The launch of TikTok for Business on June 25th was a massive event in the marketing industry. The social platform to succeed Vine and improve upon its predecessor has quickly grown into a force to be reckoned with in the social media big leagues since its global release in 2018. Opening access for advertisers to their global audience was certainly a watershed moment in marketing history. What made it so?

The global COVID-19 outbreak affects the marketing industry immediately, as we have to be receptive to the needs of customers whose lifestyles have undergone a major change over the course of a few weeks. There are many prognoses on the end date of this crisis, but predictions are not always an exact science, so the smart thing to do is to figure out how to operate under the new conditions. Our team has learned a lot over the past 3 months, and we would like to share some of our observations on what works, what doesn’t, and how to make the most of the situation.

The insurance market is enormous. Over the past five years, Health & Medical Insurance in the US industry has grown by 4.7% to reach the revenue of $955bn in 2018. In the same timeframe, the number of businesses has grown by 9.6% and the number of employees has grown by 3.5%.

With so much money being generated, its growth dynamic and potential is already evident. There’s a lot of money in the vertical.

From a biological perspective, fear is a natural expression of basic survival instincts.

From a marketing point of view, it is the second-best seller of goods after desire.

What makes the two emotions different is the urgency of reaction. While we can usually think our wants through and put them aside for a while, fear demands an immediate response. This mechanism has been within us for thousands of years, and the only thing that has changed are the triggers activating it, which are mostly socio-economical, rather than existential nowadays.