Big Tech organizations booming amid pandemic make an effort to highlight covid efforts to burnish image
27 April, 2020
Big Tech organizations set to report quarterly results in the coming days are facing the task of spotlighting their roles battling the coronavirus pandemic without seeming as if they are cashing in on upheaval from medical crisis.
The standard talk on profits and earnings projections will tend to be replaced by discussions on how the world’s most effective companies are helping research for a COVID-19 treatment, protecting staff and easing the pains of locked-down consumers.
Quarterly updates are due this week from Google parent Alphabet, Facebook, Microsoft, Amazon and Apple, tending to see a direct effect from the pandemic.
The novel coronavirus crisis has disrupted businesses at tech powerhouses known for disrupting traditional businesses.
Fewer persons are buying new smartphones; more persons are online and using social platforms but internet marketing is slumping; cloud computing needs are growing; and more individuals are counting on delivery of essential goods from Amazon.
Shareholders vs consumers
The tech companies will be highlighting their social tasks but also sending a note to shareholders and investors, said analyst Jack Gold of J. Gold Associates.
“They will tell persons how many jobs they are creating, just how many local businesses they are powering, they'll talk about their charitable contributions,” he said.
Amazon are certain to get special scrutiny due to its importance for essential goods, and as a result of employee safety concerns because of its warehouse, store and delivery personnel.
Building goodwill
Some tech organizations are building goodwill with their efforts, like the Google-Apple collaboration to greatly help virus “contact tracing” by enabling their smartphones to communicate across platforms.
But it addittionally shows the firms “are penetrating more profoundly into our lives,” said David Bchiri of the consultancy Fabernovel.
“That is increasing our personal and professional dependency on them.”
Google in addition has offered free access to its Stadia gaming service and online meeting services, while Apple has given consumers free usage of some of its streaming television content.
Microsoft, more likely to see gains in cloud computing services, has been spearheading artificial intelligence use in virus research and has offered free services to nonprofit organizations.
Advertising turmoil
The web advertising market dominated by Google and Facebook is in disarray because of financial conditions and the reluctance of marketers to put messages alongside the grim content about the pandemic.
“You can view three weeks in, how advertising has changed,” said David Sidebottom of Futuresource Consulting.
The expenses for online advertising has dropped, which will likely mean lower revenues for organizations like Facebook and Google.
Sidebottom said these firms have “big cash reserves (and) will be able to withstand this.”
However the full impact of the pandemic might not exactly be seen in the most recent quarterly results, noted Bob O’Donnell of Technalysis Research.
Companies “didn’t start feeling any impact before very end of the first quarter,” he said. “That doesn’t reveal a lot about the next quarter.”
Burnishing image?
The handling of crisis could change what goes on afterward to firms which have faced consumer backlash and investigations for how they have wielded power.
The crisis “does change the general public perception of the companies if they're helping” in containing the outbreak, Gold said.
“At the same time it creates them stronger. More persons are spending additional time online to talk to their friends.”
This may well not prevent a wave of antitrust activity following the health crisis subsides.
“Folks have short memories,” said Carolina Milanesi of Creative Strategies.
“Once we’re out of the, for Facebook specifically... it’s a required evil at the moment, but it doesn’t mean you forget how you feel about it.”
Source:
TAG(s):