CHANGES IN CORPORATE STRATEGIES AND CONSUMER BEHAVIOR CAUSED BY COVID-19 AFFECTING MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS AND THEIR TOOLS

The development and trends of the 21st century have significantly influenced marketing and marketing communications of companies. Both marketing and marketing communications are undergoing significant changes, especially depending on the overall development of the economy, market and consumer and the changing strategic goals of companies. Successful companies must adapt to the market, clearly formulate their goals and visions for the future, approach brand building through innovation, imaginative and effective communication, find a way to differentiate them from the competition, ie seek the uniqueness of the offer. These approaches are called "Radical Marketing" or "Reengineering". As a result of the above changes and shifts, we are encountering new trends in 21st century marketing communications, which are also changing consumer behavior and vice versa. Consumer behavior and decision-making is greatly influenced by modem forms of marketing communications. In 2020 came COVID-19 and the global pandemic. The global economy, businesses, the market and the consumer have found themselves in a whole new reality. The reality that has come is and will be. The following months and years will show how reversible or irreversible the current situation is. The aim of the paper is a comprehensive view of current strategies of companies and consumer behavior, the definition of their key changes caused by COVID-19 and outlines the current form of marketing communications and its tools.