The aftermath of Covid-19

COVID-19's immediate impact is clear: We are all bracing for a wave of widespread economic and social pain. Many of us are either living in, or are separated from loved ones living in countries where healthcare systems are currently overwhelmed and inadequately provisioned. Economies will be hit by spiking unemployment, business and personal bankruptcies and deteriorating bank balance sheets.

Yuval Noah Harari pointed out in The Financial Times that we are also living through a time of historic change. The unintended and second-order consequences of Covid-19 will be with us for a long time to come. Marketers have long known that when a life event shakes you out of your day-to-day routine, old habits die and new ones are formed - this is why brands make so much effort targeting college graduates and new mothers.

When these shocks happen to societies as a whole, entire cultures change - measures taken during emergencies tend to stick around and become a new way of life. During World War II, women entered the workforce when men went off to war, and they never left; 9/11 changed the way we think about airport security and plane travel forever.