Pret A Manger a social media hit during coronavirus while Wetherspoon tanks
Research by Wunderman Thompson UK highlights how major UK brands are faring on social media in light of their response to the coronavirus pandemic.
The company says that it examined tens of millions of posts during March across sites such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Mumsnet.
Prior to its closure, Pret A Manger’s offer of free drinks to NHS workers saw its mentions on social media immediately jump by 3,574%, and its daily mentions have consistently remained 350% higher ever since. 99.1% of those are positive, up from 77% before the crisis.
By comparison, Wetherspoon also saw its mentions soar by more than 3,000% following the CEO’s announcement that he didn’t think pubs should close. However, the sentiment in these went from 61% positive to 80% negative.
Tesco is the brand most referred to in relation to the coronavirus in the UK, with almost 24,000 mentions over the past month, followed by Amazon, Sainsbury’s and Waitrose. Next come Deliveroo and Uber Eats.
Neil Godber, Joint Head of Planning at Wunderman Thompson, observes that the analysis also shows Brits pulling together in the interests of their communities. There are, for instance, innumerable reports of children spending their pocket money on loo roll for the elderly, and regular cries of ‘I’m going to the shops, can I get you anything?’ from neighbours.
“If the national mood is shifting to one where all of us are a little more mindful, doing what we can for each other and wanting to lift everybody’s spirits, then this is also likely to have an impact on how we’re spending our cash,” he comments.
“At a time when most of us will be reining in our spending, brands that feel a part of this zeitgeist, and not at odds with it, are likely to attract a higher share of wallet when the chips are down. We’ve already seen how sentiment can sharply change when a brand is perceived to do the right – or the wrong – thing.”
