Is your brand still in lockdown?
When the world shut down, many businesses reacted quickly.
Budgets were cut.
Plans were paused.
Marketing was “put on hold.”
Branding and visibility were treated as optional and something to return to when things felt safer.
At the time, we advised clients that this was precisely when brand clarity mattered most. Not to spend recklessly, but to invest intelligently — to maintain visibility, strengthen positioning, and be ready for when markets reopened.
Some did.
Many didn’t.
And now, years later, the gap is visible.
Operations resumed.
Revenue stabilised.
Teams adapted.
But in some cases, the brand never fully reopened.
Even today, average marketing budgets as a share of overall company revenue remain below pre-pandemic levels — roughly 7.7% in 2025 compared to closer to 10–11% in 2019. This suggests that investment in visibility and brand strength hasn’t fully recovered after lockdown.
Markets didn’t stand still. Competitors didn’t freeze. Buyer expectations didn’t pause.
While some firms used that period to refine their message and sharpen their positioning, others went quiet and are now scrambling to rebuild presence, authority and recognition.
There’s often still a cautious mindset lingering:
“Let’s just do a few social posts.”
“Let’s update the website quickly.”
“Let’s send a few emails.”
But small, reactive activity often only masks the real issue.
Posting more frequently won’t solve unclear positioning.
Refreshing a homepage won’t fix generic messaging.
Attending an event won’t solve the lack of differentiation.
If your brand foundations haven’t been strengthened since before 2020, marketing layered on top will struggle to deliver meaningful results.
This isn’t about dramatic reinvention.
It’s about alignment.
Does your positioning reflect who you are today?
Does your messaging match the level you operate at?
Are you communicating with confidence or caution?
Lockdown was temporary.
But for some businesses, brand visibility became permanently restrained.
The good news is that brand clarity can be rebuilt.
With the right thinking, the right process and the right level of investment, businesses don’t just recover visibility — they can return stronger, sharper and more commercially confident than before.
If your brand has been quiet for too long, now is the time to reopen it properly.
And if you’re unsure where to begin, that’s exactly what we’re here for.
Author: Lance Corrigan
Creative designer with a passion for visual communication and brand development, and a vision to make a positive impact on the world through design.
