Principles of Brand Communications in Wartime

Introduction. In the conditions of war, brands must keep in touch with their audience and tell what exactly they are doing to win, support their team and develop the country’s economy, present the history of the brand in difficult conditions, in a new reality, with existing problems and achievements, broadcast important messages to support its customers. Under the influence of conditions of uncertainty, it was important for brands to transform their communications in accordance with the new reality and new characteristics of their consumers. Relevance of the study. The relevance of the research is determined by the need to summarize the experience of Ukrainian brands in communication during the war and to single out the principles that characterize appropriate brand communication in conditions of uncertainty. The aim of the study is to summarize the experience of Ukrainian brands in communication during the war. Methodology. The method of monitoring was used to review the activities of Ukrainian brands. The method of discourse analysis was used to clarify the context, the conditions in which brands communicated, the study of changing values, the spectrum of emotions, and consumer behaviour in conditions of uncertainty. With the help of the method of generalization, the provisions characterizing the appropriate communication of brands with their consumers in the conditions of war have been singled out. Results. Under the influence of the war and the conditions of uncertainty, the communication of Ukrainian brands changed. In order to be closer to their audience, to connect with them, brands changed traditional communication parameters. Brands generated new types of content according to the contextual groups of the target audience, adjusted the brand voice, and applied modern communicative practices. There were no aspects that brands missed in their communication. The time and place of content publication, its volume, taking into account the emotional background of the audience for the broadcast of certain messages were important. Conclusions. For the first time, brand communications in war conditions were comprehensively reviewed, the experience of Ukrainian brands in interaction with consumers was summarized and the principles of communications in war conditions were characterized, which can serve as a practical reminder for companies and organizations that seek to maintain contact with their audience in conditions of uncertainty.