemic, brands typically employed the assertive, illustrative and demonstrative impression strategies at roughly equal rates, but in the early days of the pandemic largely shifted to the assertive strategy. “One possible explanation for the dominance of the assertive strategy in pandemic-themed ads is that brands aimed to seek approval and respect by positioning themselves as morally engaged and socially responsible actors,” explained Fernandes. They also found that the use of emotional appeal, already the most prolific appeal in ads before the pandemic, exploded in popularity during all phases of the pandemic.

“Non-pandemic themed ads primarily employed a rational appeal combined with an assertive strategy, whereas pandemic-themed ads shifted toward an emotional appeal while maintaining an assertive approach,” Fernandes said. “Among specific impression management behaviors, ingratiation (trying to be likable) was more common in about 80% of the ads before the pandemic, whereas exemplification (projecting moral integrity) was common in about 43% of the pandemic-themed ads. Self-promotion (appearing competent) was the least used in pandemic-themed ads.”

With this study done, there are several more avenues of research for Fernandes and her team. This study focused on ads created and distributed in the U.S, but the pandemic was a worldwide crisis that affected ads across the world. Fernandes hopes to participate in future studies on ads from other countries heavily affected by the pandemic, as well as studies looking at how effective these changes were on consumers.

Posted: December 2, 2025
Insights Categories: Media Effects, Media Industry and Consumers
Tagged as: Advertising, Covid-19, Juliana Fernandes