What happens when a brand goes dark? A case on Zara in the Ukraine.

Looking at Zara’s brand searches in the Ukraine reveals a little about what it is to be human and a lot about brands.

In conversation with my colleague Maryana Tsvok in Lviv, in regards to how the ongoing Russian invasion has come to influence even mundane tasks like shopping, the case of Zara was brought up. Having shut down all marketing and shops in the Ukraine (both digital and physical).

What Maryana and later MyTelescope’s index confirmed was that while stores have been shut down and marketing stopped. Zara searches have bounced back surprisingly well. What has happened is that Zara shoppers have found a loophole in the form of now buying from neighbouring country Poland and having it delivered to their address in Ukraine.

I see the searches for Zara in the Ukraine reveal two major things,
1. People will go out of their way to seek out normality in even the messiest surroundings.
2. Having a strong brand will continue to create effects long after marketing has stopped.

Thank you Maryana Tsvok for contributing with this insight and the team behind MyTelescope in the Ukraine for putting in such great work Sergey Lekontsev Bohdan Vyshynskyi Anatoliy Bayda Bohdan Lozynskyi