Can we brand a pandemic? Should we? The case for corona virus, COVID-19 or SARS-CoV-2

Abstract

While this article has not taken the health implications of COVID-19 for granted and recognizes that the pandemic has affected everyone around the world, it poses the question of whether corona virus has become recognizable as a brand. Many governments, businesses, and individuals have worked on the co-creation of this brand. So, should a pandemic be branded? Who benefits from this branding? Better yet, should it be left alone? Theoretical explorations of these questions are relevant to practitioners, policymakers, and academics. These explorations could help build an understanding of how governments are dealing with their campaign strategies, businesses are using COVID-19 responses to build their reputations and consumers are engaging with the acknowledgement of the pandemic. This article creates a foundation for a broader look at the branding of a pandemic that can be used as a framework for future empirical studies. This study contributes to the understanding of the social relevance for the branding of a tangible product, service (intangible offerings) or even a disease.